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* Bankgesellschaft Berlin has executed the second tranche of the DM200m car, caravan and motorcycle loan securitisation programme it has arranged for Berlin based ABC Bank. The DM45m deal, known as German Car Loans No 2, was structured as a Schuldschein loan, with a public rating of AA from Duff & Phelps. BGB placed all but DM5m of the paper with Bremer Landesbank, Sparkasse Essen, Hamburger Sparkasse and DG Bank. Two more banks are interested in the remaining portion.

WARBURG Dillon Read is marketing the subordinated tranches of a leveraged collateralised loan obligation for parent bank UBS, in preparation for a full scale launch. Eisberg will issue $500m of paper, including $422.5m of rated bonds in three tranches, rated triple-A, single-A and double-B, and a first loss portion, which UBS will retain.

The Securities (Disclosure of Interests) Ordinance currently requires disclosure of 'interests' in shares in Hong Kong-listed companies by directors of the relevant company and by any other person with an interest representing 10% or more of any class of the company's issued share capital.

THE ASIAN Development Bank (ADB) has revised its borrowing strategy for 1998, following a progressive widening of spreads since its $2bn global launched in April. Having originally intended to launch a couple of large, liquid dollar transactions over the year, treasurer Peter Balon told Euroweek that the bank is fully prepared to shun most public bond sectors indefinitely until it feels the market has priced in a more realistic view of its triple-A rated credit.

* The long mooted global bond offering by the Kingdom of Thailand was formally postponed this week. Finance minister Tarrin Nimmanhaeminda commented that since the international debt markets had been closed by high and volatile spread movements, the government is considering alternative means of financing. However, he also explained that since the country's balance of payments position has been improving and reserves remained stable, the government is not overly concerned at its inability to source new funds.

FUJITSU Support and Service is due to price its global IPO today (Friday) following a roadshow which shook off the negative aura of the Nikkei's recent performance to garner support in the upper half of its price range. Nomura is global manager for the 10m share IPO, to be sold in a price range of between ¥3,800 and ¥4,300, and raising up to ¥43bn (around $314m). Said one banker connected to the deal: "The Nikkei is suffering...but this is flying." He added that the deal looked set to repeat the success of the sale of shares in Toppan Forms, completed earlier this year, and up 64% since launch.

Hong Kong Standard & Poor's presented a dismal outlook for the Hong Kong economy this week, downgrading the Special Administrative Region from A+ to A with negative outlook.

US FINANCIAL guarantors AMBAC and MBIA, which cooperate in international markets through their joint venture MBIA-AMBAC International, have embarked on a strategic alliance with two of Japan's largest property and casualty insurance companies, Mitsui Marine and Fire and Yasuda Fire and Marine. The alliance is intended to strengthen MBIA-AMBAC's ability to provide financial guarantees for Japanese borrowers, particularly issuers of securitisations.

THE THAI cabinet this week approved a privatisation master plan that failed to convince bankers and analysts. The same constituency met the announcement that Thai Airways International (THAI) would postpone its share sale until the second half of 1999 with resigned dismay. The cabinet proposal is believed to contain few concrete measures. "It seems likely that the details of this plan are not known because they do not exist," said one head of research.

Australia Australia's Optus Communications could finally be nearing floatation, with the company saying this week it may soon break even and sees no impediment to a sale. Lead managers Merrill Lynch and Warburg Dillon Read remained more cautious and declined to speculate on a date for the transaction.

MALAYSIAN conglomerate MUI Media looks set to complete a HK$359m ($46.33m) private placement of South China Morning Post (Holdings) shares this week, defying the near-drying up of the Hong Kong primary market. Analysts said large fluctuations in the share price of SCMP * remarkable even against the recent background of dramatic daily changes in the Hang Seng index * have raised suspicions that a sale was imminent.

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