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GLOBAL co-ordinators, ABN Amro Rothschild, Nomura and Union Bank of Estonia, this week launched the privatisation sale of stock in Estonia Telecom. Although the transaction was known to be on the cards for the early part of this year -- last year the three banks won the mandate to lead the country's largest international equity issue after a hugely competitive beauty parade -- the speed of execution surprised some bankers.

MEMORIES of 1998 proved short-lived this week as the international capital market greeted the new year with an explosion of debt issues from across the credit spectrum.

THE CITY of Florence has inaugurated its newly signed global MTN programme with a $29m 144A issue. Although a series of presentations before the deal's launch generated strong demand across Europe as well as the US, the city opted for a purely US transaction. The 15 year issue fixed rate issue, which has a linear amortising structure and an average life of 7.5 years, came at a spread of 85bp over the 10 year Treasury. The deal was sole lead managed by Merrill Lynch, arranger of the $300m global MTN programme. There is no further group.

THE PIPELINE of new issuance in Europe's high yield market is filling up fast with two issues already being roadshowed and many more believed primed for launch in the coming weeks. A bullish tone to the secondary market has provided a positive backdrop to roadshows for high yield transactions for Willis Corroon and Completel, which both started this week.

TURKISH borrowers will find it hard this year to beat 1998, in terms of successfully syndicated deals. Nearly every 1998 deal was oversubscribed and apart from the final two months of the year, liquidity, or the lack of it, was not an issue.

Commerzbank AG Rating: Aa3/AA-

THE GREEK government will this year seek to divest a fourth tranche of its national operator, OTE. The forthcoming sale of stock in OTE may raise around $500m. However the identity of the lead managers has yet to be confirmed. The Greek government has a history of revolving its favours among groups of international investment banks although it has tended to focus on a group including CSFB, HSBC and Salomon Smith Barney, in addition to a local bank.

>* DePfa Rating: Aa3

WITH THE US market moving through 9,500 for the first time Wall Street's investment banks are set to launch a wide variety of new equity issues in the first weeks of 1999. The 223 point surge in the broad market was fuelled by investors bidding up hi-tech and blue chip stocks on the back of the merger negotiations between AirTouch and Vodafone. Nasdaq, too, benefited from a surge in activity by gaining ground to more than 2,320.

Norway Bankgesellschaft Berlin has signed the $95m (increased from $75m) four year less one day revolving credit for Sparebanken Rogaland.

WESTLB (bookrunner), ABN Amro, Deutsche and Warburg Dillon Read have launched the DM1.7bn facility backing Swiss Air's purchase of a 49.9% stake in LTU to co-arrangers. Euroweek hears that the arrangers are offering an underwriting fee of between 10bp and 15bp. The debt package consists of a DM1.2bn bridge facility that carries a margin of 50bp over Libor and a commitment fee of 25bp, and a DM500m eight year term loan that carries a margin of 125bp, has a one year grace period and will be repaid in 14 semi-annual installments.

THE FRENCH government is set to launch the sale of Air France in the next two weeks. The Trésor is expected to sell some 50% of the group through lead managers SG and Banque Indosuez Agricole in a deal that could be worth over Ffr5bn (Eu765m). The lead managers have this week been sending out invitations to international and domestic investment banks to pitch for co-lead and co-manager positions, with syndicate desks in London and Paris reporting that they are entering a remarkably busy period as lead managers select syndicates in advance of the rush to execute new business.