In a loving front-page treatment for Singapore Telecom's US$2.3 billion (£1.6 billion) bond issue, Goldman waxed lyrical about the issue and SingTel chief executive Lee Hsien Yang, the youngest son of the country's political strongman Lee Kuan Yew.

"It is out of the ordinary," said Goldman Sachs managing director Tracy McCabe of the bond issue, Asia's biggest outside Japan. And of Lee she was even more effusive.

"He was on call day and night. The man didn't sleep for five nights. Not every chief executive would do that."

True, but not every chief is guaranteeing a yield of as much as 2.25 percent above US Treasury bonds for corporate paper.

And in this global market of historically low interest rates, economies in recession and the world indefinitely at war, investors seize offers like that when they can get them.

Unsurprising then, that the issue was duly over-subscribed eight times by investors mostly in London and New York.

Still, the bond issue by Singapore's largest listed company has been something of a trailblazer for companies in a region beset by serious economic problems and where corporate governance issues remain concerning.

Companies across Asia have raised up to US$5 billion in bond and share offerings in recent weeks.

Singapore Airlines, also government-controlled, raised US$500 million in a well-priced issue while the Thai government raised US $725 million when it sold 30 percent of State oil and gas company Petroleum Authority of Thailand.

But even after discounting the local propaganda for Lee and SingTel, the issue was a resounding success.

The SingTel issue boasted attractive terms. One US$1.35 billion tranche had a coupon yielding 6.4 percent, while a second of US$500 million guaranteed investors 7.4 percent.

The third tranche of euro500 million (£313 million) was priced to yield 6.1 percent .

SingTel's issue was designed to tidy up its balance sheet after the recent US$7billion acquisition of Australia's No 2 telecoms firm, Optus, from Britain's Cable & Wireless.

The Thai oil issue was also priced to clear, promising yields of 6 percent -7 percent -- as well as possible capital growth -- while interest rates tumble around the world.

But before investors prepare to ignore the harsh lessons of Asia's recent economic past, it would be wise to consider the heritage of this latest spate of issuers.

Their common link is strong connection to government. That has provided the succour of virtual sovereign issues to investors nursing burnt fingers from corporate disasters in precarious emerging markets such as Indonesia.

The parade of fund-raisings also follow commitments made by governments to the International Monetary Fund in 1997 to reform economies after the crippling financial crisis of that time.