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* Discover launched its third credit card securitisation of the year on Wednesday, less than a week after its second. Discover 1997-3 Credit Card sold $650m of senior seven year floaters, increased by lead manager Morgan Stanley Dean Witter from $500m.

THE unprecedented level of demand for the 2.6bn share flotation of China Telecom has resulted in mounting speculation that the indicative pricing for the deal will be revised upwards and books closed a day early. With an imminent announcement expected from joint global coordinators Goldman Sachs and China International Capital Corp (CICC), China specialists remain divided over the merits of an increase. While a number of international investors have complained the company is being pitched far above its fundamental value, others state that Red chip p/e multiples combined with excessive investor demand lend themselves to a greater premium.

CONVERTIBLE issuance out of Hong Kong and China looks set to pick up markedly towards the end of the month with up to half a dozen equity linked issues targeting launch dates through November and early December. Despite the cancellation of a $60m issue by local jewellery manufacturer Egana last week, bankers expect the Red chip dominated pipeline to be well received by investors seeking comfort from the high p/e multiples commanded by the sector. Of the six deals, ABN AMRO Rothschild and Goldman Sachs have been jointly mandated for a roughly $250m issue by China Travel Hong Kong, while Morgan Stanley will lead a $150m issue for Guangzhou Investment, BZW and Morgan Stanley a $200m issue for Cosco Pacific and NatWest, a going public convertible bond for Cathay International.

THE Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) managed to push out a $200m 144a bond this week after sacrificing one year of the deal's prospective tenor. Originally planned as a five year issue, the deal was launched in New York on Wednesday with a four year maturity, but without the assistance of original co-managers Chase and Lehman Bros. Both banks felt the pricing was too aggressive.

TWO BENCHMARK equity transactions from Taiwan Semi-Conductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and First International Computers (FIC) were priced this week, having drawn a combined total of over $4bn in orders. Despite a two month correction, which has seen the Taipei weighted index hit a recent low of 8,179, the electronics sector remains one of the few key market segments in Asia where any primary market interest has been evident since the onset of the currency crisis. Bankers said the success of an increased $595m ADR issue for the world's largest foundry manufacturer TSMC was particularly striking, benefiting both from an upturn in the foundry cycle, a devastating fire at its nearest competitor UMC and the interest of US high-tech funds which have previously had little or no access to the domestic stock.

THE ALMOST certain postponement of the $1.25bn privatisation of Korea Telecom has done little to bolster primary market activity from Korea, with a fourth new deal in as many weeks postponing pricing in order to drum up extra orders. A $100m GDR for Samsung Electro-Mechanics had been scheduled to price yesterday (Thursday), but has been left open until next week by lead manager Deutsche Morgan Grenfell. Indicative pricing has also been revised downwards.

INDONESIA became the second country in Asia to seek IMF assistance on Wednesday in a move designed to restore some measure of confidence to the republic's battered currency and stock markets. In the two months since the rupiah was allowed to float freely, the currency has depreciated about 26% to a Rp3,850 level, and the stockmarket has fallen by over 30%.

THE TOKYO Stock Exchange saw one of its largest listings in several years completed smoothly on Wednesday. The privatisation of Central Japan Railway Co, known as JR Tokai, opened moderately above its offer price. Shares in the railway company, which operates the Tokaido bullet train linking Tokyo and Osaka, ended their first day of trading at ¥385,000, slightly below market expectations of around ¥400,000, but up 7.2% from the offer price of ¥359,000.

AHEAD OF a growing pipeline of China related bond issues later this month, the Kumagai Gumi group animated a moribund Asian bank market this week with a $100m FRN. Launched under the name of Kumagai Gumi (Hong Kong) Capital Ltd, the issue was led by Commerz (East Asia) as coordinating arranger, alongside Hypobank, Peregrine Fixed Income, Sanwa International and Sumitomo. With a three year maturity, the issue was priced at par to yield 87.5bp over six month Libor.

DESPITE having remained relatively immune to the wider Asian currency crisis, the Republic of India saw the likelihood of a ratings upgrade recede into the distance this week as Standard & Poor's revised its credit outlook from positive to stable. The agency said it expected little, if any, near-term progress in efforts to strengthen India's public finances.

BANKBOSTON announced on Thursday that it was boosting its presence in Asia with two high profile hirings. Francisco De La Hoz is to become the bank's country manager for Singapore and regional client manager in corporate banking; and Loren Romano will take up a role as managing director and head of Asian syndicate. De La Hoz joins BankBoston after 18 years with Chase, where he was involved in the building of client relationships. At BankBoston he will continue the bank's shift from a predominantly product focus to a client based approach. Romano will be expected to help BankBoston widen its capital raising capability as the bank looks to underwrite and distribute loans and securities in Asia. He also joins the bank from Chase, where he has worked since 1981, most recently as head of fixed income sales and before that as an emerging market fixed income salesman.

UBS WON the mandate this week to lead a new benchmark offering by Taiwan's China Steel group. The combined impact of the large size of the issue and the group's poor track record with international investors has already begun to focus attention on the deal ahead of its prospective launch in November. However, Taiwan specialists commented that while previous issues from China Steel have not been well received, the main cause chiefly stemmed from the government's perceived attitude towards pricing, a problem that may not bedevil this offering.