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* Abbey National plc Rating: aa3/A-

Two supranationals have shown an interest in Hong Kong dollar. Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) issued a five-year HK$130 million ($16.7 million) trade that pays a fixed coupon of 5.7%. And Council of Europe Development Bank made a HK$800 million trade that goes out to February 2004. It pays 5.75%. Samu Slotte, senior funding officer at Nordic Investment Bank, is keen to keep an eye on the Hong Kong dollar sector. He says: "We have a budget this year of about euro2.5 billion ($2.32 billion). Although it is hard to say how much of this will come in the form of Hong Kong dollar, we are constantly looking at the area as a good source of funds."

Frenetic business seen in the primary debt markets and the derivatives sector since the year began, calmed this week. Both dealers and customers seemed to be taking a breather after their exertions in the first weeks of 2001. By Thursday (yesterday), the five year dollar swap spread mid-market was about 83bp against the re-opened 5.75% November 2005 Treasury. The 10 year swap had pushed out to 94bp over the new 5% February 2011 Treasury, but this sudden widening of the swap spread is due to the 10bp roll between the old 10 year note and the WI. The actual swap yield at 10 years has remained largely unchanged over the last week -about 6%.

Angola Market sources say Standard Chartered has closed the first level of syndication for a possible $450m deal for Sonangol UEE. The underwriting phase was closed oversubscribed. The possibility of an increase is being discussed. If there is no increase the deal will not go to general syndication.

Air Liquide is due to sign a euro2 billion ($1.86 billion) MTN programme today, February 9 2001. BNP Paribas has scooped the arrangership. Air Liquide last month bought the Austrian activities of Linde for euro135 million. Linde has an existing euro4 billion Euro-MTN programme, which was set up in April 2000. The programme has $1.37 million outstanding off 19 trades and includes four of the dealers appointed to Air Liquide's dealer panel. Air Liquide, which was founded in 1902, specializes in industrial and medical gases and has 125 subsidiaries in 60 countries. The dealers off the programme are ABN Amro, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, JP Morgan Chase, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Natexis Banque Populaires and UBS Warburg. This is the seventh programme BNP Paribas has arranged since the beginning of 2000.

Europe * Preferred Residential Securities 3 plc

Australia CSFB Australia and UBS Warburg are inviting sub-underwriters into a A$640m six year financing for Amatek Industries, a building products company.

Credit events this week, including Ford and General Motors being placed on negative outlook by S&P, and renewed pressure on telecoms spreads, failed to dent investor enthusiasm for corporate paper, allowing several issuers to increase the size of their offerings and tighten spreads through price talk. The return of the triple-Bs was particularly noteworthy since the sector had been absent from the market for several weeks. Baa1/BBB+ Birka Energi had an order book of over Eu1.6bn for a Eu500m seven year bond and US retailer Toys "R" Us, rated A3/BBB+, increased the size of its five year bond from Eu300m to Eu500m, having attracted a book of Eu1.25bn.

* Eurohypo AG Rating: Aaa/AAA

Tele Danmark has issued a ¥5 billion ($43.25 million) plain vanilla trade that pays a final coupon of 0.57%. The company has sold three euro trades so far this year, each for about euro50 million ($46.82 million). But this is the first yen trade and it will mature in December this year.

Triple-B corporate bonds made a stunning comeback this week in euros, reversing a trend that has been in place since the credit market came under pressure in the fourth quarter of last year. Swedish utility Birka Energi spearheaded the action, launching a highly successful Eu500m seven year bond via ABN Amro and Schroder Salomon Smith Barney.