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HSBC and Warburg Dillon Read took advantage of the momentum generated by the success of part one of the financing of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link by immediately launching the follow-up tranche this week, a £1bn bond due 2010. The hard work of explaining the credit story of LCR Finance PLC - the vehicle set up to raise money to build the rail link between the tunnel and London, whose bonds are guaranteed by the UK government - had already been completed in the long run-up to the launch of LCR's record £1.225bn of 2028 bonds and £425m of 2038 bonds last Wednesday.

Egypt Market soundings are still being taken as final documentation nears completion for the project debt tranches for the 2x325MW Sidi Krir independent power project by international lead arrangers ABN Amro, Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, Paribas and SG and international arranger EDC.

The British Sky Broadcasting Group, owned by News Corporation, issued its $600m 10 year global bond on Wednesday via Merrill Lynch. It was priced to yield 6.948%, or 198bp over the 10 year Treasury, a couple of 10bps inside the price-talk. All-in, the bonds yielded 7.03%, or approximately 207bp, over the 10 year. In mid-session on Wednesday in New York, swap dealers were alerted by London brokers that a German Landesbank - said to be Bayerische Landesbank (BLB) - had won the entire BSkyB swap position to floating and was looking to shift $600m.

Mexican state owned development bank Nafinsa will today (Friday) join the list of top Latin issuers making the most of a general calm in the emerging market storm to launch a $250m short dated offering. The deal, led by Bear Stearns and Barclays Capital, is expected to be three years in maturity at a yield of 9.75%, giving it a launch spread in the high 400bp region.

THE SIX banks arranging the circa $3.6bn debt facility backing National Grid's $3.2bn New England Electric System are to launch the deal to sub-underwriters today (Friday). Euroweek understands that ABN Amro, Barclays, Chase (joint bookrunner), Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Kleinwort Benson (joint bookrunner) and HSBC plan to go to between 25 and 30 banks to raise the required sub-underwriting.

* WestLB has appointed Alan Kelsey as a managing director and global head of its transportation industry group. He will be responsible for managing WestLB Panmure's investment banking activities in this industry group. Kelsey was previously an executive director of National Express Group, where he was in charge of strategy and development.

* The Republic of Kazakhstan's hopes of launching its much delayed Eu300m-Eu500m five to seven year issue via JP Morgan suffered a double blow this week after Fitch IBCA downgraded the country to BB- from BB and Moody's Investors Service cut it to B1 from Ba3. Both agencies cited sharp falls in the price of Kazakhstan's main exports - oil and ferrous and non-ferrous metals - and its high trade exposure to the stricken Russian economy.

* Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and SG will shortly complete the block trade of Telef stock. The two firms are selling a stake of around 14% of the German telephone group's equity capital and have been marketing the issue as an accelerated bookbuilt deal. Some 950,000 shares will be sold to international investors, which will increase the size of the company's float by around 60%.

* Railtrack has mandated Deutsche to arrange its forthcoming Euro-MTN programme. The programme will complement the company's existing CP programme, and proceeds will be used to fund infrastructure development and maintenance. * Gas Natural, Spain's primary natural gas provider and proprietor of its gas transmission system, is to establish a Euro-MTN programme.

* National Australia Bank Ltd -Rating: Aa3/AA

* European Investment Bank Rating: Aaa/AAA

Mexican oil group Pemex made its first 1999 appearance in the international bond markets this week with its long awaited $1bn four tranche oil receivables issue. The deal, led by joint bookrunners JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Goldman Sachs, was the second deal Pemex has issued using a receivables structure whereby its US oil revenues are directed into an offshore vehicle which issues and makes payments on the bonds.