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8926

Argentina BancAmerica Robertson Stephens, Société Générale and Barclays Bank (Miami) are in the market with a $150m two year loan-style FRN for Banco Hipotecario Nacional. The loan has a one year put option and will be used for general corporate purposes.

THE UNITED Mexican States tapped the Escudos market for the first time this week as part of its continued effort to diversify its European investor base. The Esc18.5bn floating rate offering, led by Banco Finantia, was priced at par with a coupon of six month Lisbor plus 180bp, a spread which was said to have attracted good interest initially but looked slightly expensive, according to some, once dollar spreads in the emerging markets widened out on midweek.

MANNESMANN, the German industrial giant, revealed details of its capital increase this week against the backdrop of an equity market bolstered by the surprise announcement that Chrysler and Daimler-Benz will merge. Deutsche Morgan Grenfell and Merrill Lynch are leading the DM3bn Mannesmann deal with DMG running the books on the local tranche, supported by a syndicate of domestic savings and co-operative banks assembled to target German retail investors. Co-lead managers in the German tranche will be Bayerische Landesbank, Commerzbank, DG Bank, Dresdner Bank, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and WestLB.

THE CITY of Moscow adopted a safety first approach this week, setting its debut Eurolira transaction this week at Lit400bn, in the middle of the Lit300bn-Lit500bn indicative issue size range. The city and its lead manager Chase Manhattan had to face up to the twin challenges of a jittery emerging market debt sector and competition from the Russian Federation's recent maiden lira Eurobond. With a 9.875% coupon -- at the midpoint of the pre-launch 9.75%-10% coupon range -- the Ba3/BB- rated Moscow issue was priced on Tuesday to yield 10.02% or 525bp over three year lira swaps at a fixed re-offer price of 99.64 -- at the top of the 500bp-525bp indicative spread range. That represented a 70bp-pick-up over the similarly rated Russian Federation's Lit750bn 9% five year issue, which was trading at 455bp over lira swaps at the time, from 435bp at launch at the end of April.

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Egypt Bayerische Vereinsbank signed the $19.5m (increased from $11.5m) two year term loan for Export Development Bank of Egypt on Monday. The loan carries a margin of 37.5bp over Libor. Within its two year maturity there is six months' grace and seven quarterly repayments.

ARGENTINE corporates Movicom and Disco managed to launch successful 144a deals this week, even though yet another wave of Asian woes hit the emerging markets. Supermarket chain Disco brought a two tranche deal led by JP Morgan and UBS at 350bp over Treasuries for the $100m five year tranche and 430bp for the $250m 10 year portion.

* Countrywide, the US mortgage lender, is set to borrow in the Euromarkets for the first time. In the next two weeks it will launch an inaugural $400m five year FRN under its recently signed $2bn Euro-MTN programme. The issue, which will be jointly lead managed by Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers, will follow investor roadshows in London and continental Europe. Spread talk is in the high 20s over Libor.

* A slew of lead management mandates for Eurobond issues by central and eastern European sovereigns is set to be announced at the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development's annual general meeting in Kiev next week. Among the keenly awaited awards are the lead role on a DM300m five to seven year benchmark Euro-DM offering by the Ba1/BBB-/BB+ rated Republic of Lithuania and the bookrunner's mandate for a $300m-$500m equivalent five to 10 year issue in Deutschmarks, US dollars or euros by the Ba3/BB-/BB rated Republic of Kazakhstan. Russia may announce the lead managers and the currency denomination of the Ba3/BB-/BB+ rated Russian Federation's third Eurobond this year, expected to emerge in June. Following issues in Deutschmarks and Italian lire this year, a debut issue in euros or a dollar issue in either Eurobond, global or Yankee form are seen as the most likely possibilities. Meanwhile, finance officials from the B2 rated Republic of Ukraine are mulling a third international bond issue in addition to the Samurai (Nomura) and Eurodollar (Deutsche Morgan Grenfell and JP Morgan) transactions the country has already mandated.

* SBC Warburg Dillon Read has revealed the selling syndicate for the forthcoming flotation of Rhodia, the specialty chemicals unit being spun off by French corporate Rhône-Poulenc. The deal, which will raise around $1bn for the parent, will take place in the next month and will involve a large international placement. After the IPO, Rhodia will be listed in Paris as well as New York (in a fully registered deal), where some 30% of Rhodia's shares will be traded. The lead manager will have sole books and will be joined by DLJ, Bear Stearns, Bankers Trust Alex Brown, Credit Suisse First Boston, Goldman Sachs, Paribas and Crédit Agricole Indosuez as co-lead managers. BNP, Crédit Lyonnais, ABN Amro Rothschild, CCF, Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and Nomura will be co-managers.

* National Australia Bank Ltd Rating: Aa3/AA