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LATIN American corporates and banks are ploughing back into the Eurobond and Yankee markets now that investors have absorbed the recent slew of sovereign issues and are showing a resurgence of interest in Latin private sector credits. Yesterday (Thursday) Banco Montevideo became the first private sector Uruguayan entity to tap the US dollar market with a $100m 10 year offering issued at 290bp and led by UBS Securities.

Argentina Bank of Nova Scotia, Industrial Bank of Japan and ANZ Banking Group have joined Banque Nationale de Paris, Bayerische Landesbank and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya as co-arrangers on the $400m two year term loan being arranged by ABN Amro Bank, Deutsche Bank and Dresdner Bank Luxembourg for Perez Companc SA. Banque Paribas has also joined at the managing agent level. Commitments are due by April 29.

* Arbed SA Amount: Lfr500m (increase to Lfr2bn issue launched 01/04/98)

THE SALE of shares in Spanish tobacco company Tabacalera is heading for a blow-out, spurred by buoyant conditions in the local stockmarket and huge latent demand from retail investors. Merrill Lynch, BBV and BCH are leading the deal, which looks certain to become the latest in a long string of successful privatisations from Spain - which has been the first European country to undertake major privatisation sales at the start of this year.

MERRILL Lynch and Daiwa will next week launch the sale of stock in Pliva, the Croatian pharmaceutical company that was floated in 1996 via UBS. The deal, through which the Croatian government will divest its entire 14% stake in the group, has been revived after the collapse in emerging markets worldwide halted the last attempt to sell Pliva shares internationally.

* LW Rentenbank Rating: Aaa/AAA

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INTERNATIONAL fixed income investors were given a rare opportunity to gain exposure to Czech corporate risk this week with the launch of a DM500m five year issue by leading Czech telco, SPT Telecom. Deutsche Morgan Grenfell ran the books on the transaction, which featured a 5.125% coupon to yield 60bp over the Obl125 on a fixed re-offer price of 99.866 - at the top of the 50bp-60bp indicative spread range.

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* British Steel plc Rating: A-

THE KINGDOM of Sweden attempted to ensure that its government bond market offers an attractive investment alternative to the rest of the euro denominated market this week with the launch of a Eu2bn offering led by JP Morgan, Paribas and SBC Warburg Dillon Read. The issue was the first euro-denominated transaction to be structured as a domestic bond. The overwhelming response from a broad range of key institutional accounts in Europe and Asia helped to focus international investors' attention on Sweden's domestic krona market and on the improvement in its credit standing.

* Crédit Local de France Rating: Aa1/AA+