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THE REPUBLIC of Latvia this week completed roadshows for its debut international issue in the public Eurobond markets this week. A team of senior funding officials, headed by finance minister Ivars Godmanis, hosted investor presentations in Vienna, Frankfurt, Zurich and London for the expected Eu150m five year issue. Credit Suisse First Boston will lead manage the deal early next week.

THE REPUBLIC of South Africa scored a remarkable success on its return to the international bond markets last Friday when its Eu500m seven year offering proved a smash hit with the target audience of European investors. Lead managed by Credit Suisse First Boston and JP Morgan, the Baa3/BB+ rated deal was priced with a 6.75% coupon to give a margin of 328bp over the 6.25% April 2006 Bund on an issue/fixed re-offer price of 99.183 -- well inside the 350bp-375bp price guidance first mooted when marketing started last week.

INVESTMENT grade buyers stormed into Uruguay's $250m 10 year Yankee bond this week, enabling the sovereign to follow Chile's lead and price at more aggressive levels than originally slated. The Baa3/BBB- rated deal, led by Merrill Lynch, was priced to yield 7.325% or 212.5bp over Treasuries, tighter than the 223bp trading level of its 2008s and in the middle of a 210bp to 215bp range, itself revised down from 210bp to 220bp earlier in the week.

THE REPUBLIC of Turkey this week launched a second increase to its debut euro denominated bond, upping the outstanding Eu650m offering by a further Eu150m. The add-on was sole lead managed by Deutsche Bank and Paribas, the bookrunners on the original Eu500m transaction from late February and the first Eu150m increase last week.

THE POLARISATION between Frankfurt's Neuer Markt and the rest of the Deutsche Börse is becoming increasingly apparent with valuations on the high growth market continuing to move up -- even in the face of weaker sentiment toward some hi-tech groups. Following this week's volatile trading on Nasdaq, many of Europe's high growth and second tier markets reverberated as investors became increasingly fearful of a correction in the sector.

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WARBURG Dillon Read has been mandated to act as global co-ordinator for the sale of stock in Helsinki Telecom early this summer. The firm ran the books on last year's highly successful offering of shares in the company's operating group, Helsinki Telecom Company. The transaction has been structured to ease the merger of the operating company with Helsinki Telecom, a co-operative group owned by its subscribers.

Enthusiastic reception for Seat share offer INTERNATIONAL and local investors have greeted enthusiastically the sale of shares in Seat, the Italian yellow pages group. Global co-ordinator Lehman Brothers is in the final stages of bookbuilding and the shares will be priced over the weekend -- earlier than expected.

GLOBAL co-ordinator Morgan Stanley Dean Witter has successfully executed the sale of stock in Spanish construction group Ferrovial and reopened the local primary equity market. Spanish companies have been slow to take advantage of this year's recovering continental stockmarkets, fearing that a market correction would erode the high valuations on the major bourses or that investors would only lean toward fashionable sectors.

German offers loom despite recent hiccups INTERNATIONAL investors are looking forward to a period of intense primary market activity on the Frankfurt stockmarket as many of the country's corporate and banking groups gear up to complete equity funding and divestments of secondary stock.

THE HUNGARIAN government is set to launch the $300m to $400m secondary sale of stock in Matav, which follows the group's international IPO in November of 1997 and will be the final sell-down of the government's ownership. Credit Suisse First Boston has been mandated to lead manage the deal, after taking the senior role (with Merrill Lynch) in the company's flotation.

THE PORTUGUESE government has announced its plans for the next phase of its so far highly successful privatisation programme with the divestment of some of its shares in Brisa, the national toll-road operator. The deal will be led by Deutsche Bank and BCP. The company's stock was last sold to international investors in 1998 in one of the few deals that was able to overcome the shattering corrections suffered by international stockmarkets in the wake of the global financial crisis.