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THE HIGH yield market has taken another step forward with the launch last Friday of a high yield bond for Orange, the first FTSE 100 company to tap the European high yield sector. Launched in three tranches together totalling just under £600m the deal is also the largest high yielding financing by a European company in the international market.

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MEXICAN oil company Pemex underscored the success of structured resettable coupon notes this week by increasing its recent $750m issue of such bonds to $1bn. The $250m add-on to the seven/call one year daily adjustable yield securities (DAYS) issue led by Goldman Sachs was launched at par, offering investors a slight discount to the existing bonds, which were trading at 100.10 to 100.20.

Maurice Benisty has joined the media and communications group at BT Alex Brown in London as a vice president. He leaves after four years at Paribas. BT Alex Brown has had a busy year in the media and communications sector with senior involvement in the Turkcell deal in Turkey, the merger of General Cable and Telewest and the high yield bond for NTL.

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FRENCH SPIRITS producer Rémy Cointreau yesterday priced its Eu150m high yield bond, upped from Eu120m on the back of strong demand. Priced at 550bp over the euro benchmark and issued at par, the seven year transaction traded up to 100.625/ 101.25 following launch. The paper was placed 60% in Europe, mainly with UK and French accounts, and 40% in the US.

BANCO Santander this week launched the fourth convertible offering to be denominated in euros with a combined rights and international convertible offering via Salomon Smith Barney. The simultaneous issues are each for Eu300.378m, and raised a total of Pta100bn equivalent for the Spanish bank. Both tranches paid a coupon of 2%, carried a 35% conversion premium, have a maturity of five years and are non-call life. The international convertible offering was issued via a new vehicle for Banco Santander, Santander Finance BV, and the bonds are guaranteed by the parent, which issued the rights offer directly. A Salomon official said that demand for the international offer was substantial. The book built to almost Eu1bn -- more than three times covered.

RENEWED investor concerns over the economic and political challenges facing emerging market borrowers threatened to cast a pall over the launch of the Russian Federation's largest ever international bond this week. However, at a total issue size of $6.43bn -- more than three times the minimum amount targeted by the Russians -- the Goldman Sachs-led GKO exchange and new cash offering succeeded in its primary objective of easing the Ba1/B+/BB rated sovereign's short term liquidity problems, at least for the time being.

THE SLOVAK Republic has successfully completed the final stage of its $1bn Eurobond funding programme for 1998. This week it launched a second DM200m increase to the five year Deutschmark tranche of its multi-tranche, multi-currency offering launched in mid-May. Jointly lead managed by Commerzbank and Nomura, this new add-on featured an 8% coupon to yield 7.785% at a re-offer price of 100.79 to give a spread of 345bp over the Obl 6.75% due April 2003.

* Commerzbank AG Amount: R100m

* Swedish Export Credit Rating: Aa3/AA+

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