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WHAT price the soon to be mandated Ffr10bn revolving credit being sought by first-time borrower French railtrack operator RFF? Until recently, the market was set to price the deal off the recently completed jumbo for 100% risk weighted France Télécom. However this week's announcement that RFF, a state owned corporate with EPIC status, had been assigned a surprisingly low 20% risk weighting has got most bidders reaching for their calculators once again.

India DKB Merchant Bank (Singapore) and NatWest Markets have relaunched the $65m facility for ITC Ltd.

MERRILL Lynch International Ltd is in the early stages of launching an innovative financing for Rome-based football team Societa Sportiva Lazio. The Lit50bn financing, which is being discreetly offered to the syndicated loan market, was presented to potential lenders at a bankers meeting yesterday (Thursday).

Bahrain Arab Banking Corp, which made its Euroloan market debut in 1995, is set to return to the syndicated loan market for a major new facility.

Ghana The heavily oversubscribed, but punchily priced $275m receivables backed trade finance facility being arranged for Cocobod by co-ordinating lead arranger Citibank International plc is to sign today (Friday) at the Savoy Hotel in London.

Australia A A$200m commercial paper programme for Mitsui & Co Financial Services (Australia) Ltd, guaranteed by Mitsui & Co (Australia) Ltd, has been completed by arranger National Australia Bank.

NIKKO has announced that its London office has assumed responsibilities for its international operations -- the first Japanese securities to grant such autonomy outside Tokyo. As part of the move, Michel de Carvalho has been appointed overall head of Nikko's international operations. He succeeds Masashi Kaneko, who has been appointed president of Nikko's Securities in Japan following the resignation of eight board members on October 3, including previous president Kichiro Takao, after Nikko was accused of paying money to racketeers. Nikko is the latest Japanese house -- after Nomura, Daiwa amd Yamaichi -- to revamp its board after becoming implicated in scandal. De Carvalho will become the most senior foreigner at a Japanese firm, as he will also become a member of the management board.

China Coordinating arrangers Fuji Bank, Hang Seng Bank, Sumitomo Bank and Westdeutsche Landesbank launched the $110m working capital facility for China National Offshore Oil Corp on October 6.

PREMARKETING began on Tuesday for the Dfl 200m IPO of Dutch chemicals distributor Holland Chemical International. ABN AMRO Rothschild is global coordinator and bookrunner on the sale, which will comprise around half each of new equity and half secondary shares. The existing shares are being sold by two principal shareholders, venture capital fund Nederlandse Participatie Maatshappij and Holland Chemical's chief executive, as well as some 220 current and former employees of the company. The initial response to the IPO from Dutch institutions has been solid and positive, according to ABN AMRO officials. Premarketing to investors outside the Netherlands will begin next week, via a roadshow which will take in Vienna, London, Paris and Zurich. The roadshow will also visit the US, where the shares will be available for sale via Rule 144a.

SWEDEN'S Incentive will shortly complete the next leg in the restructuring of its core shareholdings with the $225m spin off of its subsidiary Munters. The Munters offering follows a 5m sale of shares in Incentive by its major shareholder, Investor, which was completed last Friday. Investor raised Skr3.45bn ($460m) from its sale, which was one of the largest sales on an accelerated bookbuilding process from the Nordic region to date.

THE SAFRA private banking group has made its mark on the world's bond markets by being the first issuer ever to offer a 1,000 year 'millennium' bond. The $250m 144A transaction was launched by Republic National Bank of Luxembourg on behalf of its parent Safra Republic Holdings -- the Geneva-based umbrella for a number of banks the three Safra brothers Edmond, Moises and Joseph own in Latin America, the US, Europe and Israel, including Brazil's Banco Safra and New York's Republic National Bank of New York.

Finland Expect news imminently of a new facility for Cultor Ltd. The company, which was last in the market for a $270m revolving credit through Merita Bank and UBS in February 1996, has hired the same two banks to arrange its latest foray.