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     T R O U B L E D   C O M P A N Y   R E P O R T E R

                                 A S I A   P A C I F I C

               Wednesday, January 5, 2000, Vol. 3, No. 3

                                           Headlines


* C H I N A  &  H O N G  K O N G *

CHINA UNITED HOLDINGS LTD: To acquire DBZ Ltd.
THEME INT'L HOLDINGS: High Fashion the winning bidder


* I N D O N E S I A *

BANK INDONESIA: IMF urges action on technical bankruptcy
PERTAMINA: To issue bonds for oil production capital
PT BANK BALI: Planning rights issue
PT TIRTAMAS COMEXINDO: Government files for its bankruptcy
PT WEST KALINDO PULP PAPERMILL: IBRA files its bankruptcy


* K O R E A *

DAEWOO GROUP: Foreign, domestic creditors to meet
DAEWOO GROUP: Suspends 3 foreign projects due to rehab
DAEWOO MOTOR: Rejects partial sell-offs as solution


* M A L A Y S I A *

ARAB MALAYSIAN CORP.: To revise its debt restructure scheme


* P H I L I P P I N E S *

CAPITOL WIRELESS, INC.: Signs final restructuring agreement
FIRST WOMEN'S CREDIT CORP.: SEC stops takeover
MINDANAO PORTLAND CEMENT CORP.: SEC asked to take over
SOLIDBANK CORP.: SEC again resets Scotiabank block meeting


* S I N G A P O R E *

THAKRAL CORP.: Rehab plan to include noncore asset sale


* T H A I L A N D *

CHAROEN POKPHAND GROUP: To streamline with core businesses
LAND AND HOUSES PLC: Restructure, new partner paying off
TANAYONG PLC: Creditors approve restructure plan
THAI PETROCHEMICAL INDUS.: Debtors turning rehab into drama


==============================
C H I N A  &  H O N G  K O N G
==============================

CHINA UNITED HOLDINGS LTD: To acquire DBZ Ltd.
----------------------------------------------
Chung Wilson, Managing Director of China United Holdings
Limited, reported to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that the
Company has entered into a preliminary agreement in
principle for the acquisition (the "Acquisition") of a 22%
interest in a company which is an interactive
communications consultant. If the Acquisition proceeds it
is unlikely to constitute a notifiable transaction for the
Company.

The Acquisition may or may not proceed. Investors should
exercise caution when dealing in the securities of the
Company. The directors of China United Holdings Limited
(the "Company") note an increase in the price of the shares
of the Company today and wish to state that they are not
aware of any reasons for such increase save as disclosed
below.  As announced on 29th December, 1999 the Company has
conditionally placed 1,700,000,000 new shares.

On 30th December, 1999 the Company entered into a
memorandum of understanding (the "MOU") with DBZ Limited, a
company incorporated in Hong Kong ("DBZ") for the  
Acquisition.  Under the MOU, it is agreed in principle only
that DBZ will issue to the Company in consideration of a
cash payment of US$1,000,000 (approximately HK$7,765,000)
such quantity of fully paid ordinary shares in the capital
of DBZ and represents approximately twenty-two percent
(22%) of the enlarged total issued capital of DBZ.

If and when the Acquisition proceeds the Company will fund
it in such manner as it then considers appropriate. Under
the MOU, DBZ is to procure that each shareholder in DBZ
will enter into a shareholders agreement in terms accepted
by the Company which shareholders agreement shall include
(without limitation) the following:

--The Company shall have the right of first refusal to
the disposition of any interest in or in respect of any
shares in the capital of DBZ.
--In the event of the sale of the beneficial interest
in the majority of the capital of DBZ, the selling
shareholder(s) will procure the sale of the shares held by
the Company on no less favourable terms.
--The Company will be entitled to appoint no less than
22% of the directors of DBZ and to appoint the Chief
Financial Officer of DBZamongst other things.

The MOU also provides for the parties to conduct further
negotiations with a view to entering into a formal share
subscription agreement and ancillary documents in relation
to the Acquisition and the Company will have the right to
conduct a full "due diligence" review of DBZ. For the year
ended 31st March, 1999, on an unaudited basis, it had a
turnover of approximately US$1,000,000 (approximately
HK$7,765,000) and a loss of approximately US$500,000
(approximately HK$3,882,500). DBZ and its controlling
shareholders are independent third parties unrelated to the
directors and the chief executive of the Company and its
subsidiaries and their respective associates.

No notification has been received by the Company under the
Securities (Disclosure of Interests) Ordinance of any
interests which constitute substantial shareholdings in the
Company. It is emphasised that the MOU is not contractual
and that there is no certainty that any contract will
result from the MOU.

