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SOUTH AFRICA'S Investec Bank has arranged a P200m ($43m) five year commercial paper programme for Botswana Telecommunications Corporation. The maximum tenor allowed under the facility is 184 days while issuance can be in both dematerialised and registered form - a first for southern Africa. In the absence of a central depository in Botswana, PriceWaterhouseCoopers will act as registry to the programme.

SOUTH AFRICA'S Investec Bank has arranged a P200m ($43m) five year commercial paper programme for Botswana Telecommunications Corporation. The maximum tenor allowed under the facility is 184 days while issuance can be in both dematerialised and registered form - a first for southern Africa. In the absence of a central depository in Botswana, PriceWaterhouseCoopers will act as registry to the programme.

THE FIRST QUARTER of 2000 will host an unprecedented volume of equity linked debt from a spectacular variety of countries and issuers. In addition to a huge number of blue chip issuers, such as triple-A rated KfW and single-A rated Dutch supermarket group Royal Ahold, investors will have the opportunity to diversify into a rich universe of high yield convertible bonds through a host of European technology companies raising equity linked debt for the first time.

THE IRISH government this week confirmed it will proceed with the privatisation of national carrier, Aer Lingus. The Ministry of Public Enterprise has been considering various divestment options over the past few months. But after the carrier's agreement to join a strategic alliance with American Airlines and British Airlways, the government office is likely to plump for an IPO. If an IPO is chosen as the preferred route, Aer Lingus will have a dual listing in Dublin and London, unlike Eircom, sold off in the summer, which was fully registered in the US for a big board listing.

THE IRISH government this week confirmed it will proceed with the privatisation of national carrier, Aer Lingus. The Ministry of Public Enterprise has been considering various divestment options over the past few months. But after the carrier's agreement to join a strategic alliance with American Airlines and British Airlways, the government office is likely to plump for an IPO. If an IPO is chosen as the preferred route, Aer Lingus will have a dual listing in Dublin and London, unlike Eircom, sold off in the summer, which was fully registered in the US for a big board listing.

KPN and its six arrangers - ABN Amro, JP Morgan, Citibank, Dresdner, ING, and Warburg Dillon Read - plan to wrap up the co-arranging phase of the Eu13bn credit backing its role in the acquisition of E-Plus of Germany on December 22. Co-arrangers have been offered 16.25bp on the final allocated underwriting and 27.5bp on final allocated participation, having been asked to initially underwrite Eu750m each.

KPN and its six arrangers - ABN Amro, JP Morgan, Citibank, Dresdner, ING, and Warburg Dillon Read - plan to wrap up the co-arranging phase of the Eu13bn credit backing its role in the acquisition of E-Plus of Germany on December 22. Co-arrangers have been offered 16.25bp on the final allocated underwriting and 27.5bp on final allocated participation, having been asked to initially underwrite Eu750m each.

Brazil BancBoston and Citibank are working on documentation for a $100m five year amortising loan for

Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst, with Nabisco, has secured around £1.2bn of debt financing to back its proposed buy-out of United Biscuits. Chase Manhattan and DLJ are arranging the debt, of which the senior portions amount to between £770m and £795m. The rest is a £400m short term bridge loan that will be refinanced with a high yield bond, slated for launch in the first quarter of 2000 (see high yield bond story, page 3).

While the most melodramatic of millenarian fears have largely dissipated in the past few weeks, there is a great deal of uncertainty about the direction of rates and spreads in the new year and the great majority of US swap houses appear to be going into Y2K with flat positions. If there is a great deal of corporate issuance and much of it is unswapped, then spreads could spike up sharply as underwriters hedge unsold inventory with swaps. Fears of rate hikes could drive spreads higher as well and tempt end users to lock into fixed rate debt.

Egypt The $100m three year credit facility for Banque du Caire is fully subscribed according to arranger Sumitomo Bank. The arranger is still waiting on a couple of stragglers to build up an oversubscription.