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NTT DOCOMO is set to defy the extreme volatility of the international equity markets to become the largest ever initial public offering raising between $13.52bn and $17.62bn. Bankers are confident that the deal will be able to withstand

ARGENTINA'S finance undersecretary Miguel Kiguel confirmed this week that he is close to signing an agreement that would secure an $8.1bn support package to cover all of the republic's financing needs to the beginning of July 1999. The money, to come from the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank and some local banks, will be enough to cover the $2bn that Argentina needs to raise for the rest of this year, $4bn in the first quarter of 1999 and some $2bn in the second quarter.

LATIN AMERICAN bonds went into freefall yesterday (Thurday) as investors continued to liquidate these and other emerging market bonds to cover Russian losses. Argentine 2006s were trading around 1,195bp from 846bp last Friday, with the 2017s at 1,220bp from 833bp and the 2027s at 1,010bp from 769bp. Brazilian 2008s were quoted at 1,350bp from 1,084bp last Friday and its 2027s at 1,390bp from 1,049bp.

TALKS ON the restructuring of $40bn of GKO/OFZ Russian government bonds remained deadlocked this week amid signs that western bankers are losing patience with the Russian authorities. Although the deadline for the proposed debt exchange has been extended from today (Friday) until October 2, the war of words between the Russian government and western bankers has escalated alarmingly.

LEAD MANAGERS Goldman Sachs and ABN Amro Rothschild overcame turbulent market conditions last night (Thursday) to complete the Dfl 4bn equity financing for Dutch supermarket group, Koninklijke Ahold NV. The group was on track to raise the capital long before the global financial crisis hit world stockmarkets and has already earmarked the funds to finance its acquisition of Giant Stores in the US.

ARGENTARIA and Deutsche Bank have postponed the sale of stock in Azkar, Spain's leading transport and distribution group. Although there is still a long queue of new issues headed for the Madrid market, few bankers believe these deals will be executed. The cancellation of Azkar represents the first concrete sign that the Spanish primary market has slowed since Europe's equity markets first tumbled in the wake of Russia's financial crisis.

ABN AMRO ROTHSCHILD and CDC Marchés have priced the French government's privatisation sale of shares in Caisse Nationale de Prévoyance (CNP), the state-controlled insurer. The $1bn deal is the first major share offering to overcome the recent turmoil in world stockmarkets and was seen by investment bankers as an encouraging ray of hope in the generally bleak conditions.

GLOBAL co-ordinators Warburg Dillon Read and JP Morgan are on course to complete the sale of stock in Swisscom next weekend. Given the appalling market conditions, the leads' success in pulling together an extremely strong book of orders has drawn warm applause from the market. The Swisscom IPO is likely to be the first in a long queue of telecom deals scheduled for the rest of the year - including NTT DoCoMo, Mobistar, TPSA and OTE. But strategists believe there is still keen demand for the sector.

A £140M PLACING for Telewest Communications, the UK cable television group, has been postponed after lead manager Credit Suisse First Boston was unable to reach an acceptable price for investors and the vendor, French utility group Vivendi. Vivendi is reported to have approached several investment banks with a view to completing the placement of a chunk of Telewest stock. CSFB won the deal on the basis that the bank had been discussing the placement with the vendor for some time.

THE ISRAELI government has sold a further stake in Bank Leumi through an international tender and a domestic Dutch auction - a deal which was achieved against the odds in view of the recent emerging market meltdown. Although the Tel Aviv stockmarket is one of the few markets around the world that is showing an overall gain this year, it is still classified as an emerging market and is struggling for international investors' attention in the present climate.

THE PARTNERS of Goldman Sachs meet next week to decide whether to go ahead with the firm's flotation. The US investment bank is due to file its final prospectus with the SEC before beginning the pre-marketing for the IPO, which would involve some 10%-15% of its equity capital.

DEUTSCHE BANK and BBL have launched the IPO of Mobistar, the Belgian mobile telephone operator - a divestment by core shareholders including France Télécom and local operator Telefino, which represents one of the largest and most important deals to emerge from Belgium for some time. "This represents an excellent sector to look at for a first time buyer in Belgian equities," said one analyst. "If anything will sell in the current climate, telecoms will and Mobistar looks set to be the proxy for this sector in Belgium."