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* Kazkommertsbank, Kazakhstan's largest private sector bank, will next week become the first financial institution from Central Asia to launch an international bond. The B2/B+/B+ rated bank this week hosted presentations in London, Zurich and the US for the ING Barings-led $100m Euro/144A issue which is now expected to emerge with a five rather than a three year tenor.

THE FRENCH equity market is poised to host several deals from the country's rapidly restructuring corporate sector in the next few months. Several larger companies are shedding non-core businesses and rationalising existing operations ensuring that local and international investors will have opportunities to participate in the increase in efficiency that is expected to spread throughout the French industrial sector.

MERRILL Lynch and Daiwa will next week launch the sale of stock in Pliva, the Croatian pharmaceutical company that was floated in 1996 via UBS. The deal, through which the Croatian government will divest its entire 14% stake in the group, has been revived after the collapse in emerging markets worldwide halted the last attempt to sell Pliva shares internationally.

* Grupo Jose de Mello, the private Portuguese group with interests in finance, insurance and food production, will sell up to 9.1m shares in Cia de Seguros Imperio on the Lisbon stock exchange. The deal will represent around 20% of the insurer's equity capital. Grupo Mello holds around 73.7% of Imperio through a variety of sub-holdings. Gan of France owns 10.2% and Imperio already has a free float of around 16.1% in Lisbon

THE US stockmarkets opened higher this week, lifted by better than expected first quarter results from blue chips like Disney, Microsoft and Proctor & Gamble By yesterday (Thursday), however, worries over rising interest rates and overseas markets prompted to a wave of selling that led to the Dow Jones closing down over 33 points. New issue activity is gathering momentum as the second quarter gets into gear and some companies that filed earlier this year or late last year finally come to the market; several deals were completed this week with mixed success.

DESPITE the recent dip in the Paris market, bankers are expecting a myriad of IPOs and secondary stock sales from small to medium cap companies to get a rapturous reception from investors. Local and international firms confirm that they have a large number of deals to execute in the next two months - in the main market and the nouveau marché - with small cap funds from the UK, Switzerland and Germany the strongest buyers of these shares.

CREDIT Suisse First Boston has begun pre-marketing the sale of stock in Sauer, a manufacturer of mobile hydraulic parts that is registered in the US but whose management is based in Germany. The lead manager has fully registered the deal with the US SEC before obtaining a listing in New York, although the stock will also be listed on the main market in Frankfurt.

CREDIT SUISSE First Boston has won the mandate for a sale of shares in a privately owned Russian company, a rarity in the international markets but also a transaction that investors are expected to greet enthusiastically. The shares in Akrikhin, a pharmaceutical concern, will offer international institutions a welcome alternative to companies that still have strong links to the government. Investors are seeking shares in private companies as they offer a purer play on economic recovery, while many such companies are chronically undervalued.

DRESDNER Kleinwort Benson and Aros Securities are about to complete their $186m sale of shares in Vestas Wind Systems. The deal was launched two weeks ago but demand has been so strong that the book was closed last week - ahead of schedule.

GLOBAL co-ordinator SBC Warburg Dillon Read and joint bookrunner Cazenove this week released the pathfinder prospectus for the flotation of Thomson Travel which values the company at between £1.4bn and £1.7bn. The deal will be launched in May with shares being marketed to UK and international investors at a price range of £1.40 to £1.70.

THE FINAL stages are now in sight for the merger of Neste, the oil firm owned by the Finnish government, with local electricity concern Imatran Voima, a transaction that will pave the way for the privatisation of the new entity. As part of this process, the Finnish government is repurchasing the 16.8% Neste free float so it will wholly own the company before the merger.

THE SALE of shares in Spanish tobacco company Tabacalera is heading for a blow-out, spurred by buoyant conditions in the local stockmarket and huge latent demand from retail investors. Merrill Lynch, BBV and BCH are leading the deal, which looks certain to become the latest in a long string of successful privatisations from Spain - which has been the first European country to undertake major privatisation sales at the start of this year.