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Lithuania’s LAL reportedly to allocate up to EUR 120mn for Malev’s acquisition. Lithuania’s LAL would allocate some EUR 120mn for the acquisition of national airline Malev, according to representative of investment company Zia valde quoted by local daily Lietuvos Rystas and related by MTI News Agency . According to him the cost of the project, including further financial investments and takeover of state-guaranteed debt, was likely to reach some LTL 380-414mn (EUR 110-120mn). We note that Zia valde is one of the 3 main shareholders in LAL along with electronic solution company Fimainvetsment and logistics company Sanitex. Total of 4 bidders submitted offers in the tender for 99.95% stake in Malev. The other participants in the race are AirBridge Magyarorszag (a Hungarian-based company controlled by Russian businessman Boris Abramovich, who also owns Russian airline KrasAir), Sky Alliance (controlled by a group of former and current Malev pilots as well as some former members of the management) and businessman Ofer Hava with the backing and guarantees of several Hungarian and Irish investors.

Roger James finds out why the latest United Utilities water deal continues an amazing year for the UK inflation-linked market.

If any mistakes are to be made – either on the price paid for assets or the financing structure behind an investment – the sheer scale of activity in the UK regulated utilities sector means it is one place to start looking.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the world’s oldest bank, has been adapting to changing markets since 1472. Now it has to face up to rivals whose strength has been boosted by M&A activity. Monte dei Paschi’s general manager, Antonio Vigni, speaks to Peter Koh about the bank’s strategy and the role of its foundations.

The first deal for the International Finance Facility for Immunization has priced. Iffim is an international development funding project supported by the governments of the UK, France, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Spain, South Africa and Brazil and by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It uses these donor sponsors’ future commitments to front load aid to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (Gavi) which is targeting 500 million children in the world’s poorest countries.

Luiz Eduardo Melin, international affairs chief of Brazil’s finance ministry, stated last month that, as there are no immediate concerns about inflation accelerating, Brazil must adjust its inflation targeting policy.

According to a survey conducted by market research firm Prince & Associates, in conjunction with Marhedge, the average personal spending habits in 2005 of hedge fund managers with a net worth of more than $30 million were as follows:

Those who consider the trade reporting fees charged on the London Stock Exchange a thorn in their side are in for some pain relief.

As the dust settles on the epic $21.9 billion capital-raising from Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the long-term lessons of the deal – the first simultaneous offer on the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges – are being considered.

With spreads on EM sovereign debt at historically tight levels, investors are looking elsewhere to generate alpha. One cutting-edge strategy is to invest in illiquid securities. Hedge funds, in particular, are turning increasingly to these esoteric assets. But the approach is not for the faint-hearted. Sudip Roy reports.

Asia’s property pioneers

Few would have predicted that credit spreads could get any tighter but CPDOs further underpin the market’s strength.