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ARRANGERS ABN Amro and Merrill Lynch will wrap up the co-arranging phase of the controversial $3bn credit backing VNU's acquisition of Nielson over the next few days. Some six banks, thought to be Abbey National Treasury Services, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Fortis, ING and Rabobank, have already joined, committing $500m each. Banks have already been scaled back to $375m - $25m below original targets. At least one further bank is to join by the middle of next week, thereby further reducing commitments.

Ghana Euroweek hears that Barclays has received a verbal mandate from Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod). Barclays was unavailable for comment. However the amount required is $300m and the margin is around 35bp over Libor.

The Republic of Argentina, stymied by the lack of any sign of investor interest in straight emerging market dollar bonds, is hoping to issue a $700m to $1bn bond backed by a World Bank loan. Details of the possible deal surfaced this week after Argentine officials revealed they were negotiating a $200m to $300m loan with the World Bank to back sovereign debt.

Europe n Iberbond 1999 Plc

Australia The $920m project financing for Southern Cross Cables signed in December 1998 has been called off by sponsors Cable & Wireless Optus, MCI WorldCom and Telecom Corp of New Zealand.

ARRANGERS OF the £2bn credit for British Aerospace - HSBC (books), Lloyds Bank Capital Markets (agent), Barclays (books), Citibank, Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and Greenwich NatWest - have wrapped up the co-arranging level, after more than 30 banks joined up. They are Argentaria, ABN Amro, Arab Bank, ANZ, Banca di Roma, Bayerische Landesbank, Bank of America, Banca Commerciale Italiana, Banque Nationale de Paris, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Commercial Bank of Australia, Chase Manhattan, Commerzbank, Crédit Lyonnais, DG Bank, First National Bank of Chicago, HypoVereinsbank, JP Morgan, KBC Bank, Paribas, Royal Bank of Scotland, Bank of Nova Scotia, SG, Toronto-Dominion, UniCredito, Wachovia, Warburg Dillon Read, WestLB, Dai-Ichi Kangyo and Sumitomo.

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Belgian telecommunications group Belgacom is to target international CP investors for the first time following the revision of its domestic CP facility. Its existing Bfr20bn domestic programme has been updated and now has a new ceiling of Eu1bn. Three international banks - Citibank, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs - have joined KBC and ING Barings/BBL as dealers on the facility.

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