Search results for

India The Indian government has announced plans to allow corporates to use proceeds from GDR to retire overseas debt. The government had been reluctant to allow the move because of the increased cost of debt in recent months. An official said there were now no restrictions on the use of GDR profits.

THAILAND's Financial Sector Restructuring Authority brought its largest asset sale to a disappointing close this week, as bidders demanded steep discounts for taking on delinquent business loans originated by the country's 56 liquidated finance companies. Candidates ignored six of the 45 tranches of business loans altogether, and bids on 30 tranches fell below the FRA's internal assessment of their minimum value.

FUJI SECURITIES this week launched a highly innovative club funding vehicle for Japanese corporates, raising ¥70bn for 17 companies whose access to the capital markets has been constrained by Japan's credit and liquidity crisis. Launched through special purpose vehicle One-For-All Asset Funding Co, the three year deal is a securitisation of Eurobonds issued by each of the corporates, specifically for this transaction.

THE SOARING domestic market has prompted the Korean government to list existing non-government shares in Korea Telecom, setting the stage for the company's Morgan Stanley-led flotation in the depositary receipt market next year. A total of 28.2% of the company is currently owned by domestic investors through OTC shares, with the remaining 71.2% held by the government. Of the non-government stock, around half is held by individual investors with domestic institutions and KT staff holding the balance. KT staff cannot sell their shares for seven years.

THE MANDATE to lead a ¥70bn bond for the Kingdom of Thailand insured by Japan's Ministry of Trade & Industry (MITI) has been thrown open to competition. Asian bankers said that although MITI had initially assigned the deal to Citicorp, it eventually bowed to pressure from the Thai government which argued that it was the issuer's prerogative to select lead managers. As a result, while the US bank remains on a shortlist, it has now been joined by a couple of other banks invited to bid by the government's fiscal policy office.

THE FIRST public securitisation from the Republic of Korea may be launched as early as today (Friday), with the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Kexim) hoping to raise $650m from an issue backed by its pool of promissory notes. Ironically, after a year which the bond markets have been all but closed to the republic's benchmark borrowers, the Ba2/BB+ rated bank may be able to issue its first offering of 1998 just before the markets close for Christmas.

* Moody's has assigned first time ratings to Land Bank of Taiwan, the island republic's third largest bank. Awarding an A2 long term foreign currency deposit rating, Prime-2 short-term foreign currency deposit rating and D+ Bank Financial Strength Rating, the agency said that its decision largely reflected the bank's, "long history and significant franchise in real estate and agricultural lending, as well as its stable and professional management team".

THE JAPANESE government sale of NTT shares raised $7.38bn this week, ending a 10 year hiatus in the privatisation of the company and proving wrong those that believed DoCoMo had saturated appetite for Japanese telcos. Daiwa Securities, Goldman Sachs and Warburg Dillon Read were global co-ordinators for the 1m share offer which priced at ¥855,000 * a discount of 3.06% to the stock's close of ¥882,000 on Monday.

5921

* Countrywide Home Loans Guarantor: Countrywide Credit Industries

Croatia Deutsche Bank London aims to sign up participant banks in the DM100m 364 day bridge loan for Autocesta Rijeka Zagreb by the end of December. Retail is scheduled to close next week.

* Banca Intesa SpA Rating: BBB