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THE KOREA Development Bank (KDB) raised $150m this week in a private placement transaction that succeeded in achieving a cost of funding on a par with the Republic of Korea. Reflecting the Korean government's unwillingness to allow borrowers to engage in high profile transactions while spreads remain volatile, bankers have reported increasing use of demand generated by reverse enquiry.

* HSBC Investment Bank this week completed an IPO for Hong Kong's Sinolink Worldwide Holdings. The deal had a subscription rate of 1.18 times and shares will begin trading on June 8. * Gemzboh Holdings Ltd said it will raise net proceeds of HK$31.5m through an initial public offering of 40m new shares and 20m shares held by chairman Tsoi Kwing-ming.

JAPAN'S Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corporation (NTT) this week launched its second domestic jumbo offering of the year with a ¥100bn issue via Goldman Sachs and Nomura. As with NTT's Goldman/DKB led issue of late January, the par-priced deal had a 10 year maturity, but a wider spread over JGBs. Having achieved a 28bp spread for its first issue, the latest deal came at 34bp over.

ORIENT Corporation, one of Japan's leading independent finance companies, launched its fifth domestic securitisation of auto loans last Friday. DKB Securities brought a ¥30bn deal in seven tranches for special purpose vehicle Orico Asset Funding Japan. All the bonds were rated AAA by Standard & Poor's and R&I, on the strength of a ¥5bn subordinated tranche, retained by the issuer.

* ABN AMRO Bank has appointed Sergio A Lires Rial as its new chief executive officer for the Asia Pacific region, following the departure of Ton J de Boer. Having worked for the bank since 1986, Rial was most recently its country manager for Hong Kong and China.

* Moody's has placed the Aaa insurance financial strength ratings of four Japanese property and casualty insurance companies under review for possible downgrade. The agency said that its review of the four -- Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co, Yasuda Fire & Marine, Mitsui Marine & Fire, and Sumitomo Marine & Fire -- was prompted by anticipated reductions of insurance premium rates following the end of the government's restricted pricing system on July 1.

SOCIÉTÉ Générale Australia this week revealed details of an innovative aircraft financing for Ansett Australia, a regional airline. Merrill Lynch privately placed $75.2bn of notes with four US investors -- the deal settled two weeks ago after the lead investor completed due diligence. "This is the first securitisation anywhere in the world which has produced highly rated securities for an unrated airline," said Greg Medcraft, head of SG's Asian securitisation group in Sydney. "Duff & Phelps deserve great credit -- they allowed us to break out of the traditional mould of aircraft securitisations."

WESTPAC Banking Corp launched a $1.4bn mortgage securitisation this week in a blow-out deal which achieved a string of firsts. Structured by JP Morgan and lead managed by JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Westpac, the transaction is the first securitisation of non-US mortgages to be registered with the SEC as a global bond. The deal is the first Australian global, and the largest financing by any Australian private sector entity.

NEWS that first quarter GDP in Hong Kong had contracted 2% year on year put renewed pressure on Hong Kong's money markets, resulting in a spate of issuance in the domestic debt markets as borrowers took advantage of deepening arbitrage opportunities. The greatest splash came from the World Bank, which returned to the Hong Kong dollar market after only a two week absence with a new HK$1.5bn LAF-eligible deal. Increased by a further HK$1bn after strong demand, the triple-A rated issue was again led by HSBC Markets.

THE CONFUSION surrounding the syndicate structure and provisional launch date of the Kingdom of Thailand's forthcoming global bond continued to deepen this week after the cabinet failed to announce the winning banks following its meeting on Tuesday. Many bankers had expected the Thai cabinet to announce the winning mandate following its meeting on Tuesday; the issue was not discussed and it is uncertain whether it will be on the agenda next week.

BT ALEX BROWN and Credit Suisse First Boston have been lined up to lead manage a A$600m ($370m) float of Australia's Rocla Pipes and Stramit metal building products, two former divisions of BTR. BTR deprived the market of a potential flotation of the group in March when it sold the entity together with BTR's worldwide building product operation for A$1.65bn to CVC Capital Partners.

THAILAND'S PTT Exploration & Production will next Tuesday price a share issue of up to $250m in a move that will test the mood of the Asian equity markets. With investor sentiment in Asia worsening considerably in the last fortnight, bankers have voiced concerns that the Asian equity markets may now be closed for even the best borrowers.