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SOCGEN Asia launched $100m of two year FRNs on Monday as part of the transformation of property company Hongkong China Ltd into a financial services vehicle for Lippo Ltd and its new red chip ally, China Resources. Hongkong China, which is majority owned by Lippo, will cease to originate property development business under a reorganisation plan approved at an extraordinary general meeting on September 2. Some of the company's real estate interests may be sold off.

INDICATIVE terms for a $75m convertible by Pacific Construction have been announced ahead of the deal's scheduled launch next week. Taiwanese commentators said that terms on the premium redemption deal balance the company's optimism over its future share price with investors' desire for high bond floors and defensive characteristics.

* Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank International launched ¥8.1bn of five year notes on Monday, in a novel Euromarket financing for a new Cayman Islands-registered company which intends to invest indirectly in the Chicago commodity futures markets. DKB executed a similar transaction at the end of June for Endeavor Bond Company, whose parent is also planning to invest in the Chicago futures exchanges, but the bank said that otherwise the deal is a first for the Euromarkets.

THE Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) this week completed a triumvirate of supranational deals in the Hong Kong dollar market, with its first since the Territory's handover to China at the end of June. The HK$1bn HSBC-led deal follows a similar transaction for the European Investment Bank last week and a smaller deal for the World Bank.

EAST Japan Railway's (JR East) second share issue is moving forward, but will not emerge until after JR Tokai has completed its domestic listing on October 8. Nikko Securities and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter have been appointed joint global co-ordinators by the JNR Settlement Corporation, a quasi-private organisation established by the government to handle the privatisation of the national railway system and dispose of its massive debts.

DRESDNER Kleinwort Benson and Paribas were awarded the mandate this week for the Asian Development Bank's first benchmark borrowing in a European currency. A roadshow for the issue will take place at the beginning of next week, and a transaction could emerge any time after its conclusion, market conditions permitting.

INDONESIA'S PT Pindo Deli Pulp and Paper sucessfully launched a $750m Yankee bond, re-opening the high yield sector for Asian credits and underlining investors' search for attractive spreads. Originally touted as $400m in size, the multi-tranche offering set a number of firsts, not least in being the largest and longest deal to date from the Indonesia's corporate sector.

THE REPUBLIC of Argentina continued to increase the size of its future jumbo euro-denominated benchmark by this week issuing a Lit750bn seven year offering fungible with its outstanding DM1.5bn of 2004s and its Asch1bn transaction, both launched earlier this year. The lira deal, jointly led by Paribas and Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, was snapped up by Italian retail investors even though the republic gave it an aggressive 9.25% coupon until 1999, thereafter stepping down to 7% .

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THE PRESIDENT of Ecuador confirmed this week that the republic is considering becoming the latest country to attempt a Brady bond buyback deal before the end of the year. Asked on Thursday whether Ecuador was considering a Brady bond swap or buyback offering before the end of 1997, president Alarcón replied: "I think it is a high probability".

MERRILL Lynch has moved to beef up its Latin American debt underwriting capabilities with a series of key appointments in New York and plans for further hires in Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. This week the firm appointed Allen Vine to head a new group specialising in Latin American corporate credit research. The new post for Vine, who has always served as a Latin specialist at the firm, follows the recent appointment of adviser Keith Horn as new co-head of Latin American debt capital markets.

ING Barings opened up a new asset class of Russian risk last Friday, running the books on a $100m Euro/144A issue for the Oblast of Nizhniy Novgorod -- the first of Russia's regions to tap the international bond markets. With a 8.75% coupon, the Ba2/BB- rated transaction was priced to yield 280bp over US Treasuries at the issue fixed re-offer price of 99.742 -- at the midpoint of the 270bp-290bp indicative pricing range and flat to where the similarly rated City of St Petersburg's $300m 9.50% five year issue was trading at the time. By this Thursday's close in London the deal had traded up to 100.05/100.15, with the spread tightening to 273bp/270bp on a bid/offer basis.