GENERAL Motors looks set to launch a $2bn plus global bond as early as next week, the Detroit car company's first offshore dollar issue for 10 years, and a harbinger of other transactions from the auto and finance sectors. Also shattering this week's calm in the dollar markets will be Ford Motor Credit with a $2.5bn global bond, and Toyota Motor Credit with a $1bn Eurobond. Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch are reported to have the mandate for the General Motors transaction, believed to include tranches at five and 10 years. Both banks refused to comment.
April 17, 1998