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The planned mergers between Bayerische Vereinsbank and Bayerische Hypothekenbank -- and, even more dramatically, between Krupp and Thyssen -- have sent shockwaves through the German financial and industrial sectors. Many predict a wave of takeovers in Europe's most M&A-averse market as whole sectors undergo rationalisation and as the leading players seek to generate cost savings, improve their competitiveness and raise their return on equity. It will not happen overnight. In a country where M&A -- like privatisation -- is synonymous with job cuts, such moves will encounter fierce resistance from workers, while there are also formidable legal obstacles to certain forms of Anglo-Saxon style takeovers. But change is in the air. And no one doubts that the German corporate and financial landscape will alter drastically over the coming years.

Internationalisation is the theme running through the whole of Germany's domestic debt markets as the country's issuers and bankers prepare for life in a single European capital market.

Frankfurt's battle to become Europe's financial centre is gaining added urgency in the run-up to the single currency. The Bund market is undergoing a series of reforms to establish its credentials as the benchmark in the new euro market. The derivatives and stockmarkets are pitching themselves as liquid and cost-effective trading centres; and the banking system claims to be better prepared for monetary union than any of its European rivals. But still the perception lingers that the German financial markets are antiquated and inefficient -- and that Frankfurt lacks the deal-making culture to be the finance centre of the new euroland. Is this misplaced?

Germany's regional states -- the Länder -- are faced with tough choices regarding their funding programmes. They realise that Emu will present them with new challenges, but also new opportunities. But they have yet to come to a conclusion on the best way to face up to them. The strongest states are increasingly looking to go it alone in diversifying their investor bases. The smaller ones, however, need to improve the reception to their pooled jumbo financing. And all the German Länder may need to acquire ratings before they can achieve a truly international distribution

Germany's new-found love affair with equities is not simply down to the happy combination of interest rates at historically low levels and -- until the last few weeks -- a booming stockmarket. It comes from deeper sources than that. Even companies notorious in the past for their hostile attitude towards shareholders are embracing the concepts of shareholder value -- and are scrambling to list in New York to demonstrate their new virtue to the widest possible international audience. The reduced capacity of local banks to finance the capital requirements of German industry is forcing companies to look beyond their traditional funding sources. And, even on a conservative basis, the flow of household investments and new institutional funds into the stockmarket could create an additional DM150bn of new demand over the next few years. Those structural factors point to a major long term development in the size, liquidity and efficiency of the German equity capital market. But the new love of equities may cause some problems in the short term. Analysts say the market is overheating -- partly as a result of the surge in retail investment -- and there is already resentment at the number of German companies that have been raising new equity for no other reason than that their share prices have been so high. The recent correction in global equity markets should provide the spur for a welcome shake-out in the new issue market.

Germany's Pfandbriefe issuers -- the mortgage banks -- have conducted a whirlwind marketing effort to internationalise their product over the past three years, and the dividends are increasingly apparent.

Germany's IPO market is poised for potentially massive growth, even if the recent bull market conditions do not last indefinitely. Landmark deals such as the privatisations of Deutsche Telekom and Lufthansa -- and a string of major corporate flotations -- have improved the efficiency of the primary market through the introduction of bookbuilding and other international techniques. They have also brought about structural change in the ownership of the German equity market, creating a more mature and stable domestic investor base in a market traditionally vulnerable to fickle foreign investment flows. With the newly established Neuer Markt offering an alternative venue for Germany's vast ranks of middle-market companies to list their shares -- and with innovative equity-linked products starting to appear -- the opportunities for German companies to capitalise on the country's fast-emerging equity culture are growing all the time.

For industrialists, investment bankers, institutional investors and individuals in Germany alike, the changes sweeping the country's financial markets are breathtaking in their scale and speed.

The nature of the Euro-Deutschmark sector has undergone significant change over the past 18 months. Although it remains dominated by higher-rated issuers, there has been a marked increase in volumes of lesser-rated, riskier products.

THE Asian financial crisis has accelerated Korea's decision to open its bond market in an attempt to boost capital inflows and stabilise local markets. The announcement came after the Korean currency slid to a record low of W964/$ against the dollar on Thursday. The plan, originally scheduled for the end of 1999, will allow foreign investors to hold a maximum of 30% of each unsecured long term corporate bond offering, and individual foreign investors up to 6% of corporate bonds. Fifty percent of non-guaranteed convertible bonds issued by conglomerates from 1998 can be held by foreigners, an increase from the current 30% limit.

AMID ASIA'S greatest market chaos in recent history, president Suharto's politicking with the IMF and plummeting select metal prices, PT Aneka Tambang (Antam), the Indonesian state nickel and gold mining outfit, could not have picked a worse week to price its initial public offering. One banker in the syndicate said the deal, which ended up being 1.5 times subscribed, should have been pulled during the Taiwan and Hong Kong market plunge. Had the deal been put off until the region showed more signs of economic stability, he added, Antam could have enjoyed a much more successful sale.

FIRST CAME Asia's financial difficulties, then the currency devaluations and last week the beginning of the stockmarket slide. It could not be long before region's debt markets were hit as well, and Asian bonds this week suffered a bout of unprecedented volatility as spreads soared, then recovered some ground but remained at levels unimaginable only weeks ago. Debt traders, salesmen and syndicate managers joined their equity counterparts with their eyes glued to the screens as Asian Euro and global bonds see-sawed in line with the region's stockmarkets.