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PARIBAS brought a Lit279.27bn securitisation of leasing receivables for two Italian leasing companies this week. BN Finproget, which securitised car and truck leases, is a subsidiary of the other seller, BN Commercio e Finanza -- which sold equipment receivables into the structure. Both companies are owned by Isveimer, a bank which has gone into voluntary liquidation as part of the reorganisation of the Banco di Napoli group.

BEAR STEARNS ushered First USA into the French franc market for the first time last Friday, but made few friends among its syndicate members in the process. The Ffr2bn seven year deal came in a single tranche, rated triple-A by Fitch, Moody's and Standard & Poor's. It was issued and re-offered at 99.584 with a 5.5% coupon to yield 27bp over the 6.75% October 2004 OAT.

* Korea's Ministry of Finance and Economics has waived the requirement for banks to seek approval before securitising certain dollar denominated assets. The change, which took effect on November 1, may speed up securitisations for Korea's merchant banks and leasing companies, many of which are facing a liquidity squeeze. Bankers Trust intends to take advantage of the relaxation to bring a $300m FRN backed by export bill receivables for one of the largest Korean banks.

DEUTSCHE Morgan Grenfell kicked off its roadshow this week for Indonesia's biggest stockbroking firm, PT Makindo Tbk, which plans to raise $100m through its IPO. Although it is one of the first deals launched since the IMF finalised its loan agreement with Indonesia two weeks ago, bankers are wondering why the company is listing in a battered market.

THE INDIAN government is poised to give the go-ahead for the formal launch of its ambitious privatisation of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), encouraged by initial indications of demand following two weeks of intensive pre-marketing, The result of a meeting between the leads -- Goldman Sachs, HSBC and Merrill Lynch -- the company and the government's core group on divestment are expected to be made public today (Friday), with early reports suggesting that the issue will bow to market sensitivity by scaling down its offering size. It had been hoped to raise up to $800m via a 107m share sale comprising 60m new and 47m existing shares, but finance ministry officials were saying late yesterday (Thursday) that the company's financing will be scaled back to 20m shares, with the addition of a 10m share greenshoe.

* SocGen Crosby has appointed Michael Hanson-Lawson as managing director of its European and Asian equities business in Japan. To be based in Tokyo, Hanson-Lawson was most recently managing director of the group's specialist Asian equities arm in London. In his new position, he will have the task of improving co-ordination in the bank's sales of foreign securities to Japan. * Peregrine has appointed Chongrak Sripunporn to head its equities operation in Thailand, Peregrine Finance & Securities. Chongrak was latterly managing director of SocGen Crosby Research in Bangkok.

SAMSUNG Electronics, Korea's flagship exporter and the world's leading manufacturer of semi-conductor chips, squared up to an inhospitable primary market this Tuesday with a surprise $130m GDR offering via Goldman Sachs and Samsung Securities. Although the company's desire to complement its recent Yankee offering with a new equity deal had been well known, bankers and analysts nevertheless expressed a mixture of astonishment and confusion at the group's determination to press ahead. The issue comes at a time when most experts are predicting that Korea will need assistance from the IMF to hold up its insecure fiscal position.

A DEBUT US-targeted bond for Advance Agro (AA) of Thailand demonstrated the new reality for Asian issuers in the international debt markets when it was priced late last Friday in New York at an astounding 911bp over Treasuries by lead manager Morgan Stanley. The pulp and paper company confounded its critics, who believed that it would be unable to stomach the huge spread demanded by investors, by committing itself to a $111.35m 10 year non-callable deal with an issue price of 89.805 and semi-annual yield of 15%.

THE ROADSHOW for palm oil plantation PT Astra Agro Lestari (Astra Agro) ends today (Friday). Bankers close to the deal say the price will be set on Monday at a ratio to earnings of 10% to 25% of the p/e of London Sumatra's (Lonsum), the only listed crude palm oil plantation listed in Indonesia. Astra Agro's bookbuilding price range is between Rph1,550 and Rph1,650 per share. Some 125.8m shares, representing a 10% stake, are for sale to raise between $57.7m and $61.4m, according to global co-ordinator ABN AMRO Rothschild. Co-leads are Astra Securities, Bahana Securities, Crédit Lyonnais, Jardine Fleming and Mitra Duta Sekuritas.

THE AMBITIOUS combined equity financing from Indonesia's Asia Pulp and Paper group (APP) drew a sharply divided response from the market following its pricing earlier this week. Equity specialists highlighted the fact that the twin ADR and Lyons (Liquid Yield Options Note) transaction had been restructured on extremely generous terms, whereas debt specialists argued that in comparison to the group's outstanding Eurobonds, the final terms were too aggressive to support a strong investor response.

THE LONG DELAYED rights offering by Benpres, the holding company of the diversified Philippines-based Lopez family, was finally launched last week, but the terms surprised several bankers. In addition to being priced at a steeper discount than initially expected in September when the deal was last primed for launch, bankers said that the long lead time before the issue closes on December 1 creates significant investment risk in volatile market conditions.

A FOURTH supranational seeking to access Taiwan's domestic bond market has filed an application with the republic's SEC, although bankers believe that the issue is unlikely to emerge this year unless the currency markets show signs of stability. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has mandated Citicorp to raise NT$6bn ($193m) via a five year fixed rate bond and the borrower is applying for tax exempt status.