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TWO POTENTIALLY benchmark-setting Chinese power project financings are taking on the syndicated loans market almost simultaneously. The deals' arrangers have cleverly opted to take differing routes into the market. However, this will still be a big test of bank appetite for these credits which are looking to raise a total of over $1bn in international loans.

Cinven's £860m acquisition of IPC Magazines from Reed Elsevier at the end of last year provided a real test for the European leveraged finance market -- big, highly geared and in a cyclical sector. How did the UK venture capitalist and its arranger Goldman Sachs manage to raise the money?

INVESTORS this week dashed to buy the $725m issue of shares in Portuguese cement company Cimpor, providing the strongest evidence yet of how comprehensively attitudes to southern European equity markets have changed.

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* Caisse Centrale du Crédit Immobilier de France Rating: A1/AA-/AA-

COMPUTACENTER became the latest UK company to attract the interest of international and local equity investors this week when it completed the sale of its primary and secondary shares in a global offering led by Goldman Sachs. The 44.3m shares were priced at 670p, the top end of the indicated price range. This reflected the demand from investors, which pushed subscription levels to around 13 times the number of shares on offer.

* VNU -- Verenigde Nederlandse Uitgeversbedrijven BV Amount: Dfl 600m

South Africa Arrangers American Express Bank, Bayerische Vereinsbank, Deutsche Bank, Fuji Bank and Kredietbank have closed general syndication of the $150m three year term loan for Investec Overseas Finance BVI. There was excellent appetite in syndication, resulting in an oversubscription, and the borrower is considering an increase.

China BA Asia has closed a $100m 364 day direct pay L/C facility for Chinatex Capitals Inc. The borrower is the financing vehicle for guarantor China National Textiles Import Export Corp which is controlled by the Ministry of Foreign Trade & Economic Cooperation (Moftec).

Australia Deutsche Morgan Grenfell completed the $500m Euro-MTN programme for Bendigo Bank last week. The multi-currency programme was signed on May 15. Roadshows have been held over the past two weeks in Hong Kong, Singapore, Dublin and London, producing wide spread investor interest. Bendigo is still to decide between an inaugural public issue or a private placement.

Competition for LBO mandates has reached cut-throat levels, with many banks prepared to take big risks to secure a leading place on arranger league tables and boost their market share. So far the US firms appear to be winning, thanks largely to their ability to offer a one-stop shopping service (encompassing loans, bonds, mezzanine and equity) which is attractive to borrowers. The big European banks are fighting back, determined to avoid ceding one of the fastest growing areas of the European financing market to the Wall Street firms. There is no end to the battle in sight. And even a couple of deal disasters may not be enough to ease the bidding war.