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ASIAN spreads continued to widen this week as emerging markets worldwide felt the wrath of investors following Russia's devaluation and default. The further movement led some bankers to speculate the Republic of the Philippines may postpone its $500m deal and some said there may be no further issuance from the region this year.

China Wujiang Silk intends to issue Rmb200m worth of convertible bonds. The five year bonds will be convertible into A shares once the company lists on the Shenzhen exchange. They will carry a coupon of 1% in the first year rising by 0.2% each year until maturity.

SINGAPOREAN property developer Far East Organization raised S$136m ($77m) this week with a bond issue that comes closer to securitisation than any previous deal from the island state. The bond was part of a S$162m package arranged by Citicorp, and secured on the Leonie Condotel, a luxury service apartment block in the heart of Singapore's shopping district. A S$26m floating rate loan from Citicorp made up the balance.

BANKERS continue to hope that the sale of a stake in Indonesian cement producer Semen Gresik can proceed -- and with it the country's privatisation process -- despite the government pulling out of a majority stake sale due to domestic political pressure. A lower stake of 14% is now being offered and the previous bidder, Cemex of Mexico, is thought to remain interested.

THAI FARMERS Bank has announced an extensive fund-raising programme just five months after it gained $860m through a share placement led by Goldman Sachs. The bank intends to raise up to $3bn from the sale of bonds, with maturities up to 100 years.

WARBURG Dillon Read continued its successful run of recent placements in the Australian market this week with an 11.7% sale of the Lowy family's stake in Westfield Holdings. Bankers said the stock "sold like hotcakes" given its relative unavailability in the free market. A total of A$312m was raised by the sale, which reduced the family's stake to around 32% from 43%. A company statement declared a long term target of a 30% stake and said the money raised had been placed with external fund managers in order to diversify investments.

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THE NEW issue boom on Germany's high flying Neuer Markt continues unabated, despite the sharp falls in German equities this week as the Russian meltdown sent shockwaves through world markets. Shrugging off a 5% fall in Frankfurt's Xetra Dax index yesterday, as fears about the exposure of German banks to Russia caused shares to plunge (and helped Deutsche Bank to lose its coveted triple-A rating), two Neuer Markt debutants are on course to complete well received offerings.

ISSUERS hoping to launch new equity offerings early in the autumn have only a few days to decide whether or not to press ahead in the face of the current market turbulence, investment bankers warned this week. Traditionally the August lull in the equity new issue market ends with a bang at the start of September as issuers hurry to beat the annual autumn rush.

* ABN Amro Rothschild is to advise Telecom Eireann, Ireland's national telecommunications operator, on its privatisation via a flotation next year. Merrill Lynch and AIB Capital Markets have already been nominated as joint financial advisers and distributors of the offering, which could raise up to I£1.5bn and is viewed by the Irish government as its privatisation trailblazer.

THE FLOTATION of Elexis Holding became the first casualty of the German stockmarket volatility this week as issuers started to weigh the wisdom of proceeding with new issues in such turbulent conditions. The vendor, private equity firm Doughty Hanson and lead managers Merrill Lynch and Bayerische Vereinsbank decided yesterday (Thursday) to postpone its IPO on the Frankfurt stock exchange.

THE LONG-Term Credit Bank of Japan announced a dramatic restructuring late last week, including the resignation of its senior management, and a complete withdrawal from overseas operations. The plan is aimed at easing the passage the bank's proposed merger with Sumitomo Trust & Banking. Some ¥750bn of bad loans will be written off, probably with government support to the tune of ¥500bn.