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COMPETITION is hotting up among bankers pitching for the advisory mandate for Exchange Fund Investment (EFI), which holds HK$158bn ($20.4bn) in blue chip Hong Kong stocks bought with public funds during the authorities' market intervention last year. Meetings will finish on Saturday. The EFI holds 33 different stocks, which equate to around 7% of the Hang Seng Index.

WARBURG Dillon Read reopened the Taiwanese convertible sector this week with a $120m deal for Delta Electronics. While bankers were initially sceptical of the issue's potential for success given its pricing, by yesterday (Thursday) demand was strong with the book close to being covered.

China Shanghai Matsuoka aims to break a seven month hiatus in new issue activity on the Shanghai 'B' share market with a $30m IPO.

GOLDMAN Sachs remained confident of the success of Shandong International Power Development's (SIPD) $220m 'H' share offer this week amid expectations of a lower price range. In a move that surprised the market, Goldman's only concession to a resolutely negative market tone has been to keep the deal open over the weekend to spur greater US investor involvement.

THE REPUBLIC of Argentina was able to issue the first Euromarket offerings from a Latin American sovereign of 1999 this week as investor concerns about Brazil eased. The Ba3/BB rated sovereign tapped the euro sector for a total of Eu450m. The first element of Argentina's financing exercise comprised a Eu100m three year private placement via Credit Suisse First Boston, which the lead manager placed with a predominantly retail audience in Italy. Featuring an 8% coupon, the issue was priced to yield 8.74% on a re-offer price of 98.11 and will be listed on the Milan stock exchange.

China ING Barings, NatWest Markets and Sanwa Bank are arranging a project financing for the Changsha Power Project in Hunan Province, China. The total project cost is around $715m.

ACTIVITY IN the UK primary equity market is set to pick up sharply with a wide variety of IPOs due to be launched from a number of well known groups and relatively unfamiliar growth stocks over the coming weeks. Merrill Lynch has won the books to lead the IPO of shares in Morse Computers, a provider of technical software systems.

IS THERE A cloud of doom and gloom hanging over the architecturally tired HQ of Société Générale in the City of London? The exact address of the office is Primrose Street, but have all the petals fallen off and the bloom faded? Now that the bank has bought Paribas, is there a dark black cloud hovering overhead without a silver lining?

RECENT rallies in internet stock prices show there is more than enough life left in the sector to sustain current valuations and perhaps create a few more hot performers. But the huge swings experienced by many internet stocks, even market favourites, have left analysts increasingly worried that the long-predicted shake-out is becoming imminent.

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CONFUSION reigned in the Euro-drachma market this week following the reopening of a BCI-led Italy step-down transaction by different lead managers just days after its launch. The highly unusual step -- which runs against IPMA recommendations that deals should not be increased by different lead managers before the payment date -- was taken with the full consent of BCI.