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TELSTRA has added a step-up coupon protecting investors against future downgrades in an attempt to attract buyers to its Eu1bn 10 year bond issue, lead managed by BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank, which will be launched around June 5. The added feature emerged from the Australian telecommunications giant's European roadshows which ran for a fortnight earlier in the month. It is the company's reaction to a widening of spreads on its existing bonds after a costly series of rating actions.

IN A surprise announcement yesterday (Thursday), Vodafone Pacific postponed its planned IPO just days before a global roadshow was due to begin. But parent company Vodafone Airtouch remains committed to listing its Australian operations should the volatility in global markets decrease and if sentiment towards telecommunications stocks improves. However, the window of opportunity in the coming months will be slim as the European and US holiday season looms and as Sydney prepares for the Olympics in September.

SALOMON Smith Barney completed an unlikely block trade for Digi.com on Wednesday, raising $135m (equivalent) for undisclosed sellers. Digi.com is the third largest mobile phone operator in Malaysia and the number one prepaid mobile phone company. The unexpected block deal was executed despite the declines on Nasdaq and falling telecoms share values around the globe. Digi.com shares closed at M$8.40 on Tuesday and Salomon placed the block of 67m secondary shares at M$7.60, a discount of 9.5% on Wednesday. Some 50% of the shares went to fund managers based in Asia, 40% to European institutions and 10% to US buyers. The deal comes just one week before Malaysia is reinstated in the Morgan Stanley Capital Index for Asia (ex Japan). As of June 1, regional index funds will need to focus more attention on the Malaysian market, which was pulled from the regional MSCI following the imposition of capital controls in 1998.

Australia Merrill Lynch on Wednesday completed a primary market fund raising of A$111.75m for AXA Australia Diversified Trust, the country's 10th largest real estate investment trust.

LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the French luxury goods manufacturer and retailer, has launched a S$100m one year bond via lead manager Deutsche Bank. The bond launched LVMH's Euro-MTN programme, which Deutsche arranged earlier this month. It had a reoffer price of par with a coupon of 3.55% - in line with Singapore dollar deals launched by corporates earlier this year. Overseas Union Bank was co-lead manager.

China International ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) lowered its ratings on Zhuhai Highway Co's $86m senior notes due 2006 to BB- from BBB-, and its $115m subordinated notes due 2008 to B- from B+ this week, with the ratings remaining on CreditWatch.

POWER Finance Corp (PFC) of India still has not confirmed a Yankee bond mandate which attracted competitive bidding from an array of banks more than two weeks ago. Increasingly, bankers believe that the issuer, which took bids for a $150m-$200m 10 year deal from eight groups of banks, has turned away from the bond market and is preparing a loan.

KERRY Packer has succeeded in raising new money for listed company Fairfax Trust. It will soon change its name to CPH Investment Corp and become an acquisition vehicle scouring the Australian market for undervalued assets. However, the A$240m Packer has secured from mainly retail investors is more like battle rations than the A$600m warchest Packer and lead manager Merrill Lynch sought when the deal first emerged several months ago. Nevertheless, the completion in such difficult market conditions is a vote of confidence in the Packer investment touch.

SEMICONDUCTOR packaging company Siliconware Precision Industries has decided to brave the turbulent markets and proceed with its planned sale of 30m American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) to raise around $333m in fresh capital. The deal was placed on hold recently after the Asian leg of the international roadshow had begun. DLJ has emerged as joint bookrunner with Credit Suisse First Boston. Previously, DLJ was joint lead manager and CSFB sole bookrunner.

THE roadshow for the sale of American Depositary Shares (ADSs) in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) began this week. The issue will be priced on June 1. Approval was obtained last week from the Taiwanese authorities. The issue will total 28m ADSs before the greenshoe and will include 23m new shares and 5m secondary shares issued by the controlling shareholders and management. There is a 15% greenshoe option. Goldman Sachs is lead manager for the issue. Merrill Lynch and Warburg Dillon Read are co-lead managers. TSMC shares were again under pressure this week, the ADSs falling to $33 on Wednesday in New York. The premium at which the ADSs trade to the ordinary stock has also been falling, indicating greater selling pressure on Nasdaq than in the domestic Taipei market. The ADSs have traded at a premium of 68% on average this year, but this had slumped to 37% by Wednesday. The reduction also highlights the fact that more foreign investors are seeking and obtaining approval to become qualified foreign investors and are therefore able to invest directly - at a far lower price - in the local stock.

