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AS REVEALED in Euroweek 639, Fuji Bank and Warburg Dillon Read have won the mandate to arrange a large senior debt facility backing the recapitalisation of Impress Metal, the Dutch canning and metals business. Senior debt will total Eu620m out of a total deal size of Eu1bn. Sources say proceeds back the recapitalisation and several acquisitions.

THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC will early next week launch a Eu2bn 10 year benchmark, offering investors potentially their last chance to buy Greek government debt in euros ahead of the expected June announcement of the republic’s entry into Emu next year.

THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC will early next week launch a Eu2bn 10 year benchmark, offering investors potentially their last chance to buy Greek government debt in euros ahead of the expected June announcement of the republic’s entry into Emu next year.

Market report: Compiled by Jim Webber,

THE SUCCESS of the $850m subordinated bond issue by Hanvit Bank this week has provided Asia with one of its clearest signals yet of investors’ faith in the region’s economic recovery.

THE SUCCESS of the $850m subordinated bond issue by Hanvit Bank this week has provided Asia with one of its clearest signals yet of investors’ faith in the region’s economic recovery.

Ten year dollar swaps were trading around the 100bp over Treasuries on Thursday (yesterday). Once again, the market was volatile and illiquid. "If you wanted to pay, you had to lift the offer, and if you wanted to receive you had to hit the bid," said one dealer. Only three weeks ago, 10 year dollar spreads were some 30bp tighter. Even accounting for a 9bp roll into the new 6.50% February 2010, there has been some 20bp of widening in the last few weeks.

Ten year dollar swaps were trading around the 100bp over Treasuries on Thursday (yesterday). Once again, the market was volatile and illiquid. "If you wanted to pay, you had to lift the offer, and if you wanted to receive you had to hit the bid," said one dealer. Only three weeks ago, 10 year dollar spreads were some 30bp tighter. Even accounting for a 9bp roll into the new 6.50% February 2010, there has been some 20bp of widening in the last few weeks.

INTERACTIVE Investor International's (iii) £150m IPO, a £40.25m placement for online auction firm QXL, and the launch of the hotly anticipated StepStone IPO confirmed the growing internet addiction among investors this week. iii priced its 55m share offering at the top of the 120p-150p range. The deal closed on Wednesday and was 30 times covered in the institutional tranche and around 13 times covered in the retail tranche. Given the euphoria surrounding the offering, the shares opened at 350p and closed the day at 338-1/2p. Of the total, 20% was sold to UK retail investors - who subscribed to the issue via the website - with the remainder sold to institutions.

Not only was the World Bank's Ps1bn 15.875% three year Eurobond on Monday, the first by this borrower in the peso market, it was the first international offering by any supranational in a Latin currency. The World Bank has been contemplating a peso issue for several years, said head of the dollar group CK Tang, but only lately have investors regained their confidence in peso exposure.

ARGENTINA'S largest mortgage bank, Banco Hipotecario SA, made a successful return to the international bond markets last Friday (February 11) with the launch of an ABN Amro led three year Euro/144A offering. Demand was such that the lead manager was able to up the issue to $125m at pricing, from $100m at launch.

The Republic of Italy last week offered investors the rare opportunity to buy into a sovereign liquid 10 year yen bond. The ¥100bn global transaction, lead managed by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Nomura, is Italy's first deal in the yen market since March 1997 - and makes it the first sovereign to issue a global yen bond since March 1999. "We have been considering a yen issue for some time," said Vincenzo La Via, Italy's head of funding. "This is an important investor base for us and in this particular case there was a coincidence in terms of demand such that we were able to place this bond in the US, Europe and also in Japan."