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JOINT bookrunners Lehman Brothers and Paribas are set to launch the first public securitisation of Italian mortgages in the second week of June. The floating rate transaction, for Banca del Salento, a commercial bank based in Apulia, will likely offer Lit296m of senior notes rated triple-A by Moody's and Fitch IBCA and a Lit73m class 'B', rated A2/A.

BANKERS Trust is preparing to launch the first euro denominated securitisation, for Swiss freight car leasing company Ahaus Alstätter Eisenbahn. BT will sole manage the Eu255m deal, known as Euro Freight Car Finance Series 1998-1, on June 18. The transaction parcels leases on 5,336 standard freight cars. It will be the first securitisation of freight rolling stock in Europe, and the first ever securitisation of railcars located in more than one country.

COMPTOIR des Entrepreneurs, the French non-bank finance company controlled by Assurance Générale de France, raised Ffr1bn in the French domestic market this week through its triple-A rated securitisation vehicle Vauban Mobilisations Garanties. Like Vauban's four earlier issues since November 1997, this deal is backed by loans to private homebuyers in France. The transaction brings Vauban's outstanding debt to Ffr5.7bn, and with a bullet maturity in April 2006, the deal is the vehicle's longest dated so far.

A perennial problem in software development is how to access common algorithms--analytical models for derivative pricing and risk management sensitivities--when working on different systems without re-inventing the wheel every time.

INTERNATIONAL roadshows for Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production (PTTE&P) begin on Monday in a deal which bankers expect to follow the successful pattern of recent offerings from Thai Farmers Bank and Bangkok Bank and could raise up to $300m. CSFB, Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers are joint global co-ordinators, while Phatra Securities and Thai Investment and Securities will act as joint domestic co-ordinators for the sale, which will price on June 9.

THE SUCCESS of Posco's ADR sale two weeks ago, whose shares have traded up since launch, could combine with consolidation in the finance industry, to lead to a number of equity and equity linked deals from a variety of Korean issuers. For example, Samsung Display Devices (SDD) has mandated Credit Suisse First Boston for a $150m convertible bond, said bankers. The deal is expected to be a private placement and should be completed by mid-July.

THE TAIWANESE government's ambivalent attitude towards issuance by foreign corporates in its domestic bond market may hamstring hopes of launching a debut transaction for Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank). Local bankers said that while the government has taken steps to promote and internationalise the NT$ market, it remains concerned that liquidity may be sucked away from planned sizeable issues by domestic corporates.

THE MOST successful equity and equity linked lead managers in Asia this year, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, are thought to have won a mandate for a convertible bond of between $300m and $400m for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (TSMC) * one of the country's premier companies. TSMC is the world's largest manufacturer of ICs. Analysts said that, despite the mild slump in the semiconductor industry, TSMC was well placed with first quarter results above expectations.

Indonesia With the new president barely sworn in, faxed invitations to attend a meeting to compete for a financial advisory rolein Indonesia's privatisation process were sent out yesterday (Thursday). Stunned bankers * who one week earlier were evacuated from Jakarta amid riots * have been invited to Singapore to pitch for the roles. "The simple fact that the meeting is in Singapore rather than Jakarta suggests that the MoF may be jumping the gun," says a banker.

JAPANESE consumer finance company Hitachi Shinpan this week launched the second securitisation from its offshore vehicle Jumbo Asset Finance, in a ¥11.9bn deal lead managed by ING Barings. The transaction parcels revolving unsecured consumer loans, similar in form to credit card facilities. The Cayman Islands SPV debuted last August with a ¥7.5bn deal, also through ING Barings. This week's bond is similarly structured, but included ¥1.9bn of subordinated notes, allowing Hitachi Shinpan to pass on some of the credit enhancement to investors.

JIM FRANCE, head of ING Barings' Asian securitisation group, has resigned, and is expected to be hired by another investment bank in Asia. The move follows ING's retrenchment of its Asian operations in response to the economic downturn in the region. France's group had been one of the largest securitisation teams in non-Japan Asia, with 11 staff at its peak, based in South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore as well as Hong Kong.

THE PEOPLE'S Republic of China looks increasingly likely to make a return to the international debt markets, with country specialists anticipating a new sovereign benchmark as early as July. Although the Chinese government could undermine its immunity to the regional crisis by bringing a transaction to market while Asian spreads remain volatile, most observers believe the government is keen to pave the way for a string of borrowings by the country's three state owned policy banks.