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Jurong Town Corp (JTC) extended the yield curve in the Singapore bond market this week, launching the first 12 year bond issue listed on the Singapore stock exchange. The industrial park developer awarded the lead management role to Overseas-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC), attracting strong criticism from a number of banks for the complex bidding procedure involved. Citicorp Investment Bank and JP Morgan were allotted 30% of the paper as co-lead managers. The S$200m transaction is JTC's fourth bond issue under a S$4bn MTN programme.

Hong Kong's Mass Transit Railway Corp (MTRC) has issued a 'request for proposals' to around 10 banks for a $500m 10 year bond issue. The A3/A rated railway corporation is looking at the possibility of tapping the markets before year end to take advantage of the strong reception for its public flotation last month. Deciding on the timing of the new issue, which would be MTRC's first international bond outing since January 1999, will be challenging given the deterioration in market conditions over the past two weeks.

Bankers in Tokyo report moderate interest in the jumbo NTT sale, which combines 1m shares from the government portfolio and up to 300,000 new shares. Nevertheless, the book is reportedly two times covered as a result of value investors climbing into the deal.

Market report Compiled by Frank Hracs, TD Securities, Toronto

Boots Healthcare International (BHI) has taken a significant step towards global coverage by acquiring Clearasil from Procter & Gamble in an all cash transaction worth $340m (£233m). BHI, Boots' over the counter (OTC) division, plays an important role in the company's development, contributing 6% of group revenues and 4% of operating profits for the last financial year. Boots had revenues of £5.2bn last year.

* Artesia Overseas Ltd Guarantor: Artesia Banking Corp

The Republic of Turkey has mandated arch rivals Daiwa SBCM and Nomura Securities as joint lead managers for its third Samurai of the year. It is looking for a minimum ¥50bn for three years in a deal scheduled for November. The deal will be Turkey's 15th Samurai, but it is the first time Turkey has mandated two lead banks. It is a particular coup for Daiwa SBCM to have grabbed a role, since Nomura had successfully led the two previous deals this year.

SNS Bank Nederland, Holland's fifth largest bank, launched its second securitisation this week with a Eu665m residential mortgage deal lead managed by itself and UBS Warburg. SNS and Warburg closed the book yesterday (Thursday), a day earlier than planned, preferring to lose some selling time to minimise the potential impact of deteriorating corporate bond markets.

* GMAC Canada Guarantor: General Motors Acceptance Corp

EuroWeek hears that Hungarian oil and gas company Mol is again looking for financing. The company is believed to be looking for a $150m EIB guaranteed facility. Bankers looking at the deal expect the new financing to be priced higher than the last deal, which paid 40bp over Libor. That deal although closing fully subscribed did not have the bank consortium that a borrower of Mol's calibre could command.

ABN Amro has persuaded the second Dutch utility in three weeks to join the Euro-CP market. UNA, the third largest electricity company in the Netherlands, will sign a euro250 million ($209.98 million) Euro-CP programme next week. ABN Amro is rewarded with the arrangership and is the only dealer. This is the second Euro-CP arrangership for ABN Amro this year, after Nuon, also an electricity company, signed its euro500 million programme last month via the bank (see MTNWeek, issue 197). But UNA's programme is not expected to issue much more than euro100 million. Joop van Ewijk, treasurer at Reliant Energy Europe, whose parent, Reliant Energy, bought UNA last year, says: "We need this programme just to make up differences in our short-term balance sheet, and not for specific funding." UNA's major funding requirements are met by a revolving credit facility, and until this summer it also had a Euro-MTN programme in use. But it was cancelled when the borrower no longer needed long-term funding. Both Nuon's and UNA's programmes are unrated. UNA itself is rated A3 by Moody's and BBB+ by Standard & Poor's, but van Ewijk does not feel the actual facility warrants the expense of a rating or a roadshow. He says: "We have been buying back most of our debt and this programme is supplementary to our proper funding needs. Our experience with the MTN market gives us confidence that we can manage this programme without ratings or a big marketing exercise." Nuon is involved in the distribution of electricity and UNA is involved in its production.

The European Investment Bank this week illustrated its growing affection for the sterling market when it launched the first transaction off its newly established sterling inflation linked borrowing programme. Faced with difficulties squaring its funding targets with the levels investors are willing to pay for the supranational in its home market of euros - witness last week's jarring EARNs issue, the EIB has over the past two years dramatically increased the weighting of sterling in its annual fundraising.