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A DEBUT US-targeted bond for Advance Agro (AA) of Thailand demonstrated the new reality for Asian issuers in the international debt markets when it was priced late last Friday in New York at an astounding 911bp over Treasuries by lead manager Morgan Stanley. The pulp and paper company confounded its critics, who believed that it would be unable to stomach the huge spread demanded by investors, by committing itself to a $111.35m 10 year non-callable deal with an issue price of 89.805 and semi-annual yield of 15%.

THE AMBITIOUS combined equity financing from Indonesia's Asia Pulp and Paper group (APP) drew a sharply divided response from the market following its pricing earlier this week. Equity specialists highlighted the fact that the twin ADR and Lyons (Liquid Yield Options Note) transaction had been restructured on extremely generous terms, whereas debt specialists argued that in comparison to the group's outstanding Eurobonds, the final terms were too aggressive to support a strong investor response.

* SocGen Crosby has appointed Michael Hanson-Lawson as managing director of its European and Asian equities business in Japan. To be based in Tokyo, Hanson-Lawson was most recently managing director of the group's specialist Asian equities arm in London. In his new position, he will have the task of improving co-ordination in the bank's sales of foreign securities to Japan. * Peregrine has appointed Chongrak Sripunporn to head its equities operation in Thailand, Peregrine Finance & Securities. Chongrak was latterly managing director of SocGen Crosby Research in Bangkok.

SAMSUNG Electronics, Korea's flagship exporter and the world's leading manufacturer of semi-conductor chips, squared up to an inhospitable primary market this Tuesday with a surprise $130m GDR offering via Goldman Sachs and Samsung Securities. Although the company's desire to complement its recent Yankee offering with a new equity deal had been well known, bankers and analysts nevertheless expressed a mixture of astonishment and confusion at the group's determination to press ahead. The issue comes at a time when most experts are predicting that Korea will need assistance from the IMF to hold up its insecure fiscal position.

THE FIRST IPO from Hong Kong to brave the stockmarket rout will be launched on an accelerated basis next week, with Crédit Lyonnais leading a 280m share offering for Lai Fung Holdings Ltd, the China property arm of the diversified conglomerate Lai Sun Development. Roadshows begin in Singapore on Monday and the Hong Kong IPO will open concurrent to roadshows in Hong Kong on Tuesday. Pricing is scheduled for Friday, with an 83%/17% split between international and retail investors.

DEUTSCHE Morgan Grenfell kicked off its roadshow this week for Indonesia's biggest stockbroking firm, PT Makindo Tbk, which plans to raise $100m through its IPO. Although it is one of the first deals launched since the IMF finalised its loan agreement with Indonesia two weeks ago, bankers are wondering why the company is listing in a battered market.

THE INDIAN government is poised to give the go-ahead for the formal launch of its ambitious privatisation of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), encouraged by initial indications of demand following two weeks of intensive pre-marketing, The result of a meeting between the leads -- Goldman Sachs, HSBC and Merrill Lynch -- the company and the government's core group on divestment are expected to be made public today (Friday), with early reports suggesting that the issue will bow to market sensitivity by scaling down its offering size. It had been hoped to raise up to $800m via a 107m share sale comprising 60m new and 47m existing shares, but finance ministry officials were saying late yesterday (Thursday) that the company's financing will be scaled back to 20m shares, with the addition of a 10m share greenshoe.

ELETROBRAS, Brazil's federal power utility, plans to issue about $6bn in securitised bonds backed by receivables next year as the government attempts to reduce its fiscal deficit. The securitisation proposal is a first for Brazil and would form part of the utility's efforts to reduce the R$9bn debt it owes to the Brazilian treasury. Brazilian development bank BNDES will co-ordinate the issue, which is expected to take place in the first half of 1998.

LATIN loan syndication heads report dwindling interest among second-tier banks towards Latin American loans in the wake of the market downturn. Most deals that were in the market before the recent crisis struck are going ahead: Société Générale's $1.1bn one year term loan to Argentine cable TV company Cablevision is being syndicated at a margin of 137.5bp and the United Mexican States this week officially announced the signing of its $2.25bn 12 year liquidity facility.

VENEZUELAN finance minister Luis Ral Matos Azocar vowed this week to continue to restructure the country's Brady bond debt, despite controversy over the recent $4.4bn Brady bond retirement in a $4bn 30-year global bond exchange offer which led to calls for his dismissal in the Venezuelan congress. "I don't believe the process of reducing debt can be delayed just because of congress's attitude, or rather some of its members," Matos said this week.

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AGGREKO PLC, formed following its demerger from Christian Salvesen earlier this year, arrived as a newcomer to the syndicated loans market this week. At the time of the demerger, Christian Salvesen's chief executive Chris Masters and senior members of its treasury team moved across to Aggreko.