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With NOWHERE else to go Sabesp, Brazil's largest water utility, has decided to resort to the local Brazilian bond markets to sell $261m of reais denominated bonds to pay off dollar debt due. The three year bonds will cost 40% a year and will be used to refinance most of a $275m syndicated one year loan due on March 29 that yields only 10.1%.

British Sky Broadcasting surprised the market and showed the pace at which a credit culture is developing in Europe this week when it launched a $600m global bond via Merrill Lynch. Until recently, the thought of a credit such as BSkyB - which is rated Baa2/BBB- with negative outlook from both Moody's and Standard & Poor's - accessing anything other than US investors through the Yankee bond market would not have been considered.

Market commentary: Compiled by Frank Hracs, director of fixed income research, TD Securities, Toronto. Tel: +1 416 982 8785.

Both the euro and the dollar bond markets offered investors the widest range of credits to choose from this week as bankers continued to marvel at the astonishing tone of the major currency sectors in the first few weeks of 1999 and the wide variety of credits tapping them. Emerging market issuers made a welcome return to the international bond markets. Latin issuers continued to search for novel ways to raise funds, with Argentina raising $1bn of bonds with warrants and Pemex a similar amount in bonds linked to oil receivables.

The UK primary equity market will explode into life over the next few months as many of the country's best known industrial and consumer groups seek to tap the market for equity finance. One of the biggest deals may involve the flotation of some of the assets of the Canary Wharf Group, the 86 acre estate in London's Docklands in a deal that could be worth around £2bn.

Romania's state owned electricity authority Compania Nationala de Electricitate SA (Conel) this week secured overwhelming noteholder approval for amendments to the terms and conditions for dollar and yen debt issued by its predecessor company, Renel RA. The amendments, approved by close to 90% of investors, cover a $135m five year floating rate note and a ¥1.35bn three year fixed rate private placement launched by Renel via Merrill Lynch in February 1997 - to date the only Euromarket issue by a Romanian corporate.

Croatia will today (Friday) complete a series of pan-European investor presentations in support of a euro transaction which will provide an important test of sentiment towards the Baa3/BBB- rated republic and mark the start of a packed calendar of issuance by central and eastern European credits over the coming weeks. Poised to follow Croatia's issue are sovereign offerings from Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia, alongside municipal bonds from the Czech Republic's Prague and Estonia's Tallinn as well as a bank issue from Eesti Ühispank.

Croatia will today (Friday) complete a series of pan-European investor presentations in support of a euro transaction which will provide an important test of sentiment towards the Baa3/BBB- rated republic and mark the start of a packed calendar of issuance by central and eastern European credits over the coming weeks. Poised to follow Croatia's issue are sovereign offerings from Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia, alongside municipal bonds from the Czech Republic's Prague and Estonia's Tallinn as well as a bank issue from Eesti Ühispank.