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J.P. Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter launched syndication of a $400 million add-on term loan "C" to Level 3 Communications'existing $1.375 billion credit last week. Bankers noted that the strength of Level 3, reflected in its loans currently trading at 97/98, may prompt institutions to hold on to the existing term loan "B" priced at LIBOR plus 31/2 %. Calls to banks were not returned by press time.

Bank of America and Deutsche Bank held a bank meeting last week to launch syndication of a $150 million add-on to the existing credit of FairPoint Communications, Inc. The new credit adds $75 million to both an existing $67 million term loan "B" and $70 million term loan "C."

Australia's debt capital market is the most sophisticated in the region, and the potential is there for it to grow – but where is the supply going to come from? By Chris Wright

The 2000 year-end was a flurry of MBS activity in Australia. Investors hardly had time to develop their Christmas holiday snaps before National Australia Bank set a new benchmark for Australian originators with the launch of its global RMBS. Hard on its heels were three further term securitization issues each sporting an enticing new asset class. Mark B Johnson reviews the increasingly diverse world of Australian structured finance.

Australia's economic outlook is heavily dependent on the state of the US economy. That's a tough problem for a country that has already faced a year of distortions to its economic data. By Chris Wright.

Last year, the Australian stock market stood firm – no longer are the country's leading indices vulnerable to the vicissitudes of global commodity prices. Australia is now a broad-based services economy and the market is host to a diverse range of innovative, well-managed companies with a deserved reputation for their focus on shareholder value. Mark B Johnson reports.

In early February, at HSBC's Hong Kong headquarters, Asiamoney and HSBC jointly hosted a roundtable on cash management issues across the region. E-commerce – and the human barriers to its widespread acceptance – dominated the discussion.

Asiamoney's analysis of the health and efficiency of Asia's strongest banks, compiled together with Fitch IBCA, Duff & Phelps, reveals some surprises. But the name at the top surprises no-one: Hang Seng retains its top spot.

In early February, at HSBC's Hong Kong headquarters, Asiamoney and HSBC jointly hosted a roundtable on cash management issues across the region. E-commerce – and the human barriers to its widespread acceptance – dominated the discussion.

Custody, once a word for safe-keeping and settlement, now spawns a variety of value-added services as banks tap into profitable new areas to offset tough competition and wafer-thin margins. By Ben Davies.

US energy company Enron is once again involved in a face-off with the central government in New Delhi and the state government in Maharashtra. Differences arose after the state-run Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) stopped buying power from Enron's Dabhol Power Company in Maharashtra in western India in early January and also defaulted in the payment of power dues worth US$49 million for the months of November and December 2000. MSEB is the sole purchaser of electricity produced by Dahbol and when it stopped placing orders, Dahbol was forced to close down its plant. MSEB's action was in response to Dahbol's raising of its power prices which, in turn, was a response to the recent hike in the international price of naphtha, the fuel it uses. The gradual slide in value of the Indian rupee against the US dollar had also affected the price of electricity. Under the power purchase agreement between MSEB and Dahbol, payment is determined in US currency and though MSEB pays in Indian rupees, the amount is the rupee equivalent of the dollar amount.

For once, the Indonesian government did something right. After keeping the markets waiting for two years, a new telecoms industry deal was announced last month – to wide acclaim from local and foreign investors. The deal sets up a new competitive structure for the industry with two large privatized state-owned companies in competition for fixed-lines, mobile telecoms and multimedia. It ends the previous complex system of cross holdings linking PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) and PT Indonesia Satellite Corp (Indosat) and also offers a way forward in solving the vexed issue of unwinding an existing scheme of joint operations involving foreign partners in fixed-lines. This system is now uneconomic and is impeding further foreign investment in the sector.