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* Robert Fleming is poised to complete the global offering of GDRs in Banque Audi, the Lebanese retail and commercial bank. Bankers said the marketing period has gone very well, with the syndicate confident as the books are set to close today (Friday). The offer price will be announced on Monday 13 October but lead manager Flemings expects to price the GDRs at the top end of the indicative pricing range of $25-27. Syndicate members reported good orders coming in from the UK and Europe, with particularly strong interest shown by US investors. The primary shares, listed on the Beirut and Luxembourg stock exchanges, are being offered to international investors only and are 144a eligible. Each GDR will represent one share. Flemings also had the books for the successful flotation of the bank in October 1995, when they offered 2.7m GDRs at $12.60, raising a total of $34m.

* Baden-Württemberg L-Finance NV Guarantor: L-Bank

LEBANON's Fransabank kicked off its newly established $300m global deposit programme in style this week, launching a $150m five year transaction -- the largest non-sovereign Eurobond from the country to date. The Euro/144A offering was lead managed by Merrill Lynch, which is also the arranger of Fransabank's debt issuance facility.

PREMARKETING began on Tuesday for the Dfl 200m IPO of Dutch chemicals distributor Holland Chemical International. ABN AMRO Rothschild is global coordinator and bookrunner on the sale, which will comprise around half each of new equity and half secondary shares. The existing shares are being sold by two principal shareholders, venture capital fund Nederlandse Participatie Maatshappij and Holland Chemical's chief executive, as well as some 220 current and former employees of the company. The initial response to the IPO from Dutch institutions has been solid and positive, according to ABN AMRO officials. Premarketing to investors outside the Netherlands will begin next week, via a roadshow which will take in Vienna, London, Paris and Zurich. The roadshow will also visit the US, where the shares will be available for sale via Rule 144a.

ISRAEL'S largest and most profitable financial institution, Bank Hapoalim, this week launched the first issue off its recently established global MTN programme. The $200m five year floating rate note issue was lead managed by Merrill Lynch, which also arranged the debt issuance facility.

India DKB Merchant Bank (Singapore) and NatWest Markets have relaunched the $65m facility for ITC Ltd.

FRANCE's privatisation of France Télécom has been a runaway success, with the institutional offering to domestic and international investors closing earlier this week some 20 times oversubscribed, and the retail offer attracting 3m private shareholders by last night.

FRANCE's privatisation of France Télécom has been a runaway success, with the institutional offering to domestic and international investors closing earlier this week some 20 times oversubscribed, and the retail offer attracting 3m private shareholders by last night. Institutional investors submitted orders for more than Ffr400bn ($67bn) in shares, while the size of the retail offering -- which closes on Tuesday (October 14) -- has already been increased to accommodate the rampant demand.

THE BELEAGUERED Eurodollar sector received a welcome boost this week when Westpac launched the first successful five year issue to come to the market since the beginning of September. Bankers said that careful premarketing of the $500m issue, led by Nomura and SBC Warburg, combined with the borrower's willingness to adopt a sensible approach to launching its first strategic fixed rate issue, to provide a template for other issuers looking to complete large-scale financings in a still nervous market.

* World Bank Rating: Aaa/AAA

THE DM5bn privatisation of German airline Lufthansa is moving into its final stages, with syndicate members confident of a smooth reception despite this week's falls in European stock markets. Yesterday's 30bp rate rise by the Bundesbank sent Frankfurt's Dax stock index tumbling by more than 2%.