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n International Finance Corp Rating: Aaa/AAA

SPECULATION mounted this week that Koninklijke Ahold (Royal Ahold) has approached the loan market for a jumbo facility - possibly around $5bn - so that it has financing in place to proceed with the acquisition of a large retailing company in the UK. Possible takeover targets suggested by loan market participants include Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer.

CHASE Manhattan, Chase Securities, Deutsche Bank and Deutsche Bank Securities have closed general syndication of the $17bn senior debt package of revolving credits for DaimlerChrysler by the close of business today (Friday). Just under $23.5bn was raised in total from 49 banks, prompting the borrower to consider an increase. However, bankers say this is unlikely and that banks will have to be scaled back.

Telkom, South Africa's leading telecommunications company, this week kicked off its 1999/2000 funding programme with a R1.5bn reopening of its R2bn 13% May 31, 2004 bond - known as the TL08 - via JP Morgan and Standard Corporate and Merchant Bank. The tap was launched on Wednesday following investor presentations in Cape Town and Johannesburg. It forms the first leg of a domestic funding programme which this year should see Telkom raise R6.5bn, of which around R5bn is set to come from bond issues.

Denmark Bankers believe that JP Morgan and HSBC are the winners of the mandate to arrange a $800m acquisition financing for AP Moller-Maersk Line, the Danish shipping company, following its purchase of CSX Corp's Sea-Land shipping operations.

SHINHAN Bank has become the latest Korean bank to tap the market for funds with a $100m 364 day facility through co-ordinating arranger BA Asia. The borrower is following the lead set by Korea Exchange Bank and Hanvit Bank as Korean banks slowly filter back into the international markets after a prolonged absence due to the Asian financial crisis.

n International Finance Corp Rating: Aaa/AAA

MORGAN Stanley Dean Witter has broken the run of disappointing Spanish IPOs with the Eu600m sale of stock in Sogecable, the local media group subsidiary of Canal Plus. The Madrid stockmarket has been unimpressed by a number of mid-cap flotations and although investors welcomed Repsol's jumbo Eu4.8bn capital increase, other deals have not lived up to their promising expectations. With Sogecable, however, the book of demand was more than 20 times covered with an exceptionally high quality of buyers involved. This allowed the lead firm to price the shares at Eu23.50 - the top end of the indicated price range - and still see the stock trade well in the aftermarket.

Market commentary: compiled by Vusi Mhlanzi,