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Morgan Stanley Dean Witter this week launched an innovative securitisation for UK retail chain J Sainsbury Plc, backed by 16 of its supermarkets. The £335.5m deal is rare in being backed by leases to a single tenant, and is only the second securitisation of retail property in Europe.

Lead arrangers Chase and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter have successfully raised an oversubscription on the Sfr4.1bn financing for Swiss cable company Cablecom, which is being acquired by NTL. By last night (Thursday), 22 banks had committed, with a few still working on the deal. The total raised so far in the underwriting stage is over Sfr7bn.

THE African Development Bank (AfDB) this week launched its first public bond issue since October 1997, a ¥50bn issue via Tokyo-Mitsubishi International that marks the start of a higher market profile for the supranational. AfDB treasurer Thierry de Longuemar told Euroweek that the reasons for the strategy are twofold. In January the AfDB approved a new liquidity policy and, according to de Longuemar: "The way to fund that increase in liquidity is to be more active in the market."

The $100m loan for African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has launched to general syndication, offering three levels. Co-arrangers will earn 20bp for commitments between $5m and $7.5m, lead managers 15bp for $3m to $4.9m, and managers 12.5bp for $1m to $2.9m. Responses are due by the end of the month.

Asia * All Aboard Funding II Ltd

Hong Kong * Kowloon-Canton Railway Corp

China Arranger BA Asia is waiting for a few stragglers before closing the $120m two year CP backstop facility for Florens Container. The deal will be closed next week, with signing due in April.

Australia Co-ordinating arranger Barclays Capital has assembled a sub-underwriting group for the $640m loan for Pacific Carriage and Southern Cross Cables. Subscriptions totaled about $1bn, with each bank's commitment scaled back. There will be no general syndication.

* DaimlerChrysler (UK) Holding Plc Guarantor: DaimlerChrysler AG

Please don't say that our crystal ball is always as clouded as our brains after 16 water-melon martinis. In these columns we told you that our moles in Brussels, headed by the charming Ms Dominique Sproute, were hearing that the days of Sir Andy 'Pandy' Large as chairman of Euroclear were well and truly numbered. Our crystal ball may sometimes be murky but Ms Sproute has scored another bull's eye. Out goes the owlish Pandy Large and in comes Chris Tupker who does something reasonably important at ABN Amro. We are privately jealous of Tupker's new role because we thought that the chairmanship of Euroclear would have been ideally suited to ourselves. The post mainly involves hosting lavish cocktail parties, eating and drinking in the world's finest restaurants, schmoozing the crowds and kissing babies. All of these accomplishments feature prominently on our CV. Also, our friends say that we are much funnier than Chris Tupperware.