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MTN activity idled this week as the market prepared for the end of year rush. Swedish Match is signing a Eu500m programme next week, but otherwise there will be little issuance in the immediate future. Both Rome and Madrid are setting up programmes, but have yet to set signing dates. JP Morgan will arrange Rome's programme, while Madrid is still to mandate an arranger.

GLOBAL co-ordinators BNL, Mediobanca and Schroders will launch the bookbuilding period for the sale of shares in Banca Nazionale del Lavoro next week. As foreshadowed in Euroweek two weeks ago, the Italian authority decided to proceed with the sale of shares in the bank after postponing the $4bn deal last month. "It was an entirely sensible decision to avoid the market at that time," confirms one Italian banker in Milan. "There was no need to subject the bank to terrible market conditions and risk selling the stock too cheaply or not at all. The markets have calmed considerably and are now widely viewed as in a recovery phase. Financial sector stocks will not be shunned automatically as they were last month."

Egypt Four banks have been mandated to arrange the international project debt financing for the Sidi Krir independent power plant.

* The European Investment Bank is close to finalising details on a Ck30bn domestic issuance programme for the Czech Republic. The debt issuance facility is the second of its type to be established by the EIB in central and eastern Europe. In May the triple-A rated supranational launched the first transaction off an ING Barings-arranged Huf20bn ($100m) programme.

* Merrill Lynch has begun trading in European equities by sector rather than by country in a move toward catering for the needs of investing clients after the introduction of the euro in 11 EU member states in January 1999. Similar moves will be made by other international investment banks in an attempt to bring closer the creation of a single market for shares of Europe's major companies. Most of the larger banks have already switched their research from a country to a sector basis and this is an important first step in ensuring a smooth change-over on trading floors.

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CSFB AND Lazard Capital Markets executed a hugely successful Ffr1.15bn offering of exchangeable bonds this week on behalf of the French entertainment and media group, Pathé. The bonds are exchangeable into shares in British Sky Broadcasting. "Low interest rates and recovering global stockmarkets provide ideal conditions for issuers to raise equity-linked debt," said David Douglas, director for French equity capital markets at CSFB.

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Chase Manhattan has hired three new staff for its loan syndications team in London. Mike Constant has joined from the bank's London project finance department as a managing director and senior originator. Karen Simon joins from the bank's New York headquarters also as a managing director and senior originator. Mariam Toulon joins from the Washington DC office of Baring Private Equity Partners and will be working on the distribution side.

Denmark Arrangers ABN Amro, Citibank and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi are in negotiations with borrower Borealis over the final size of its facility.

MERRILL Lynch and Merita are to price the Finnish government's sale of stock in telecom operator Sonera this weekend, in the most successful international equity sale of the current quarter. The roughly $1bn deal has bucked fragile market conditions. Although its two week bookbuilding period has coincided with stronger and more stable stockmarkets, the popularity of the stock proved a vindication of the lead managers' decision to press ahead when the markets were at their weakest.