Search results for

THE WORLD'S largest foundry manufacturer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has once again blazed a trail for the island republic in the international equity markets with the completion of a new $194m ADR offering. In contrast to every single other depositary receipt offering from Taiwan of the past two years, lead manager Goldman Sachs was able to achieve premium pricing for the 12.94m ADS issue completed last Friday.

SPECULATION that Credit Suisse First Boston and Salomon Smith Barney have been chosen as the new global co-ordinators for a government divestment in VSNL (Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd) has been dismissed by local bankers as premature. Although reports that the two US investment banks have beaten Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and Jardine Fleming began to seep out this week, local bankers said that the government task force is unlikely to make its decision public for another at least another few days.

THE FIRST sizeable IPO to be completed from China since March closed oversubscribed this week, providing a welcome end of year boost for a market that has only recently been able to bear the resumption of secondary placements. The HK$700m ($90m) flotation of sanitary products manufacturer Hengan group was described by bankers as the first from the mainland to classify as neither a Red Chip nor an H-share. A privately owned enterprise registered in the Cayman Islands and consequently able to circumvent CSRC regulations, the company offered a total of 250m shares.

BAYERISCHE Hypo- und Vereinsbank will launch a DM1bn deal early next week that will be the first to benefit from the changes to tier one capital regulations announced by the BIS at the end of October. As a result of the new BIS regulations, HypoVereinsbank will be able to launch a dated, rather than a perpetual issue. Previously, dated issues have only been issued in the US market, where 30 year callable issues -- capital securities -- have been launched.

DESPITE THE Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday the primary market remained busy. The dollar and sterling sectors in particular continue to benefit from attractive absolute yields and spreads over governments for top quality issuers. The positive tone, unthinkable only weeks ago, was illustrated by the lack of performing issues as credit spreads remained stable. But the most emphatic demonstration that memories of the recent turmoil are quickly receding was the Dow's record-breaking performance on Monday when it reached its all-time high.

WHAT DID you think when you read about Deutsche Bank's marriage proposal to Bankers Trust? Was this to be a shotgun wedding? Was BT in the pudding club? Had sitting in a hot bath and drinking a gallon of Gordon's Gin or Beefeaters failed to produce a result? The proposed alliance, already christened 'Trust Deutsche', looks as disastrous to us as Bonkersbank-Citigroup. Did Rolf Breuer and Joe 'Knackersyard' Ackermann check to see whether anyone else had proposed to BT, let alone left their slippers under the bed?

DEUTSCHE BANK'S $9.7bn takeover of BT Alex Brown looks set to be given the go-ahead this weekend, with staff completely in the dark as to the shape of the new bank. The deal, which will be the largest takeover of a US bank by a foreign competitor, is expected to be finalised in board meetings on November 29. Job losses are expected in both companies, particularly among Deutsche's US staff. Also at some risk are the 6,200 UK staff of Deutsche, and the 3,500 people employed by Bankers Trust in the UK.

Domestic issuance: * Banca Popolare di Novara

6171

6173

A STRONG Middle Eastern investor bid for Lebanese risk, lower funding costs as a result of last week's interest rate cut in the US and improved sentiment in the emerging markets have prompted Lebanon's Bank of Beirut and Banque Libanaise pour le Commerce to seek access to the Eurodollar market. Bank of Beirut already has a $50m 8.875% June 2000 transaction from May 1997, this week trading at a spread of 282bp over US Treasuries. The bank should supplement that issue with a $30m three year issue early next week.