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Morningstar Japan made a strong debut on Nasdaq Japan last Friday, June 23, setting the stage for bullish flotations by other start-ups from internet investor Softbank Corp's stable, suggest analysts. The online investment information provider was first traded at ¥10m ($95,620) per share, up 43% from its initial public offering price of ¥7m. It finished its first trading day at ¥8.5m.

BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole Indosuez and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter are launching the Eu2bn IPO of French ISP Wanadoo today (Friday) in the first test of investor appetite for internet stocks from the country since the disastrous LibertySurf offering in March. The sale of 100m shares is set to close on July 13. Pricing will take place over the weekend of July 15/16 following the Bastille Day holiday.

The planned A$4bn IPO of the insurance arm of NRMA could be halved, with fewer than expected NRMA members expected to sell their shares into the local and global bookbuilding facility. Latest indications suggest that only about 10% of the 2m members will sell their shares into the facility. This is half the original estimate of 20% and well below the 27% tendered for cash in the AMP flotation of 1998.

The Chinese government successfully completed its plans to tap the yen market this week, issuing its first Samurai for five years and demonstrating that the Japanese appetite for quality foreign borrowers remains strong. The bond, rated A3/BBB, was at the lower end of bankers' expectations, which had been for an issue of ¥40bn-¥50bn. The ¥30bn transaction was priced at par with a spread of 40bp over Libor. Launched by Merrill Lynch Japan and Nomura Securities, the issue has a 1.72% coupon.

Indonesia BNP Paribas Peregrine is global co-ordinator for the Hong Kong GEM IPO of Indonesian company Across Asia Multimedia, which is controlled by the Riady family, known for its connection with Lippo Group. The company is selling 180m shares at HK$3.00-HK$3.40 per share, raising up to HK$612m at the top end of the range, but before greenshoe.

Flextronics International sold about $650m of 10 year senior subordinated notes this week in the high yield market, offering investors the first chance to buy Singaporean corporate debt in the international bond markets since April. The electronics manufacturing services provider's transaction was heavily oversubscribed. Under rule 144A and reg S, the company issued $500m of 10 year paper with a coupon of 9.875%, and a Eu150m 10 year tranche with a coupon of 9.75%. Salomon Smith Barney and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter were joint bookrunners. Flextronics used the dual currency tranche structure in order to reach a wider investor base.

The possibility of a jumbo share placement from China Telecom (HK) drew closer this week as the company announced plans to buy seven mobile phone networks from parent company China Mobile Communications. ChinaTel already owns networks in six mainland provinces, and the additional seven franchises could cost close to $20bn, according to analysts in Hong Kong. Bankers in Hong Kong said an issue of at least HK$40bn could emerge, making the deal as large as, or possibly larger than the recent Unicom IPO. Goldman Sachs and CICC arranged the ChinaTel IPO last year and the follow on placement this year will be tough to dislodge.

Bahrain The $100m loan for Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait has been signed, after about $175m was raised from the market.

RUSSIA will make its return to the international equity markets after a two year absence today (Friday) with the completion of the Deutsche Bank and ING Barings-led $330m IPO of Mobile TeleSystems, which closed around four times covered yesterday (Thursday). The success of the deal - the first equity offering since Russia defaulted on its sovereign debt in 1998 - has prompted Russia's number two mobile player, VimpelCom, to begin premarketing a $350m combined equity and convertible offering.

* Morgan Stanley Dean Witter priced Medigene's IPO at the top of the range this week. The deal will raise around Eu121m if the greenshoe is exercised. A total of 2.9m shares, including the greenshoe, were sold at Eu42. Bankers said the deal was 20 times covered, with strong demand from Germany and Switzerland. Most of the deal was sold to dedicated biotech funds.

* Merrill Lynch Europe, Middle East and Africa Investment Banking has made organisational changes, effective immediately. There will be a new operating committee which will develop responses to client needs and challenges in the market, the professional development of bankers, the use of technology, and co-ordination with other businesses.

Finland Goldman Sachs sold a 4.389m block of Sonera shares this week in a bought deal that raised Eu225m. The deal was launched and completed on Tuesday morning and the shares were offered flat to the then market price of Eu51.25. The purchase price was not disclosed.