Allen & Overy has recently completed four transactions on behalf of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (ROP) and Government-owned corporations (GOCs). This brings to US$3.70 billion the total amount raised in 2002 by the ROP and GOCs on which Allen & Overy has advised.

Details of the recent transactions are as follows:

· PSALM Bond Offering. The firm advised Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) on their issuance of US$500 million equivalent of yen-denominated bonds guaranteed by the ROP and containing a partial credit guarantee of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The lead manager was Nomura International. The deal is believed to be the first ADB guaranteed securities offering of a Philippine issuer since 1995. It is also the first co-financing for a Philippine credit in Yen since a Nexi deal for the sovereign last December. The deal closed on 13th December, 2002.

· Napocor Bridge Loan Facility. Advised the borrower, National Power Corporation (Napocor), on a US$250 million bridge loan facility, led and arranged by Citibank N.A., together with a syndicate of 15 commercial banks. The loan facility is guaranteed by the ROP. The facility agreement was executed on 4th December, 2002.

· Napocor Exchange Offering. Advising Napocor, on an SEC registered exchange offer for Napocor's outstanding ROP-guaranteed Yankee bonds to facilitate the transfer of that debt to PSALM. This transaction is a key step in Napocor's privatisation. The exchange offer was launched on 4th December, 2002 and is expected to close in early January 2003. The dealer manager for the exchange offer is Bear Stearns.

· ROP Shelf Takedown. Advised the ROP on a US$500 million US-registered bond issue tapping the US$1.2 billion shelf registration filed with the SEC in June 2002. The deal closed on 25th November, 2002.

David Johnson, Hong Kong US law group partner leading the team on the Philippine deals, commented: "We are honoured to have had the opportunity to participate in transactions which are so important to the Philippine Government and public sector entities. We have very much enjoyed working on these transactions and we look forward to continuing our strong relationship with the Government."

The Allen & Overy team advising on Philippines matters is led by David Johnson and includes Hong Kong based US associates James Grandolfo, Michelle Gouvion, Eric Gonzalez and Mushtaq Kapasi. The Hong Kong team works closely with Andy Bautista, a US qualified Philippine national, and head of Anglo-Oriental Consulting.