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DESPITE months of delays due to volatility in the emerging markets debt sector, Russia's regions and republics are on course to launch a concerted assault on the Euromarkets this summer. Among the first issues likely to emerge is a $250m-plus three to five year offering for the Republic of Tatarstan via ING Barings towards the end of June. Tatarstan has a sovereign ceiling Ba3 rating from Moody's and is expected to secure a BB- rating from Standard & Poor's shortly.

WITH many continental markets closed for business on Thursday and the UK and US looking forward to a long weekend, activity in the core markets was thin. Some uncertainty over whether the FOMC would raise US interest rates put a further brake on issuance, but US trade data, German money supply figures and no change in US rates pushed government bond markets higher. With Asia still causing concern and dollar buying at an all-year low, it was a brave issuer that tapped the markets this week.

* Commerzbank AG Rating: Aa2/AA- Amount: $500m

MOST NEW issues had a rough time in the mixed market conditions in the US this week. The jittery mood on Wall St as well as the volume and size of the deals being attempted meant a number of deals had to be postponed. For now the pipeline remains busy, with several large deals expected over the coming months. But investors, it seems, have become more choosy about what they buy.

LAUNCH of the Republic of Turkey's Lit250bn-Lit300bn five year Eurobond has been held over until later this month. The distraction of religious holidays in Turkey and Europe this week and spread volatility in the emerging market debt sector caused the delay. Lead managers Banca Commerciale Italiana and JP Morgan have secured approval from the Bank of Italy for an extension to the issuance deadline which expired on Wednesday to give them more time to prepare the ground for the transaction. Price talk is in the 350bp area over lira swaps.

Investcorp's financing of the acquisition of Welcome Break from Granada was a victory for innovation in the face of accepted market wisdom. The solution -- a securitisation involving debt maturities out to 20 years, all backed by non-contractual cashflows -- was astonishing.

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Austria Arrangers Creditanstalt, HSBC and UBS are planning to launch syndication of the Asch7.5bn non-recourse project financing for the Connect Austria telecoms build-out by early June. The deal has a nine year tenor and a relatively conservative debt to equity ratio at about 60:40.

* Jumbo Asset Finance Ltd Amount: ¥11.9bn

DOLPHIN Telecom, a wholly owned subsidiary of Telesystem International Wireless Inc, successfully tapped the European high yield market this week despite difficult market conditions, brought about largely by the recent heavy supply in the US domestic market and specifically in the telecoms sector. The deal comprised a $263m tranche and a Eu238m tranche making it only the second high yield transaction ever launched in the new European currency.

Croatia Société Générale and Union Bank of Switzerland have won the mandate to arrange a $70m dual tranche three year term loan for Pliva dd. The loan consists of a $50m tranche which will be used for refinancing and general corporate purposes and a $20m term loan which will be used to part finance Pliva's employee share ownership plan. The facility carries a margin of 80bp over Libor.

THE SPANISH authorities will shortly launch their third privatisation sale of the year with the largest ever equity sale from the country -- the Pta1,164bn ($7.7bn) sale of stock in its national electricity giant, Endesa. The Spanish government has been the quickest off the mark this year in launching deals, taking advantage of continental European markets trading at all time highs. The ministry of finance in Madrid has already signed off on the final sale of stock in both the financial services group, Argentaria, and the national tobacco group, Tabacalera, which was completed earlier this month.