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GOLDMAN SACHS is gearing up for the June launch of one of the most important sales to emerge from the Turkish market -- the international offering of stock in conglomerate Koç. The largely primary offering, set to be concluded in July, will consist of ordinary shares and GDRs and looks set to encompass a capital raising of between $200m and $300m. Goldman has held the books on the Koç sale since last year and the transaction has been eagerly awaited by investors for some time. The group is one of the largest of the country's conglomerates and has activities in an array of activities.

THE TURMOIL spilling over from Asia forced Mexican oil concern Pemex to join the rest of Latin America's would-be bond issuers on the sidelines by postponing its planned £150m 15 year deal this week. Underwriter SBC Warburg Dillon Read hopes to launch the deal in one form or another in the week ahead as long as stability returns to the market. The bank was awarded the mandate two days before Indonesia's turmoil sparked another wave of selling in the emerging markets.

LANDSVIRKJUN, has signed a $500m Euro-MTN programme, the first by an Icelandic issuer. Merrill Lynch has arranged the programme. Landsvirkjun, the National Icelandic Power Corp, has been borrowing internationally for 30 years. It has issues outstanding in both the bank and international capital markets.

THE FIRST National Building Society has launched a I£200m mortgage backed security, in just the third bond market deal of its type to emerge from Ireland. Asset-backed bankers said the issue showed that securitisation was gradually creeping on to the financing agenda in Ireland, although relatively small asset pools and high liquidity among most lenders would continue to limit its use. Launched by SBC Warburg Dillon Read and UBS, the issue parcelled up just under 5,700 home loans via special purpose vehicle Celtic Residential Irish Mortgage Securitisation. The bonds were divided into two tranches: a I£190m senior tranche provisionally rated Aaa by Moody's and paying a discounted margin of 22bp over Dibor; and a I£10m junior tranche rated A3 and paying 62.5bp over.

* CSFB brought a rare Caribbean securitisation last Friday, with a $110m deal for Phoenix Park Gas Processors of Trinidad. Phoenix Park Funding, rated Baa3/BBB, is backed by exports of gas products from the company's fractionation plant to customers in the Caribbean, Central America and the US. All revenues will be paid to an account in New York in favour of the Cayman Islands SPV.

RBC DOMINION Securities launched the second deal last Friday from Haven Funding 32 plc, the club borrowing vehicle for UK housing associations set up by Hambros Bank. Haven 32 issued £21.6m of bonds fungible with the inaugural £60.75m deal launched in January. The issue raises funds for Focus Housing Association and Chiltern Housing Association, which are both new to the Haven programme.

What information about a counterparty's default probability is determined by their stock price?

PROSPECTIVE bond issues by Pakistan and Sri Lanka have been thrown into doubt by the reverberations of India's decision to test-detonate five nuclear devices. International sanctions announced against India may also put on hold transactions from the country. The primary casualty looks set to be a new benchmark offering by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, to led by ANZ. Due diligence had already begun on the $300m five year fixed rate offering which was scheduled to be launched next month.

Here are the details of the new Moody's rating of Korean banks. * Shinhan Bank -- long term senior debt rating of Ba1 reaffirmed, but subordinated debt rating also cut two notches from Ba1 to Ba3. Bfi rating dropped one notch from D+ to D.

HONG KONG's surrogate sovereign borrower, the Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTRC) is likely to appoint bookrunners for its first Yankee offering in nearly three years by the middle of next week. Despite an unstable spread environment for borrowers across the region, the wholly government owned A+/A3 rated company is considered one of the few credits from the region capable of attracting enthusiastic investor demand.

* As part of plans to develop a fixed income presence in Asia, Bank Boston has appointed Jie Hu as a vice president to its research team based in Singapore. Formerly covering securitised bonds at Bankers Trust in Hong Kong, Hu will report to head of research William Overholt who previously headed Bankers Trust's fixed income research team. Having built up a team of four analysts, Bank Boston is said likely to increase the number to up to a dozen by the end of the year.

POHANG Iron and Steel (Posco) defied desperate market conditions and the expectations of many bankers this week when it sold 7.69m ADRs at $13 each. The deal won plaudits for joint lead managers and bookrunners ING Barings and Salomon Smith Barney. The issue emerged shortly before an expected change in foreign ownership limits for Korean companies which may depress values as the stock becomes less scarce. The pricing represents a 23.1% premium to Wednesday's closing price in Seoul and an 8% discount to the ADR price on the same day. The GDRs are fully fungible.