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THE $4.56bn flotation of China Telecom, Asia's largest ever equity offering, was priced as expected near the top of its revised indicative range in Hong Kong yesterday (Thursday). The smooth execution of the deal against a backdrop of extreme volatility across all sectors of the Hong Kong stockmarket drew widespread plaudits from market participants, many of whom were nevertheless extremely nervous about the 2.9bn share deal's likely performance in secondary market trading next week.

THE primary market for Korean equity appears to be on the verge of a complete shutdown, with a fifth deal officially cancelled this week and the immediate pipeline thrown into ever-increasing uncertainty. Concerns that an autumn pipeline totalling over $4bn would swamp an already fragile market have been wide of the mark, with most issuers from the republic still unprepared to accept the pricing levels now being demanded by investors.

ROADSHOWS for the $700m to $800m privatisation of the Gas Authority of India (Gail) are to begin next week in Bombay. Led by BZW, Jardine Fleming and Morgan Stanley, the 20% sell-down of government stock represents the first of three privatisations scheduled to be completed before the end of the Indian fiscal year. Under the structure of the offering the company will offer 175m shares with an additional 25m share greenshoe under a indicative pricing range believed to be around the Rp130 to Rp150 level. Bankers and analysts said that the government's decision to adopt a more flexible pricing policy than has traditionally been the case augurs well for the deal's success.

CITIBANK will launch HK$500m to HK$750m of five year securities backed by credit card receivables from its Hong Kong branch later this month. The single tranche deal, the first denominated in the Hong Kong currency, will be guaranteed by Singapore based monoline insurer Asian Securitization and Infrastructure Assurance (ASIA Ltd), rated AA by Duff & Phelps and A by Standard & Poor's.

THE prospects for the immediate China-related stock pipeline remain uncertain, as market participants debate the reason for this week's secondary market volatility. They question whether this was largely the result of liquidity being sucked out in anticipation of China Telecom, or due to a growing disillusionment at the slowness with which asset injections into the Red chip sector are taking place. Bankers commented that China National Aviation Corp (CNAC) will have a particularly tough job getting a firm book together while most accounts are waiting to see how China Telecom fares.

THE LONG delayed flotation of cellular operator Smart Communications has been revived at significantly sweetened terms to attract investors back to the Philippines' primary equity market. Nearly a year after the company originally hoped to list, the revised 375m share deal has been primed for a November 10 to November 21 offer period under the lead of the Philippine National Bank.

ROADSHOWS for what may prove to be one of the last Korean issues to come to the 144A market this year have begun in the US. Bankers said that a prospective $300m Yankee issue for the Taegu Metropolitan Government (TMG) has been handicapped by a further widening of Korean spreads and the group's failure to win a full rating in line with the sovereign from both of the major US agencies.

CREDIT Suisse First Boston and SBC Warburg Dillon Read kicked off the European leg of the roadshow for the forthcoming $400m 10 year Euro/144A offering for the Republic of Lebanon this week. Having visited Switzerland and the UK this week, the focus of the marketing effort will now move to the US, with the launch of the landmark deal -- the longest dated stand alone transaction from the sovereign to date -- likely to take place late next week. Price talk on the B1/BB- rated transaction is 230bp-250bp over Treasuries.

LATIN Americans issuers continue to storm the lira market, with Petrobras expected to launch its Lit260bn 10 year deal either today (Friday) or on Monday and with Pemex and the UMS both lining up to issue soon after. Lead managers Chase were on Thursday waiting for the go-ahead on the Petrobras deal, which will raise the equivalent of about $150m. The transaction is expected to have an aggressive step-down coupon, dropping from 10% to 6.5%.

* ING Barings has begun marketing the Euromarket debut by Kazakhstan's Kazkommertsbank. Roadshows for the expected $100m three year Euro/144A offering were held in Frankfurt on Wednesday, Hartford/Boston today (Friday) and will continue in New York on Monday, Geneva on Tuesday and London on Wednesday. Launch is expected on Thursday, October 23. Pricing on the B2/B+ rated deal is likely to be set with reference to the trading spread on the $200m 9.25% December 1999 Euro/144A offering for the Ba3/BB- rated Republic of Kazakhstan.

INTERNATIONAL debt issuance by Polish corporates looks set to take off in the coming months, with leading Polish airline LOT and construction firm Aral looking to tap the Eurobond market with debut issues. Polish telco Netia is due to tap the US high yield debt market next week with a maiden issue. LOT, the state owned carrier scheduled for partial privatisation in 1998, has invited bids for the ratings advisory and lead management role on a $100m issue. It will be the first international bond issue by an airline from central and eastern Europe. LOT is understood to have requested proposals for fixed and floating rate issuance, with a minimum tenor of three years up to maximum of 10.

GLOBAL co-ordinators Goldman Sachs and Creditanstalt have launched the largest Austrian privatisation to date -- the government's sale of 50% of its holding in the national tobacco company, Austria Tabakwerke. Austrian shares do not usually attract high levels of interest from international investors and tobacco companies are not the easiest stocks to sell. But investment bankers say they are encouraged by the demand which has been elicited after two weeks of pre-marketing the transaction.