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Nikko Principal Investments Ltd (NPIL) this week acquired a UK residential and commercial mortgage servicing company from the Bank of England for an undisclosed sum. The company, formerly National Mortgage Bank and now called The NMB Group Plc, belonged in the 1980s to National Home Loans, the centralised lender that is now called The Paragon Group of Companies. The Bank of England took over NMB as part of a stabilisation package for National Home Loans after the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI).

UK mortgage bank Northern Rock's £750m MBS issue is already oversubscribed, even though lead manager JP Morgan will not launch the deal until next week. "We have a runaway success on our hands," said Nick Morgan, head of asset backed syndicate at JP Morgan in London. "Taking the higher end of investors' preliminary order ranges, the triple-A tranche is 50% oversubscribed, and even at the lower end, we are 100% sold. All three co-leads are looking for extra bonds to add to their 10% allocations."

EGYPT IS FAST becoming one of the most attractive investment opportunities in the Middle East. The loan market may be budding rather than flourishing but banks are keen, maturities are pushing out, and borrowing prospects for the year look robust.

All weather derivative contracts for trading or speculative purposes should be accounted for at their fair value, with subsequent changes in fair value reported in earnings.

THE REPUBLIC of Korea's three policy banks are preparing for an active return to the international debt markets this year, although the first deal may not emerge until the second quarter. Of the three, only the Korea Development Bank was particularly active during 1999. It is widely expected to be not only the first to return this year, but also the first domestic bank to issue in euros.

Two telecom companies are this week demonstrating the importance of geographical location to investors despite the coming of the global communications age. Flag Telecom and Carrier1 have similar carrier operations and are generating considerable interest from investors. However, each issue is attracting a different type of investor, due to the location of the companies and their assets.

The outcome of Beijing Capital International Airport's (BCIA) $500m IPO became the subject of debate this week. ABN Amro claims the deal will be a success, but other bankers say demand for shares is sufficient only for a very modest oversubscription. The Hong Kong public offering closed January 26, and although the official result was not available yesterday (Thursday), sources in Hong Kong report demand for only 70% of the stock. The international placement is due to close today (Friday) New York time, with the final price announced later today, London time.

BNP PRIME Peregrine this week completed the sale of a block of 188m shares in Hong Kong listed Pacific Century CyberWorks Ltd, raising HK$2.97bn. The accelerated bookbuild offering was structured as a top up placement and met with strong demand from Asian and international investors. The transaction was completed on Tuesday January 25 and priced at HK$15.80, a discount of 5.1% to the market price of HK$16.65 when trading was suspended on Tuesday afternoon. The stock began trading again on January 26, and by Thursday January 27 the shares had traded up to HK$18.75.

SALOMON Smith Barney today (Friday) priced the ST Assembly & Test Services (STATS) IPO considerably above the indicated range, raising up to $284m for the Singaporean spin-off. The shares had been expected to price at between $12 and $14 per ADR but enormous demand for the deal led to pricing at $21 per ADR. A level of oversubscription has not been released but it is likely to surpass Chartered Semiconductor's 16 times coverage last year.

PHILIPPINES conglomerate JG Summit is shaping up to be the first international borrower from the republic this year, with ambitions to raise $200m in five year funds via Goldman Sachs. While officials at the US investment bank said that the launch of any Philippines' corporate deals are unlikely in the current Treasury environment, sources close to the company said a deal is expected within the next month, ahead of a prospective Lehman-led offering for the National Power Corporation (Napocor).

China Red Chip China Aerospace International Holdings Ltd has placed 357m existing shares at HK$1.80 per share, raising HK$643m ($83m). The deal was arranged by ING Baring Securities (Hong Kong) Ltd, sole bookrunner and lead manager, as a Hong Kong-style 'old' for 'new' top-up placement.

HYPOVEREINSBANK is poised to beat WestLB Panmure in the race to complete the first convertible for a Neuer Markt stock. HVB launched roadshows this week for IT firm Augusta Technologie's Eu75m five year issue while WestLB will launch the much larger Eu400m five year issue for EmTV on February 1.