Save as disclosed above, the Directors confirm that there
are no negotiations or agreements relating to intended
acquisitions or realisation which are discloseable under
paragraph 3 of the Listing Agreement, neither is the Board
aware of any matter discloseable under the general
obligation imposed by paragraph 2 of the Listing Agreement,
which is or may be of a price-sensitive nature. The
Acquisition may or may not proceed and investors should
exercise caution when dealing in the securities of the
Company.

Made by the order of the board of directors of the Company,
the directors of which other than Messrs Henry Chuang
Yueheng and Lam Ping Cheung who cannot be contacted and are
believed to be outside Hong Kong individually and jointly
accept responsibility for the accuracy of the foregoing
statement.US$ sums in the announcement have been translated
into HK$ at the rate US$1.00 = HK$7.765.  (Hong Kong Stock
Exchange  04-Jan-2000)

THEME INT'L HOLDINGS: High Fashion the winning bidder
-----------------------------------------------------
Clothing firm High Fashion International has agreed to
rescue cash-strapped retailer Theme International Holdings,
ending a three-pronged, four-month takeover battle for the
company.

Giordano International and YGM Trading had also been trying
to take over the company since September last year.  News
of the agreement pushed up Theme shares 10.86 per cent to
20.4 cents.  Turnover on the day jumped more than four-fold
from last Friday to 6.46 million shares.

Theme has been struggling with a $240 million debt since
early 1998.  The company, its creditors and High Fashion
signed the agreement on December 30, according to Theme.
Under the agreement, High Fashion will free Theme from all
debt.  High Fashion said it had made no commitment to
inject fresh capital into Theme or launch any corporate
restructuring at the company.  Instead, High Fashion will
arrange a revolving facility of $20 million as Theme's
working capital.  

The agreement does not specify whether the company would
acquire a stake in Theme or not.  All of Theme's underlying
guarantees and security over the group's assets, other than
properties held for mortgage purposes, will be transferred
to High Fashion.  Theme will be exempted from repaying all
mortgage loans as the agreement allows bank creditors to
keep the company's properties to offset the loans.

Sources close to the deal said High Fashion offered to pay
Theme's bank creditors 18 per cent of their exposure.  The
level of repayment to banks creditors is more favourable
than the 12 per cent offered by Giordano and YGM Trading.
China Everbright, which holds 19.9 per cent of Theme,
stands to benefit more than any other creditor.

High Fashion has offered to repay the entire $5.1 million
debts Theme owes to China Everbright.  It also offered to
cancel all the obligations arising from an option in
relation to ailing retailing arm Emporium (Singapore).
Emporium, which was controlled 55.77 per cent by Theme and
43.82 per cent by China Everbright, went into judicial
management in Singapore in July, 1998. (South China Morning
Post  04-Jan-2000)


=================
I N D O N E S I A
=================

BANK INDONESIA: IMF urges action on technical bankruptcy   
--------------------------------------------------------
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called on
Indonesia's central bank to act rapidly on the findings of
an independent audit which suggests that Bank Indonesia is
technically bankrupt.

Remedial action is expected to include the recapitalisation
of the bank, and would be linked to future IMF loan
disbursements to Indonesia, the IMF said yesterday. The
recapitalisation will add to the government's overall
indebtedness - a blow for a country already struggling with
public debt that last year was estimated by the World Bank
at more than 100 per cent of gross domestic product.

"The corrective action would include some recapitalisation
of Bank Indonesia and this will add to the debt burden,"
John Dodsworth, IMF Jakarta office senior resident
representative, said yesterday.

He said the government was expected to include the measures
in its next letter of intent to the IMF, due to be signed
in the middle of this month.  The letter, an outline of the
government's proposed economic programme, must be revised
and mutually agreed before every IMF loan disbursement.

Indonesia has been dependent on international financial
support since it suffered a devastating financial crisis
two years ago.  The audit, details of which were released
on Friday, was conducted by the government's Supreme Audit
Board helped by KPMG, the international consultancy. The
board said weak internal supervision and other problems
within Bank Indonesia meant it could not provide an
official opinion on the central bank's true balance beyond
that it was probably negative.

Mr Dodsworth described the audit, one of the first of its
kind to be released publicly, as a positive development for
transparency, adding that the findings should not affect
Bank Indonesia's ability to function normally.  But he
warned it would not be enough for the government simply to
recapitalise the central bank.

"The audit's findings are on internal controls, on
management practices, on accounting practices and on
banking supervision; these are the areas where we will be
looking to see what Bank Indonesia is going to do about the
situation," Mr Dodsworth said.

There are concerns, though, that the issue could delay the
IMF programme.  Bank Indonesia disputes many of the audit's
findings, including the board's refusal to recognise
Rp51,000bn ($7bn) that the central bank claims it is owed
by the government. (Financial Times  04-Jan-2000)

PERTAMINA: To issue bonds for oil production capital
---------------------------------------------------------
Pertamina, Indonesia's state owned oil and gas company,
plans to issue bonds in 2002 or 2003 with which to raise
capital for oil production.

