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INVITATIONS to bid for mandates in the Korean privatisation process should be sent out on Monday, said bankers. A second wave of sales has already been announced, and should begin in late 1999. That wave includes the sales of a number of Korea Telecom units as well as business units of Daehan Oil Pipeline Corp and Korea Gas.

PRIMARY market activity from Greater China is showing signs of stirring. This week saw the quiet launch of a small issue by the Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTRC), Hong Kong's de-facto sovereign borrower, and moves by the State Development Bank of China (SDB) to select lead managers for a new benchmark dollar financing. Under the sole lead management of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, a $50m FRN by the MTRC almost passed unnoticed in the primary markets. However, the significance of the private placement was not lost on sector analysts who said that the A+/A3 rated group's decision to launch such a small deal could be put down to one of three factors. "This could simply be an opportunistic trade based on reverse enquiry demand," said one.

THE REPUBLIC of the Philippines is to decide on its $500m equivalent financing next Tuesday (August 11), following bids from a 13 strong procession of investment banks which descended on Manila this week. Driven by a belief that the deal represents one of the few viable mandates from the region in the coming months, the beauty parades attracted the bulk of Asia's investment banking community as well as their emerging markets colleagues from London and New York.

THE INDONESIAN government this week announced that the privatisation of PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia was being postponed, a delay bankers said may be symptomatic of problems facing other deals from the country. A number of unresolved internal problems and poor market conditions were cited as the main reason for the postponement. However, bankers familiar with the company said government obstinacy and unwillingness to accept market valuations also played a significant role.

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* Energieversorgung Niederösterreich AG Rating: Aa3/AA+

DIAGEO SIGNED its long awaited $5bn MTN programme, kicking off with a successful $500m Yankee debut issue last Friday. The programme, arranged by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, completes an array of funding tools built up since the food-to-drink giant was formed by the merger between Guinness and Grand Met. "The MTN is effectively the last plank in our strategy," said Phil Bentley, group treasurer at Diageo. He said the new company had had to repay $5bn of capital upon its merger: "Since then we have had to build a new funding platform for the company."

THE SPANISH government is preparing its next privatisation with the sale of 35% of Red Eléctrica (Redessa) in the final quarter of the year. BBV and Banco Santander are to lead manage the sale which should raise around $350m to $500m. No international firm has been appointed, suggesting that the deal will be skewed towards local retail investors. It also shows that the authorities are confident of BBV and Santander's ability to distribute Spanish equity outside the home market.