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* A reverse inquiry to Barclays Capital spurred Capital One to bring its first credit card securitisation of the year last Friday. Capital One Master Trust 1998-1 was structured as a 10 year soft bullet. The $500m class 'A' notes, rated triple-A, priced at 63bp over Treasuries with a 6.31% coupon. Class 'B', worth $50.24m, came at 83bp over, with a coupon of 6.536%.

THE Royal Bank of Scotland made its debut as a Eurobond lead manager this week, bringing an innovative repackaging of asset backed securities from its own balance sheet. RBS has effectively leveraged a closed portfolio of assets, keeping some of the potential upside and limiting its downside to the size of the equity piece. It has also freed up significant capital -- the bank will only have to hold capital equivalent to the full value of the equity.

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THE KINGDOM of Thailand is unlikely to access the international bond markets until June at the earliest, according to local experts who believe that the government is still in the process of formulating a coherent strategy. The government indicated its intention to raise fresh funds last week, but bankers said the announcement was principally designed to test the market response.

THE PLANNED recapitalisation of Thailand's banking sector took another major step forward this week as news emerged of a landmark 400m share issue from the country's largest financial institution, Bangkok Bank. The offering is likely to raise around $1bn, a similar amount to a 373m share issue from Thailand's third largest bank, Thai Farmers Bank, which is mid-way through roadshows.

THE AUSTRALIAN government has announced it will sell the remaining two thirds of telecom company Telstra in an A$40bn ($26.6bn) offering which could hit the market by the end of this year should John Howard's conservative party be returned to office after national elections. Bankers are already scrambling for positions in the sale, which could generate approaching $50m in fees.

* Stephen Taran, managing director of credit research at Lehman Brothers Asia has resigned. Taran's departure marks a sad loss for the US investment bank where he was one of Asia's key deal originators with a network of close government-level contacts across the region. Taran wishes to move back to the US over the medium term, and his new post is likely to be as head of global sovereign credit research at an as yet unnamed rival US firm.

ROADSHOWS for the Republic of Korea's critical global bond are poised to begin in Hong Kong next Thursday, with lead managers Goldman Sachs and Salomon Smith Barney likely to price the roughly $3bn offering on Tuesday April 7. Seoul bankers believe that while the government is hoping to launch a 10 year transaction at as low as 300bp over Treasuries, it has indicated an unusual degree of flexibility in its attitude to the pricing and structure of the deal.

SHANDONG Yangzhou Coal Mining (YCC), the first Chinese coal company to seek a listing in Hong Kong, has reduced the issue price for its HK$2.21bn offering. The ABN Amro and Bear Stearns arranged deal will see the company offered at a p/e of between 6.25 and 7.75 times this year's prospective earnings.

WESTPAC inaugurated its 1998 funding programme last Friday with the launch of the first foreign currency Uridashi bond by a financial institution. In a market sector dominated by surpranational borrowers, the AA-/Aa3-rated Australian bank raised $50m via Nomura in a three year offering priced at 99.95 on a semi-annual coupon of 5.25%. Senior manager of Westpac's group treasury division Jonathon Minor said the issue was a new landmark in its evolving strategy of increasingly targeting distribution at retail investors.

UBS HAS won the mandate for a $150m non-credit enhanced convertible for Acer Peripherals. The deal, for one of Taiwan's leading electronic companies, should follow the pattern of most convertibles from the country and will have a five year tenor with a possible put in year three. The deal will add to the growing list of equity and equity-linked issues from Taiwan.

DOMESTIC bond issuance in Taiwan looks set to surge over the second quarter. Bankers are predicting a slew of issues as supranational borrowers harvest arbitrage opportunities and local corporate borrowers seek to insulate themselves from the Asia premium demanded by the offshore market. The European Investment Bank (EIB) is set to price its two tranche NT$6bn ($185m) issue towards the end of next week, while the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is set to launch its third transaction during the next month.