With such capital, Pertamina would be able to expand its
investments in oil fields by buying shares from oil fields
by buying shares from oil contractors or launching its own
exploration of promising areas, according to Hadi Sudibyo,
Pertamina's finance director.

"Pertamina is forbidden from selling shares, but Pertamina
is allowed to issue bonds. Therefore, Pertamina plans to
issue bonds. Therefore, Pertamina plans to issue bonds in
2002 or 2003 to boost its oil production in future," he
said.  "Pertamina will have to increase its output from the
current 70,000 barrels per day if it is to become a world-
class company. To increase production, we need capital."

The firm's president director, Martiono Hadianto, said he
would act on most of the findings of an independent audit
by Pricewaterhouse Coopers that found the company had lost
almost $5 billion in two years through inefficiency,
mismanagement and corruption.  But he rejected the audit's
criticism of Pertamina's oil-platform management which the
auditors said had lost $650 million. He said Pertamina
remained committed to restructuring and boosting
efficiency. (The Asian Wall Street Journal  04-Jan-2000)

PT BANK BALI: Planning rights issue
-----------------------------------
PT Bank Bali will delay a planned rights issue aimed at
raising 4.036 trillion rupiah ($569.4 million).

The bank said the Capital Market Supervisory Agency hadn't
approved the issue.  Bank Bali planned to hold 99-for-1
rights issue between Jan. 6 and Jan. 12, priced at 60.68
rupiah a share. The rights issue is part of the government-
sponsored recapitalization program for private banks.

The Indonesian Capital Market Supervisory Agency was quoted
by some local newspapers Friday as saying that the agency
couldn't pass Bank Bali's rights issue plan as the bank, as
of late Thursday, hadn't submitted all the necessary
information. (The Asian Wall Street Journal  03-Jan-2000)

PT TIRTAMAS COMEXINDO: Government files for its bankruptcy
-------------------------------------------------------
In what is likely to be seen as a test case, the Indonesian
government has filed for bankruptcy against Tirtamas
Comexindo, a trading company linked to the family of former
president Suharto.

The company, controlled by businessman Hashim
Djojohadikusumo, the influential younger brother of one of
Mr Suharto's sons-in-law, owes the government Rp69.7bn
(nearly $10m) and has $95.7m in problem loans.

The suit represents an important show of muscle for the new
government of president Abdurrahman Wahid, amid growing
criticism that it is lagging behind on crucial economic and
corporate reforms.  It is believed to be the first time the
government has tried to bankrupt a company controlled by a
member of the powerful Suharto clan.

In filing the bankruptcy claim against Tirtamas on Dec. 30,
IBRA was acting on behalf of closed Bank Tamara, which has
claims against the firm totaling Rp 38 billion, including
unpaid interest payments and penalties. The loans matured
in August last year.

The head of IBRA's legal division, Agustus Sani Nugroho,
said here on Monday the debt to Bank Tamara was just a
portion of Tirtamas' bad debts to banks under the control
of IBRA. "From there, we will move to recover all debts the
company owes IBRA."

He said the company was uncooperative in working toward a
settlement of the debts, which total US$95.7 million and Rp
69.7 billion ($10 million).  "Tirtamas Comexindo . is among
a number of companies that have been classified as non-co-
operative," said Agustus Sani Nugroho, the head of the
legal division at the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency
(IBRA), the government body that is bringing the suit.

Mr Nugroho said Tirtamas Comexindo owes the money to nine
banks taken over, closed or recapitalised by the government
during the country's financial crisis two years ago. IBRA,
whose task is to revitalise the financial sector, has taken
over responsibility for the debts.  The government filed
the suit last Thursday after Tirtamas allegedly refused to
provide it with appropriate loan guarantees during debt
restructuring talks, Mr Nugroho said.

The company, which trades in commodities including tea,
fertiliser and cement, is part of Djojohadikusumo's giant
Tirtamas Group conglomerate.  Highly leveraged with foreign
currency loans, the group fell into difficulty after the
depreciation of the rupiah in 1997 and 1998 and now owes
the government about Rp3,200bn.  The suit was one of three
bankruptcy cases against non-co-operative debtors filed by
IBRA late last month.

Meanwhile, Benny Harman from Abdul Hakim G. Nusantara and
Partners law firm -- which is representing IBRA in its
claim against Tirtamas Comexindo -- proposed the court
appoint an ad hoc judge to assist the commercial court's
judges in hearing his client's case.  "Because of the
complexity of the case, it needs the expertise and special
knowledge of ad hoc judges," Benny said.

