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Australia's first euro-denominated transaction was launched into inhospitable market conditions this week, with ABN Amro and Chase Manhattan lead managing a Eu300m offering for Publishing and Broadcasting Finance Ltd (PBL), the media and gaming arm of the Kerry Packer group. The seven year fixed rate transaction represented the Baa1/A- rated group's second attempt to access the international capital markets for its debut funding. Having previously roadshowed across the US in July, the group abandoned plans for a Chase-led $400m Yankee after investors demanded a large risk premium.

Following the successful completion of its Brady bond offering, the Republic of the Philippines has turned its attention to an ambitious plan to clear its balance sheet of poorly performing public housing sector loans. Having made housing growth a key engine of economic recovery, the government hopes to add further momentum by realising the value of its existing public sector mortgage portfolios through selling their receivables to private investment firms within a three month timeframe.

Australian non-bank mortgage lender RAMS Home Loans Pty Ltd returned to the Euromarket this week to issue MBS in a mixture of euros and dollars. Lead manager JP Morgan held a roadshow in Europe in August to explore demand for a euro denominated deal and found strong interest from continental investors. However, by the time of launch the heavy supply of European MBS had sated some of that demand, and the lead placed the deal's largest tranche in dollars.

The Australian government's A$15.1bn sale of Telstra tranche 2 bore the full brunt of turbulent international markets with an unsteady debut which eventually recovered to parity. The deal was the largest equity offering so far this year (soon to be eclipsed by NTT) and the largest offer in Australian history - enough to lend it a special status.

The successful and straightforward completion of a maiden international bond offering by the Export Import Bank of China (Chexim) yesterday (Thursday) provided an important marker of the momentum building behind China Telecom's (CT) much anticipated debut. Scheduled to price on October 28, CT's five year SEC registered global has already garnered a massive, albeit price sensitive book in advance of roadshows which began in the US on Thursday.

? Aegon Funding Corp Guarantor: Aegon NV

? Allied Irish Banks Rating: Aa3/A+

Weak stockmarkets offered bonds their first support for some time this week as nerves about the valuation of US stocks and the recent rise in bond yields prompted flows into government bond markets.

Austria RHI Finance ApS has signed a Eu440m acquisition finance transaction with a seven bank club. The tenor is eight years with a bi-annual amortisation.

PRICING for Turk Ekonomi Bankasi's latest mandate - a $35m 365 day term loan - has climbed, reflecting lenders' worries over Turkish deals in the run-up to year end and the overhang of paper from the bank in the market. Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank (books, publicity), Greenwich NatWest (facility agent, info memo) and Natexis Banque (documentation) launched the deal into syndication this week. The bank is offering a margin of 75bp and in syndication co-arrangers earn 80bp for commitments of $4m.

Abbey National raised $1bn in a blowout Yankee deal this week by giving investors the rare opportunity to buy lower tier 2 subordinated bank debt with a 30 year maturity. Normally lower tier 2 debt is in the 10 year maturity range. But Abbey, on the advice of lead managers Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch, decided to take full advantage of the current lack of US bond supply, especially at the longer end of the yield curve.

Argentina this week sneaked in one more bond issue before its presidential elections on Sunday by adding Eu250m to its 2002 bond launched in September by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. The addition takes the 2002 bond to Eu500m in size and was done at a spread of 491bp, compared with a launch spread of 536bp on the initial offering.