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* China Everbright International has received approval from the Securities and Futures Commission for a waiver on a general offer for Kumagai Gumi (HK) Ltd. China Everbright will subscribe to 90m new shares in the company, increasing its stake to 35.07% from 20.98%. * The memorandum of understanding with Ispat International on the privatisation of PT Krakatau Steel signed by the former president Suharto's government in its dying days has been cancelled.

* Renewed strength in the NT$/US dollar swap market allowed the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) to re-open its recent NT$6.6bn issue with a further NT$4bn of bonds launched via Grand Cathay, bringing the total issue size to NT$10.6bn. Priced at 99.84 plus accrued interest from April 17 when the original deal was launched, the new issue has an equivalent issuing yield of 6.8% and a coupon of 6.75%.

* DKB International brought a ¥5bn repackaging of a single Japanese corporate loan this week. The bond matures in January 1999, and carries an annualised coupon of 0.91612%, paid at redemption. Dai-Ichi Kangyo International would only comment that the whole bond was placed with a single Japanese financial institution, but market participants believed the purpose of the transaction was to allow Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank to take a loan off its balance sheet. The Cayman Islands vehicle which issued the bond, Almighty Asset Funding Corp, launched two deals last year, lead managed by DKBI.

AMP THIS WEEK launched the most successful float in Australia's history but market euphoria was short lived as the Asian crisis bit into the Australian market. The deal marked the culmination of months of groundwork by the company and lead managers Credit Suisse First Boston and Deutsche Morgan Grenfell. Bankers labelled it an extraordinary transaction, unique in many respects. The institutional pricing mechanism had not been used before and may serve in future deals where institutional demand far outweighs supply, they said.

WHAT WAS intended to be the first T share issue * a Chinese company listed on the Tokyo exchange * was pulled last week as Asian markets went into freefall and concern mounted over the steady decline in the value of the yen. The Fed-led boost of the yen came too late to save the deal from Tianjin Automobile, which collapsed on Tuesday. Lead manager Daiwa Securities announced on behalf of the company that market conditions were to blame -- but a number of players in the markets questioned the logic of the deal in the first place.

Croatia BNP, Creditanstalt and Dresdner have been mandated to arrange a DM70m three year term loan for HBOR, Croatia's bank for reconstruction and development. The loan will be launched to co-arrangers in the next few weeks. Czech Republic Joint arrangers ABN Amro, Bayerische Landesbank, Commerzbank, Crédit Lyonnais Bank Praha, Deutsche Bank and HSBC signed the DM250m credit facility for Radiomobil in Prague this week. See EW556 for full details.

* Associates Corp of North America Rating: Aa3/AA-

THE EUROPEAN Investment Bank launched an exchange offer programme this week that will enable holders of its bonds denominated in currencies to be scrapped when Emu takes place to swap them for euro or euro-tributary issues. Over the past 12 months, the Luxembourg-based bank has been one of the most prolific issuers of bonds that will redenominate and become fungible once the euro is introduced. It has jockeyed with other top borrowers to create bonds that will become the benchmarks in the new currency.

THE EUROPEAN Investment Bank launched an exchange offer programme this week that will enable holders of its bonds denominated in currencies to be scrapped when Emu takes place to swap them for euro or euro-tributary issues.

Mexico * Mexico Capital Protected Investment Ltd

* European Investment Bank Rating: Aaa/AAA

THE FINNISH government plans to float off part of the equity capital in Finnair, expanding the list of assets which will be put up for sale in the coming year. The government holds 58% of the stock. This ownership level is likely to fall to around 40% through the sale of the carrier's stock to international investors. The state is asking international and local investment banks to pitch for the role of adviser and global co-ordinator on the deal, which may appear in the markets by the fourth quarter of this year or early in 1999.