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General Electric Capital Corporation has dropped Enskilda as a dealer off its $5 billion Euro-CP programme. GE Sovac has been added to the dealer panel.

* Deutsche Post has delayed the announcement of its half year results, and with them the details of its forthcoming Eu5bn IPO, because it has increased its stake in DHL. Post already held a 25% stake in the courier, but has increased this to a controlling stake. The move is likely to set the listing, due about November 6, back a couple of days, according to a senior syndicate official.

Three of next week's four Neuer Markt listings will burst out of the starting blocks if the grey market is any indicator of aftermarket performance. Lambda Physik, caatoosee, and GAP are all quoted by broker Börsenmakler Schnigge, the source of the grey market prices, at more than twice their bookbuilding range.

Building materials company Hanson plc plans to issue up to $1bn of debt in a transaction to be launched in the second half of September. Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers were this week awarded the mandated for the deal. Analysts expect the deal to be popular with investors because of the strong fundamentals of the company. "We like the company a lot," said one analyst, "because it has been able to refocus its activity very successfully. The management has also clearly defined its goals and has been able to meet its targets.

ABN AMRO appears to be near vindicating its confidence in the power of the Interbrew name after a strong week of selling down the brewing company's Eu5.47bn facility. The loan is the largest sole underwritten credit so far this year and is the largest sole underwriting ABN has ever attempted.

Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa slashed its stake in Vodafone Airtouch this week with a $3bn exchangeable that was among the largest equity linked issues ever — and by far the largest from Asia.

The Hong Kong government has priced the IPO of Mass Transit Railway Corp at a modest level to ensure both retail and institutional success. The range of HK$8-HK$9.38 per share for the sale of 20% of the company is attracting strong interest from institutions following the official launch of the roadshow yesterday (Thursday).

Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa slashed its stake in Vodafone Airtouch this week with a $3bn exchangeable that was among the largest equity linked issues ever — and by far the largest from Asia.

TWO more banks will add to the large volume of loans from Iceland this year. BGB has launched a $100m term loan for Landsbanki Islands, whilst LB Kiel is moving into the market with a $20m-$25m financing for Reykjavik Savings Bank (Spron).

India The ¥5bn 2-1/2 year fundraising for National Thermal Power Corp, co-ordinated by Sumitomo Bank, was signed yesterday (Thursday). The co-ordinator held ¥1bn.

ING BARINGS completed the largest accelerated global tender ever on Tuesday, with the sale of Eu3.12bn worth of its stake in ABN Amro. ING launched the deal after ABN Amro shares had closed on Monday at Eu27.19. The price came down over the course of the day, closing Tuesday at Eu26.31, but ING managed to price the issue at Eu26, offering a discount of just 1.18%. A slimmer discount was impossible because orders were price sensitive around Eu26.

Banca delle Marche is to sign a euro1 billion ($859.1 million) Euro-MTN programme on September 26. Lehman Brothers is the arranger. The Italian regional bank has already announced its inaugural issue. The three-year euro200 million floating rate note is due on September 29. Lehman Brothers is lead manager. The bank is unrated, although it says it will obtain a rating in the future. Pier Franco Giorgi, chief financial officer at Banca delle Marche, says: "Having a rating is important but we can still enlarge our market base without one. It can't guarantee success and not having one won't stop us from informing investors about our financial status and establishing ourselves in the capital markets." Banca delle Marche has no immediate plans to do a roadshow but will consider it after signing. The issuer previously funded itself through regional loans and will use the MTN shelf to access international funds. Giorgi says: "The programme will finance growth and general banking activity and it will also help to diversify our investor base." The dealer panel is Credit Agricole Indosuez, Deutsche Bank, Istituto Mobiliare Italiano, Merrill Lynch, UniCredito Italiano and the arranger. It is the sixth Italian bank to sign a Euro-MTN programme in 2000. It follows these banks into the Euro-MTN market this year: Banca Agricola Mantovana, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Banca Popolare di Lodi, Banca Agrileasing and Banca Commerciale Italiana, also arranged by Lehman Brothers.