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* JP Morgan Chase is poised to announce the names of its syndicate team in London. Sjoerd Leenart from JP Morgan is tipped to head the desk and is expected to be joined by Ryan O'Grady, also from JP Morgan. Simon Crisp, previously syndicate head at Chase, has left the firm but Hugo Varney and David Cross will remain.

INTRODUCTION: This month MTNWeek conducted an informal survey of MTN issuers and dealers and asked one simple question: "Which website do you find has the most useful coverage of MTNs?" The result was unanimous, with one dealer representing the whole market when he replied: "I didn't know there were any websites with any EMTN coverage." The growing number of people who have set up internet sites dedicated to providing information about Euro-MTNs should be worried about this ignorance. All of these new sites are reliant on the MTN community for customers. Some of the sites are no more than news providers, some have ambitions to be fully fledged trading platforms. In the feature on the next page we examine what these sites can offer to MTN dealers, issuers and investors. And we ask which are the ones most likely to survive. In the second feature we take a close look at the two houses which have been brave enough to launch web-based trading platforms. UBS Warburg launched its system just over a year ago and has had plenty of time to grow from pioneer to market leader. But how much progress has it actually made? mtn.com also assesses the challenge posed by BNP Paribas' site which was launched in October and promises to offer structures online. How soon will it be before all the other houses join the fray? And is the next logical step a joint-venture between all the top MTN dealers, offering a co-mingled trading platform? mtn.com promises to act as a guide for all those floundering in the rough waters of MTNs online and gives insights into the complex world of MTNs and the internet. And it seems an apt time to announce that MTNWeek will soon launch mtnweek.com. In the same way that MTNWeek has become the authoritative publication for the market, mtnweek.com aims to become the benchmark online news service for market participants. *** For more information about this mini-supplement, or if you are interested in advertising in MTNWeek's next supplement, please contact Francoise Lavergne on +44 20 7440 6436. ***

Egypt Bankers are still waiting to hear from the Arab Republic of Egypt about its debut $500m-$1bn bond issue. Bankers from Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and CSFB/Schroder Salomon Smith Barney were in Cairo last weekend pitching for the mandate, having been shortlisted from the original 19 banks bidding. The tenor of the deal is still uncertain, but it will likely be either five years or 10 years, or a combination of the two, say bankers.

London-based Moscow Narodny Bank signed a $250 million Euro-MTN programme on December 15 2000 via UBS Warburg. Andy Skelton, group treasurer at the issuer, believes that they will not issue under the programme until the end of the first quarter. He says: "We will be looking to attract emerging market funds, mainly in Europe. We are most likely going to look initially at maturities of three years, issuing in dollars or euros but in most cases in dollars as it is our primary currency." The bank is 88.9% owned by the Central Bank of Russia but has been based in London since 1919 and is regulated by the English Financial Services Authority. It is rated BB by Fitch, and thus makes it one of the few non-investment grade borrowers to join the market in 2000. UBS Warburg is the only dealer alongside the issuer itself, but Skelton says: "Once we have done our roadshows we will be looking to expand our dealer panel."

Finland Frequency converter manufacturer Vacon managed to complete its Eu39m IPO this week, after having to extend the bookbuilding period, cut the range and price at the bottom of the new spread range. The company issued 4.868m shares, with a greenshoe of 674,000 shares, at Eu7.

* Landesbank Baden-Württemberg Rating: Aaa/AAA

* European Investment Bank Rating: Aaa/AAA

Principal Financial Global Funding has added Bear Stearns to the dealer group off its $4 billion Euro-MTN programme. The issuer now has a 10-strong dealer panel. The decision to add Bear Stearns is surprising as the US house has only lead managed one trade for the gic-backed issuer this year - a three-year $50 million FRN. ABN Amro, in comparison, has through reverse enquiry sold three trades for the issuer, raising $96.5 million. National Australia Bank and Royal Bank of Canada, neither on the dealer panel, have also both sold two trades each. Deutsche Bank is the only dealer in the group not to have done any business for Principal Financial. The issuer has raised $1.15 billion in 2000 off 18 trades. Four of these were denominated in Australian dollar.

Reseau Ferre de France sold a £

On July 8 1999, Telecom Eireann, later to become eircom, floated on the stock exchanges in Dublin, London and New York. The Eu4.4bn IPO attracted more attention than any Irish equity issue before or since. Enthusiasm for telecoms stocks was spreading like wildfire across Europe, and in Ireland equity investment was just beginning to capture the imagination of the public. Of the adult population of Ireland, 43% registered interest in buying eircom shares, and more than 20% went on to buy stock. Minister for public enterprise, Mary O'Rourke, was anxious to ensure that there were enough shares to satisfy the retail interest, and so a huge 55% of the issue was allocated to private investors.

Rheinhyp has increased its euro10 billion ($9.1 billion) note programme to euro15 billion. There is $8.99 billion outstanding off 83 issues. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter was the most active dealer for the issuer in the private market in 2000, bringing $434.21 million-worth of debt for Rheinhyp. The German bank's programme is rated Aa3 by Moody's and AA- by Standard & Poor's.

Denmark LB Kiel has closed the Eu65m multicurrency financing for Danish bank Amtssparkassen Fyn. The borrower proved popular in syndication and the facility was increased from Eu50m.