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NATIONSBANK has set up a fully supported US asset backed CP conduit called Coral Sea Funding Corp to securitise Australian assets. The programme debuted last week, selling CP worth between $100m and $200m. The proceeds from CP are lent to the conduit's parent, Coral Sea Pty, registered in Australia. It will extend secured loans to Australian corporations and buy trade receivables, bringing the benefits of cheap USCP funding to Australian businesses.

THE JUMBO $850m equity financing from Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) of Indonesia remains on course for successful completion with lead managers Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter preparing to price the deal on Tuesday. Despite the inhospitable market which has rendered virtually every other transaction from Asia untenable, bankers and analysts expect the twin ADR and exchangeable offering to fare well.

RED CHIP China Merchants Holdings International broke the new issuance hiatus from the China/Hong Kong sector with a surprise $535m placement to fund its capex plans this week. Led by Peregrine, which said that the offering sold out within an hour, the group issued 229.5m shares to its parent and 123.5m to institutional investors at an issue price of HK$11.90, representing an 11.5% discount to Wednesday's close.

THE LIKELIHOOD of the IMF being called in to assist the Republic of Korea loomed larger by the day this week as investors turned their attention away from problems in Thailand and Indonesia towards the more dangerous prospect of a meltdown in Korea's fiscal position. Country specialists said that speculation concerning a bail-out of up to $100bn have been met with consternation in Seoul, where government officials have even started to threaten jailing rumour-mongers for destroying what little confidence is left in Korea's ability to service its enormous short term debt.

ABN AMRO kicked off its roadshow for palm oil plantation Astra Agro Lestari this week, drawing mixed reactions from investors on a wide range of issues such as the heated environment in Indonesian politics, Asia's sickly equity, debt and currency markets, continuing fires in Sumatra and drought caused by the El Niño weather system which is cutting palm oil yields. Astra Agro's first presentation was held on Wednesday in Singapore, as president Suharto's family sparred with the government about the closure of several banks in which it is a stakeholder, casting further doubt on proposed IMF reforms.

* US monoline insurer Financial Security Assurance is to set up a vehicle which will fund itself through a Euro-MTN programme, arranged by Merrill Lynch. The vehicle will be guaranteed by FSA, and will fund opportunistically through small issues in any currency, up to an initial limit of $1bn.

GLOBAL co-ordinator JP Morgan this week rode the turbulent equity market conditions to complete the DM1.7bn international capital increase on behalf of Bayerische Vereinsbank. The funding coincides with a DM1.3bn domestic rights issue which was completely taken up by existing investors, marking the largest deal of its kind to emerge from the German market without pre-emptive rights.

THE REPUBLIC of Colombia plans to return to the international capital markets next year to raise as much as $1.8bn. Antonio Urdinola, the country's newly appointed finance minister, said he wanted to raise about $1.5bn to $1.8bn in the international markets -- including syndicated loans -- to help finance the public sector deficit.

HURRICANE Hydrocarbons Ltd (HHL), the Canada-headquartered oil company with 99% of its production based in Kazakhstan, this week claimed the distinction of being the sole central and eastern Europe related issuer to tap the international bond markets. The Calgary-based company launched a debut $105m seven year Rule 144A private placement, non callable for four years, in the US high yield bond market.

LATIN ISSUERS searching for sources of funds other than the public bond markets were given some hope this week when Chilean fish meal exporter Inverraz placed $90m of receivables backed bonds via BankBoston in the US private placement market. The offering was priced attractively enough to be increased from an original $75m, and was even oversubscribed -- but only after it was launched above its 275bp to 300bp spread range at 325bp.

THE SACRIFICES that Latin equity issuers must make to execute deals in current market conditions were dramatically illustrated this week from Chilean airline Lan Chile, which cut its deal size by more than a third and raised little more than half the intended proceeds -- after slashing its price by 17.6%. The mixed primary and secondary share offering -- the

MEXICO has once again become the envy of other Latin borrowers, completing a tightly priced and perfectly timed $2.5bn committed line of credit with about 27 banks. Prudently deciding to tap the loan market at the peak of tight spreads, Mexico has been