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SANWA Bank became the latest Japanese bank to securitise North American corporate loans this week, as Lehman Brothers and Sanwa International brought a blow-out $1.7bn global deal. Excelsior Master Trust Series 1998-1 offered two senior tranches rated triple-A by Moody's and Standard & Poor's. Controlled amortisation gives them average lives of 2.99 and 4.99 years. Class 'A1', worth $952.51m, came at 18bp over three month Libor, while the $512.89m class 'A2' notes were priced at 24bp over Libor.

ROADSHOWS began in Hong Kong yesterday (Thursday) for a $350m project finance bond from Chinese infrastructure developer Cathay International Ltd. JP Morgan is lead manager for the issue, which bankers hope will set a new benchmark for a sector which though well regarded has suffered significant spread widening since October, in line with the market at large.

Modeling the term structure of interest rates has always been linked with complex probability theory and technical jargon that can act as a deterrent to exploring the world of derivative pricing.

THE KINGDOM of Thailand may launch a $500m Eurobond in the next two months, signalling the start of its planned $3bn to $5bn borrowing programme for the year. The country is bringing forward its return to the international markets, according to a finance ministry official, because it believes spreads have returned to a low enough level for the kingdom to raise funds to re-capitalise its banking system and revitalise the export sector.

THAI Farmers bank is poised to launch an offering of $1bn in new shares which bankers hope will mark the start of a renaissance in the country's battered banking sector. Goldman Sachs has been appointed as sole bookrunner for the ambitious 386m share deal which, if successful, will make Thai Farmers the fourth largest company in Thailand in terms of market capitalisation.

A UNIQUE conversion structure and credit enhancement ensured that the $180m offering from Teco Electric and Machinery was a blow-out success when it was priced yesterday (Thursday) at the most aggressive terms ever for a convertible from non-Japan Asia. Lead managers SBC Warburg and UBS said demand was overwhelming, with a total book of over $2bn. The $20m greenshoe is likely to be exercised in the next few weeks.

THE BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has succeeded in drawing a dozen banks to commit $50m apiece to its three year club loan. Central monetary board officials said on Tuesday that the bank had already secured commitments totalling $600m, with a further five banks still considering whether to join the issue. Proceeds will be used to bolster foreign exchange reserves.

THE revival of the Hong Kong equity market will face its first big test today (Friday). Joint lead managers ABN Amro and Bear Stearns will price the $250m-$300m 'H' share IPO for Yanzhou Coal Mining (YCC) which they abruptly pulled last October when the Hong Kong market plunged.

VIETNAM cleared the final hurdle in its attempts to return to the international debt markets yesterday (Thursday) when it issued three tranches of Brady bonds totalling $553m, two months later than planned. The response from the market was muted, however, because of the country's deteriorating credit standing. Moody's placed its Ba3 rating for the sovereign on review for a possible downgrade last month and bankers believe a cut is almost inevitable given Vietnam's lacklustre approach to economic reform over the past year. That was evidenced last October, when the IMF held back the final $176m tranche of its three year $530m package.

* PT Polysindo Eka Perkasa has emerged as one of the highest profile defaulters from Indonesia following the announcement this week that the company missed a $17m payment in commercial paper on February 27. Its failure to meet interest payments resulted in twin downgrades by Moody's and Standard & Poor's, with the former lowering the company from Caa1 to Caa3 and the latter from CCC to CCC-.

THERE WAS strong international demand this week as Nomura opened the book for the equity offering for Aiful Corporation. Between 3m and 4m shares in the consumer finance company will be sold to foreign investors, and priced between March 23 and March 25 at a discount to the secondary market.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is in the final stages of launching only the second major straight bond issue this year in Taiwan's domestic market. Led by Citicorp, with Capital Securities as joint lead, the NT$6bn transaction looks set to be the first offering by an international borrower to incorporate a floating rate tranche. Bankers said that the five year deal, for which syndicate invitations were tendered yesterday (Thursday), is to have one NT$4.5bn fixed rate tranche and one NT$1.5bn FRN tranche.