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DaimlerChrysler this week stole the limelight in the international corporate bond markets when it attracted over $25bn of orders for a $7.1bn multi-tranche issue in dollars, euro and sterling, but left market participants questioning the rationale behind the deal.

NTT DoCoMo is today (Friday) due to embark on premarketing for its presaged effort to raise around ¥900bn, the equivalent of around $7.75bn. The company wants to sell 460,000 shares and, as reported in EuroWeek last week, has hired Goldman Sachs and Nikko Salomon Smith Barney to handle the deal. The issue will move to a roadshow and bookbuild between January 22 and February 2, with pricing around February 5 or 6, according to senior bankers. The premarketing begins in the US and Europe today (Friday) and in Tokyo on Monday.

Argentina * Province of Buenos Aires

Croatia Hrvatska Elektroprivedna (HEP) is taking bids on the mandate to refinance its DM160m three year facility that was signed in March 1998. That deal was arranged by BCI, BNP Paribas, Chase Manhattan, Dresdner and SG. The margin was 85bp over Libor and banks were offered a top ticket of 45bp for DM7.5m.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) shunned the attractions of the dollar market this week to launch its inaugural EARN issue of 2000, a Eu3bn transaction that takes its Eu2bn 4.875% April 2006 line up to Eu5bn. However, syndicate officials expect the supranational to launch a five year dollar global in the coming days. Pricing of around 3bp over the US agencies is anticipated.

German mobile operator E-Plus has reformed the arranger group from its last facility to raise a Eu2.5bn loan. Discussions are in the early stages and the group has not been officially mandated. Citibank/SSSB, Deutsche Bank, Bank of America and JP Morgan were arrangers on the company's loan last year, which was used to fund its German UMTS licence.

* Bank of Ireland Rating: Aa3/A+/AA-

* Abbey National Treasury Services plc Guarantor: Abbey National plc

DaimlerChrysler this week stole the limelight in the international corporate bond markets when it attracted over $25bn of orders for a $7.1bn multi-tranche issue in dollars, euro and sterling, but left market participants questioning the rationale behind the deal. Two companies revealed on the same day this week that they would sell exchangeables with a combined worth of over $5bn into the two biggest mobile phone operators in Europe. The announcements of Hutchison Whampoa notes into Vodafone and France Télécom notes into Orange sparked a burst of activity in the exchangeable market, as Hutchison sold its deal immediately and other issuers sold theirs before Orange comes to market.

Two of the brightest stars in the gic galaxy have managed to move out along the maturity curve. Principal Financial issued a 13-year sterling trade and Jackson National Life went with a 20-year FRN. Since the beginning of 2000, only 6.4% of gic-backed issuance has fallen in the 12-year plus part of the curve, with Principal achieving the longest maturity at the beginning of this year with a 31-year dollar trade. Principal's trade, a £

The new year is customarily a time of enormous activity in the capital markets and, if anything, this week exceeded the usual busy levels. The markets were very volatile, while prodigious amounts of new debt were offered in dollars. Approximately $25bn was launched during the week and much more is in the pipeline. Much of the new supply was swapped, which exerted tremendous downside pressure on swap spreads. At the week's lows, five and 10 year dollar swap spreads were trading at 83.5bp over the comparable Treasuries. It is salutary to remember that in the first week of December, 10 year swap spreads were close to 120bp over the 5.75% August 2010 Treasury.