THE MANDATE to lead a ¥70bn bond for the Kingdom of Thailand insured by Japan's Ministry of Trade & Industry (MITI) has been thrown open to competition. Asian bankers said that although MITI had initially assigned the deal to Citicorp, it eventually bowed to pressure from the Thai government which argued that it was the issuer's prerogative to select lead managers. As a result, while the US bank remains on a shortlist, it has now been joined by a couple of other banks invited to bid by the government's fiscal policy office.
December 18, 1998