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Australia Publishing and Broadcasting Limited raised A$500m through a share placement this week, arranged by JB Were. A total of 48.59m shares were sold at A$10.29 each -- a 6.28% discount to the company's closing price of A$10.98. The deal represents around 9.8% of the company's capital.

THE TERRITORY of Guam is planning to launch its first public bond issue within the next month. Led by PaineWebber, a $350m transaction by the Guam Power Authority has been designed as a means of refinancing the group's existing bank debt and raising new funds. As an unincorporated territory of the US, the Micronesian island has tax exempt status under US law and as such bankers said that the group can source extremely cost effective funding in the US municipal bond market.

SINGAPORE's Housing & Development Board (HDB) is planning to launch its second public bond issue in the domestic capital markets over the next two weeks. The domestic statutory board had originally hoped to issue a follow-up transaction to its early February debut last month, but pushed its plans back because of competing transactions from Ford, the Nordic Investment Bank and the EBRD.

OPINION remains divided over whether the Hong Kong equity market is enjoying a fresh bout of opportunism, or a sustainable rally which will encourage new deals to the market. This is despite a series of successful placements in the Hong Kong market that raised around $330m this week.

DESPITE a worsening political situation in Indonesia, investors flocked to both Asia Pulp and Paper's $351m ADR sale and a $60m sale of the government's stake in Indofood Sukses Makmur this week. Bankers cited the deals as proof that good companies can do deals even in the most difficult circumstances.

THE AUSTRALIAN domestic corporate bond market finally came of age this week with the launch of the first true public issue from an industrial triple-B credit. The A$150m transaction from local media group John Fairfax Holdings -- which was overwhelmingly successful and increased -- was hailed by market participants as a watershed in the market's development as it moves beyond the bank and high grade market towards a full credit spectrum of issuers.

THE ASIAN Development Bank's $1.25bn global bond secured a strong response for the ADB's first major benchmark of the year late last week. Led by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, the five year deal was increased from its original $1bn issue size after particularly heavy buying from Asian investors fed through into Europe and later the US.

CONFIDENCE appeared to have returned to the Singapore economy this week, with strong demand reported for the $130m IPO for Allgreen Properties. Two share placements were also completed, while a slew of small domestic IPOs reinforced the feeling that confidence is steadily returning to the region. Bankers said the Allgreen IPO, led by DBS and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, is already four times oversubscribed and was likely to be a great success.

A STRONGER than expected secondary market performance by Asia's first two euro denominated offerings from Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa and the Republic of the Philippines has prompted the region's benchmark borrowers to consider the new market. Bankers said that although Korea Electric Power Corporation's (Kepco) prospective Eu300m to Eu500m debut has been pushed back to early June, it may swiftly be followed by deals from the People's Republic of China and the MTRC, as well as a potential offering from the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand.

AYALA CORP has appointed Lehman Brothers as bookrunner and ING Barings as joint lead manager for its forthcoming sale of $300m of a new class of shares to international investors. The sale of the stock, labelled 'X shares', has already been passed by Ayala's board and is expected to be approved by shareholders today (Friday).

JP MORGAN is readying a second transaction from its new Sequils-Mincs structure, a state of the art form of cashflow arbitrage CLO. The bank declined to comment, but is believed to have inaugurated the structure earlier this month with an issue of $826.46m of bonds in two tranches, conveying exposure to a $712.46m portfolio of leveraged loans.