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BANK One has hired two experienced portfolio managers in London to help structure its planned bond arbitrage vehicle. Chris Hutton, head of debt capital markets at Halifax's group treasury, will join Bank One on Monday, while Neil Calder, assistant director in structured finance at Bank Austria Creditanstalt International, will move to the US bank in August.

Electricité de France has mandated Bayerische Landesbank to arrange a Eu2bn securitisation of current and future receivables from small and medium sized corporate customers. The German bank plans to execute the transaction in the asset backed commercial paper market. The two other shortlisted bidders, BNP Paribas and a consortium of CDC Marchés and Merrill Lynch, had offered bond solutions.

The Italian subsidiary of Hypo Alpe Adria Bank, the Landesbank for the Austrian state of Carinthia, made its capital markets debut this week with a Eu158m securitisation of leases, lead managed by BNP Paribas. Hypo Alpe Adria Bank SpA engaged in the transaction to take the assets off balance sheet and gain an alternative source of finance to domestic banks and the parent institution.

ABN Amro last Friday launched its $3bn asset backed commercial paper conduit, Sunflowers Funding Corp LLC, which will securitise financial assets originated by Bank Labouchere, the Dutch bank that is being taken over by Dexia. The Delaware based programme issues US CP rated A-1+/P-1/F-1+. ABN Amro or other similarly rated banks will provide 100% liquidity cover. There is no programme wide credit enhancement, and the assets are expected to be sufficient to cover interest and fees, according to Fitch, but further credit enhancement may in future be provided through overcollateralisation or a letter of credit.

Exponentially weighted historical simulation (EWHS) puts a portfolio through a series of historical scenarios with heavier weightings given to more recent events.

The Korea Asset Management Corp, the state workout agency for bad loans from South Korea's banks, is expected to launch its first international securitisation in the next few weeks. "The issue should be finalised towards the end of this month," said a banker close to the transaction. Deutsche Bank and UBS Warburg are joint bookrunners on the deal.

THE Nasdaq IPO of Netease.com proved a disappointment to the company and to sole lead manager Merrill Lynch. The stock fell more than 20% on the first day of trading last Friday, just before the US Independence Day holiday. The stock recovered slightly to close at $13-1/8 on Wednesday, but still more than 15% below the issue price. Netease was priced in the middle of the $14-$17 range.

THAI Airways International has delayed a placement of 13% of its shares due later this year because of poor market conditions. The Thai stock market has been Asia's worst performer this year, after a miserable 1999. Liquidity even in the leading stocks is so low that international fund managers have all but given up on the market.

POHANG Iron & Steel Corp (Posco) and National Power Corp (Napocor) could be the next in a spate of Asian names to issue yen denominated debt. An official at Posco, the world's largest fully integrated steel manufacturer, said that the management is close to deciding whether to launch a new Samurai bond issue to refinance a maturing Samurai deal in October.

TEMASEK Holdings late last week pressed the button to proceed with the IPO of its subsidiary, Singapore MRT (SMRT). Temasek and joint lead managers DBS Holdings and UBS Warburg have priced the issue to ensure a successful listing of the company, which aims to attract local and international investors in relatively difficult market conditions.

Australia The forthcoming flotation of the insurance arm of The National Reloading Manufacturers' Assocation (NRMA) continues to attract the market's attention. This week, bankers speculated about an apparent rift between the company's chairman and the chief executive.

THE SALE of 37.5m Global Depository Shares in Gigabyte Technology, Taiwan's second largest motherboard manufacturer after Asustek, is proving an uphill struggle, despite bankers involved in the deal reporting strong interest from institutions and a positive response to management. The Taiwan market has been weak and volatile in recent weeks. The government has been sufficiently concerned to step in this week with a market support fund.