* European Investment Bank Rating: AAA

The dollar and euro markets offered reasons for optimism to borrowers and syndicate officials this week, with US markets stabilising after the previous week's 50bp rate increase and credit product in Europe attracting investors off the sidelines. Market participants are hopeful that should levels remain steady over the coming short week, borrowers may be able to take advantage of the new, albeit wider levels. Nevertheless, the dollar market remains prone to volatility. Along with the regular swings in the Nasdaq, the release of congressional testimony relating to US agencies continues to generate swings in the swap and corporate bond markets. "A year ago you started jumping up and down when you saw an 8bp shift in swaps," said one banker, "but nowadays nobody bats an eyelid." The ADB took advantage of one such move this week when it launched a $1bn five year global, the first issue in the maturity since the FOMC meeting. Launched on Tuesday, the supranational's issue was priced flat to Fannie Mae at 92bp over Treasuries and 2bp back from the IFC. However, Fannie Mae quickly regained its superior position, trading 3bp through the ADB by Wednesday. The tightening came as no surprise as on Tuesday the agency curve had been hit by the release of comments by Greenspan critical of the privileges enjoyed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The extent to which the agency market rebounded after the brief widening was demonstrated by Freddie Mac pricing a $5bn Reference Note on Wednesday that had been launched with the standard minimum of $3bn on Tuesday. "This transaction demonstrates that there is still good appetite at the short end because of the inversion of the curve and because investors are still bearish on interest rates," said a syndicate official involved in the Freddie Mac note. EIB, Federal Farm Credit Bank and GECC all took advantage of similar opportunities, tapping the two year area of the dollar curve. "Headline spreads are attractive and the absolute yields available are drawing new cash in," said a banker involved in this week's short dated issuance. Investor enthusiasm for the short end has prompted KPN to plan a Eu5bn equivalent fundraising exercise next week that will include a one year dollar floater, a two year euro floater and a three year fixed rate euro tranche. Bank of America and Schroder Salomon Smith Barney will lead manage the jumbo offering. The multi-currency offering follows similar short dated fundings by France Télécom, which issued Eu4bn and $1bn of 18 month FRNs at the end of March, and Vodafone, which raised $3.75bn of June 2001 and December 2001 floating funds at the start of May. The two transactions demonstrated that fears over the credit quality of telcos and concerns of oversupply could be overcome. KPN will also follow Vodafone's lead by including credit sensitive coupons - which also feature on Telstra's planned Eu1bn 10 year via BNP Paribas and Deutsche the week beginning June 5. Ahold's Eu1.5bn five year issue this week underlined investors' reluctance to extend past five years for lower rated credits. The A3/A- retailer, both of whose ratings are on negative outlook, dropped a possible 10 year tranche for lack of demand. The five year proved too attractive to resist for hundreds of accounts at a spread equivalent to Euribor plus 80bp. A1 rated Südzucker of Germany succeeded in raising 10 year funds, but only at more than 10bp wider than syndicate officials were expecting a week earlier. Deutsche Bahn attracted strong demand for its first issue as a rated borrower, pricing a few basis points from its curve, but the Eu1bn 10 year issue profited from the company's double-A credit quality. But while all eyes were watching the corporate market, Eurohypo Luxembourg launched the first ever jumbo in the Grand Duchy's new lettres de gage market. Priced at 51bp over the Bobl, the Eu1bn five year transaction followed months of preparation and was executed the week after the market's regulations were finalised. Bankers praised Eurohypo for balancing competitive funding levels for a new borrower with a sufficient pick up over Pfandbriefe.