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THE MASS Transit Railway Corporation (MTRC) reopened the international debt markets for Hong Kong credits yesterday (Thursday) with the company's first ever global bond. Led by Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch, the increased $750m 10 year transaction was priced at 99.584 to yield 287.5bp over Treasuries, the tight end of its indicative range, but at the wide end of market expectations.

China The China Securities Regulatory Commission is set to change IPO rules to give issuers and underwriters greater freedom in making decisions in the domestic market. Analysts said the move was intended to allow companies to price at levels that were more appropriate to their business, rather than forcing a norm across a variety of industries.

THE INDEPENDENT State of Papua New Guinea is considering turning to the capital markets for financing to help bridge a projected budget deficit of 2.9% for the 1999 fiscal year. Deputy prime minister Iairo Lasaro told Euroweek that a government delegation is currently in Australia with the aim of canvassing the banking community for possible options.

THE REPUBLIC of the Philippines has finally ended speculation about the composition of syndicate places for its forthcoming euro-denominated bond, when it issued an official announcement yesterday (Thursday). Officials confirmed that, while the original joint lead managers JP Morgan and Warburg Dillon Read will retain their status, they will also now be joined by Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs -- which have been assigned joint lead roles.

INVESTORS flocked to Winbond's successful debut GDR issue this week with the Taiwanese electronics giant raising $171.75m. But despite its eventual success, the sale stirred up a hornets nest of complaints from syndicate members who labelled it the worst co-ordinated Asian equity deal in recent history. Winbond is widely admired as a strong player in the DRAM industry and the deal was three times oversubscribed. ABN Amro had sole books and was joint lead manager on the transaction with Lehman Brothers. ING Barings was senior co-lead with CIBC, Jardine Fleming, Paribas and SG co-lead managers.

THE REPUBLIC of Korea's upgrade back to investment grade status by Standard & Poor's this week is unlikely to open the floodgates to sizeable vanilla funding by domestic entities in the international debt markets. With the Ministry of Finance & the Economy (Mofe) making plain its intention to promote debt reduction and a greater use of the Korea's domestic debt markets, both the Korea Development Bank (KDB) and Export-Import Bank of Korea (Kexim) are likely to remain on the sidelines until later in the year.

GENERAL Electric Capital Corporation became the first foreign corporate to issue in the Singapore dollar bond market this week with a S$300m ($177m) Deutsche Bank led deal. Priced at par with a semi-annual coupon of 3.75%, the triple-A credit achieved a 75bp spread over government bonds, compared to the 50bp-55bp level paid by the International Finance Corp (IFC) when it launched a similarly sized three year deal last October via Citicorp. Fees totalled 30bp.

* Japanese finance company Credia has completed a rare securitisation of revolving consumer loans through ING Barings. Japanese investors bought the whole ¥30bn issue, rated AAA by Japan Credit Rating Agency. Credia Capital Ltd priced at par, and pays a 2.6% coupon to its four year bullet maturity. ING Barings has arranged an MTN programme for Credia, giving it flexibility to securitise again.

BANGKOK Bank completed the largest ever exchange offering from Asia yesterday (Thursday), raising $259m of much needed Tier 1 capital. Led by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, the $716.7m exchange by Thailand's largest commercial bank effected a clever means of bolstering the bank's capital ratios at a time when more conventional means of re-capitalisation have been all but closed.

GOLDMAN Sachs this week launched the $220m 'H' share IPO for Shandong International Power Development (SIPD), aiming to defy gloomy market predictions, the demise of Heilongjiang Agriculture's IPO and investors' concerns over China's economy and currency. The US bank had already bolstered its credentials during the week with a $60m placement for leading Hong Kong trading company Li & Fung.

Angola Warburg Dillon Read will wrap up general syndication of the $500m oil contract pre-export financing for Sociedade Nacional de Combustiveis de Angola (Sonangol) at the end of next week. Commitments are to start coming through over the next couple of days.

THE FRENCH government unveiled the first western European privatisation of the year this week, launching the partial privatisation of Air France. Although there are some doubts over the timing of the deal -- given the poor performance and outlook in the airline sector -- and the quality of the company, bankers say its small size and cheap pricing should ensure that it gets away safely.