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DRESDNER Kleinwort Benson and Paribas were awarded the mandate this week for the Asian Development Bank's first benchmark borrowing in a European currency. A roadshow for the issue will take place at the beginning of next week, and a transaction could emerge any time after its conclusion, market conditions permitting.

INDONESIA'S PT Pindo Deli Pulp and Paper sucessfully launched a $750m Yankee bond, re-opening the high yield sector for Asian credits and underlining investors' search for attractive spreads. Originally touted as $400m in size, the multi-tranche offering set a number of firsts, not least in being the largest and longest deal to date from the Indonesia's corporate sector.

THE REPUBLIC of Argentina continued to increase the size of its future jumbo euro-denominated benchmark by this week issuing a Lit750bn seven year offering fungible with its outstanding DM1.5bn of 2004s and its Asch1bn transaction, both launched earlier this year. The lira deal, jointly led by Paribas and Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, was snapped up by Italian retail investors even though the republic gave it an aggressive 9.25% coupon until 1999, thereafter stepping down to 7% .

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THE PRESIDENT of Ecuador confirmed this week that the republic is considering becoming the latest country to attempt a Brady bond buyback deal before the end of the year. Asked on Thursday whether Ecuador was considering a Brady bond swap or buyback offering before the end of 1997, president Alarcón replied: "I think it is a high probability".

MERRILL Lynch has moved to beef up its Latin American debt underwriting capabilities with a series of key appointments in New York and plans for further hires in Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. This week the firm appointed Allen Vine to head a new group specialising in Latin American corporate credit research. The new post for Vine, who has always served as a Latin specialist at the firm, follows the recent appointment of adviser Keith Horn as new co-head of Latin American debt capital markets.

ING Barings opened up a new asset class of Russian risk last Friday, running the books on a $100m Euro/144A issue for the Oblast of Nizhniy Novgorod -- the first of Russia's regions to tap the international bond markets. With a 8.75% coupon, the Ba2/BB- rated transaction was priced to yield 280bp over US Treasuries at the issue fixed re-offer price of 99.742 -- at the midpoint of the 270bp-290bp indicative pricing range and flat to where the similarly rated City of St Petersburg's $300m 9.50% five year issue was trading at the time. By this Thursday's close in London the deal had traded up to 100.05/100.15, with the spread tightening to 273bp/270bp on a bid/offer basis.

BRAZILIAN oil company Petrobras is planning an ambitious 20 year dollar deal and a 10 year lira transaction as part of a liability management programme aimed at raising more than $500m in the markets. Bankers have been asked to submit bids on a $150m to $200m 20 year and the equivalent in 10 year lire. News of the impending deals follows Petrobras's issuance this week of $150m worth of three year floating rate notes at 130bp over Libor via Chase.

* Roadshows for the Euromarket debut from Russian power company Mosenergo via Salomon Brothers were completed this week, and the issue should be launched late next week. Positive feedback from investor presentations in Europe and the US should allow Mosenergo's inaugural debt offering to emerge at the top of the $150m-$200m indicative range.

SWEDISH Export Credit (SEK) this week became the first foreign issuer to launch a Lithuanian litas denominated transaction. This week's offering is SEK's second in a Baltic currency -- in October last year it tapped the Estonian kroon market under the lead of Finland's Postipankki with a Ek60m three year offering.

UNION Bank of Estonia this week launched a two-pronged assault on the Euromarkets with landmark issues in the Deutschmark and dollar sectors. On Tuesday the bank issued its first subordinated debt issue, a DM30m seven year non-call two offering via Nomura which was the first rated deal out of Estonia. Last week, IBCA had assigned the bank a BB+ subordinated debt rating.

GLOBAL co-ordinators ABN AMRO Rothschild and UBS last night pulled the flotation of Dutch electronic switch gear manufacturer Holec after the offer of new and secondary stock was overwhelmingly rejected by local investors. Although bankers involved in the deal described it as a one-off, others pointed out that the deal would likely have worked six months ago; its failure illustrated the change in market sentiment.