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GLOBAL co-ordinator HSBC has launched the sale of stock in MaltaCom, Malta's national telecom operator. The offering, the first international equity transaction from the island state, heralds the start of the country's privatisation programme. The $90m sale of GDRs will involve some 40% of the company's equity capital being placed in public hands. Following two weeks of premarketing, the lead manager has indicated a price range to potential investors of between $12.44 and $13.62 (M£82 to M£89.5).

Bahrain Up to five co-arrangers are to join the $100m syndicated term loan for Bahrain International Bank. Arrangers are Banque Nationale de Paris, Chase Manhattan, Gulf International Bank, ING Barings and SG. The three year debt is priced at 70bp over Libor and general syndication is set to launch next week.

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BANCO Pastor, a Spanish bank based in Galicia, has established a $1bn Euro-MTN programme under which it plans to launch an inaugural transaction early next week. The bank's debut in the international capital markets is expected to be a dollar floater. Deutsche Morgan Grenfell has arranged the programme and will be joined in the dealer group by ABN Amro, Banco Pastor, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and Paribas.

THE ALREADY decimated Latin equity new issue market suffered another serious setback this week when Merrill Lynch shelved the long awaited $2bn issue of government shares in Brazilian privatised iron ore producer CVRD as well as a $210m offering by Argentine company CEI Citicorp Holdings. The CVRD deal, slated for filing with the US SEC this week, may not surface until 1999, while the CEI deal, scheduled for pricing on Tuesday, is shelved indefinitely.

* Merrill Lynch will shortly launch the sale of convertible bonds for Banca Popolare di Milano (BPM). The issue, mandated last year, will offer investors 10 year bonds priced at BTPs less 60bp to 110bp, and with a conversion premium of between 15% and 20% above the reference price of BPM shares. A reference price is to be used to accommodate the placement of bonds to Italian retail investors through an OPV which will be launched with terms on yield to maturity, conversion premium and maximum reference price. The latter may represent the last sale but could theoretically be any level chosen by the lead manager.

* Commerzbank AG Rating: Aa2/AA-

BancBoston Securities, NationsBanc Montgomery Securities LLC, TD Securities (USA), BankAmerica Robertson & Stephens and Chase Securities have launched a secured $1.5bn facility for Falcon Holdings Group LP. The loan is split into an eight year $650m revolver, a nine year $200m term loan, a 9-1/2 year $300m term loan and a $350m acquisition facility, the terms of which will be negotiated at a later date.

Simon Treacy has been made head of loan distribution at Chase Manhattan. Treacy takes over from Edward Brown who left the bank in April to work for Grant Johnson at Credit Suisse First Boston. Treacy reports to Don McRee.

A CONSORTIUM led by Merrill Lynch shocked the international equity markets this week by putting in a record low fee bid of just 45bp to snare the mandate to sell $6bn worth of Petrobras shares owned by the Brazilian government. The fee is the lowest ever for an international equity public offer. Although mandates to sell shares to strategic buyers have been as low as 2bp, the 45bp fee is less than half the all-time low fee bid for a Latin public sector mandate: the 1.15% fee CSFB put on its sale of Petrobras shares in 1997.

A CONSORTIUM led by Merrill Lynch shocked the international equity markets this week by putting in a record low fee bid of just 45bp to snare the mandate to sell $6bn worth of Petrobras shares owned by the Brazilian government.

RUSSIA confounded the international capital markets this week by launching a $1.25bn five year bond, just days after the Russian authorities were forced to triple interest rates to 150% to bolster the beleaguered rouble and Moody's downgraded the sovereign's debt to B1. The deal was sole managed by Goldman Sachs which scooped the mandate amid fierce competition.