The government, through a ministerial decree early last
year, appointed experts in business law to sit on a board
of ad hoc judges, whose task is to assist the commercial
court judges in their verdicts.  (Financial Times, Jakart
Post  04-Jan-2000)

PT WEST KALINDO PULP PAPERMILL: IBRA files its bankruptcy
---------------------------------------------------------
The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) has filed a
bankruptcy action with the Jakarta Commercial Court against
PT West Kalindo Pulp Papermill.

The head of IBRA's legal division, Agustus Sani Nugroho,
said IBRA filed a bankruptcy claim against West Kalimantan-
based PT West Kalindo Pulp Papermill, which failed to pay
Rp 131 billion in debts, including unpaid interest payments
and penalties, to state-owned Bank Rakyat Indonesia.

He also said the recovery of assets from the pulp and paper
mill would be much less than the company's debts as the
value of the assets used as collateral was much lower than
the debts.  

Among IBRA's numerous tasks under the government bank
restructuring program is recouping bad debts at state
banks, particularly debts of over Rp 5 billion.

Teguh Samudera -- a lawyer representing IBRA in its claim
against West Kalindo -- said the majority of the pulp
company's debt to the bank was made up of investment loans,
while the remaining was working capital loans. The loans
matured between December 1996 and August 1998 according to
the bankruptcy suit filed by Teguh on Dec. 30.

"We are also naming two individuals, Thee Ning Khong and
Hasan Basuki -- the personal guarantors of the company's
loans -- in the bankruptcy claim," he said in the document.
(Jakarta Post  04-Jan-2000)


=========
K O R E A
=========

DAEWOO GROUP: Foreign, domestic creditors to meet
-------------------------------------------------
Due to arrive in Seoul later this week, an advisory
committee representing the foreign creditor banks of the
ailing Daewoo Corp. will discuss with Korean lenders just
how much of their liabilities will be recovered, an
official at the Corporate Restructuring Coordination
Committee, which represents Korean creditor banks, said
yesterday.

Representing foreign creditors, officials from the
financial consulting firm, Earnst & Young LLP, will arrive
in Seoul before the end of the week to hold talks with
Lazard Freres, which is currently serving as advisor to the
Daewoo Group and its Korean lenders.  Samil Accounting
Corp., which recently conducted a due diligence study on
Daewoo Group affiliates, will also take part in the
upcoming debt-recovery talks, the committee official said.

He added that accounting specialists representing foreign
creditors will also participate. The two sides will focus
on narrowing differences in calculating a recovery rate for
the near $7 billion that Daewoo affiliates have borrowed
from foreign banks.  The committee official hoped that
talks held last month in New York, which ended without
progress, may reach a breakthrough once both sides agree to
differences in calculating debt-recovery rates.

The officials said that Korean creditors also appeared
ready to make minor adjustments in debt-recovery rates.
Recently, Korean creditors said they would allow foreign
banks to recover an average of 36 percent of their loans to
Daewoo affiliates, up from a previous recovery rate of 34
percent. Foreign creditors rejected the proposal as
inadequate. (Korea Herald  05-Jan-2000, Digital ChosunIlbo  
04-Jan-2000)

DAEWOO GROUP: Suspends 3 foreign projects due to rehab
------------------------------------------------------
Korea's Daewoo Group will reportedly suspend three projects
in Uzbekistan due to its restructuring.

Industry sources, quoting a Korean diplomat in the former
Soviet Republic Thursday, said the troubled conglomerate
would turn its stakes in the three joint ventures,
including Uz-Daewoo Electronics, over to the joint venture
Uz-Daewoo Bank.

The move is connected with the restructuring of Daewoo
Electronics and Daewoo Telecom at home and debts
accumulated in undertaking joint venture projects in
Uzbekistan.  The diplomat, however, said the auto plant
worth US$ 658 million that Daewoo Motor built would remain
untouched.

A Daewoo official at the group's restructuring headquarters
dismissed the report, saying he knew of no such plan.  The
Daewoo Group is the largest foreign investor in Uzbekistan
with $ 1.4 billion in 12 projects since 1993.  (Asia Pulse  
31-Dec-1999)

DAEWOO MOTOR: Rejects partial sell-offs as solution
---------------------------------------------------
Daewoo Motor Co. is strongly opposed to partial sell-offs
of its passenger car operations at home and abroad, its new
chief executive officer said yesterday.

Chung Joo-ho, who recently replaced Kim Tae-gou as
president of Daewoo Motor, said that he is against foreign
or domestic takeover of only parts of Daewoo Motor's local
and overseas plants.

"Any aspiring bidder should be ready to take full control
of Daewoo Group's entire passenger car businesses, rather
than attempting to acquire only profitable company assets,
like the lucrative car plant in Poland," said Chung, while
meeting with reporters at the launching ceremony for the
company's new minivan, "Rezzo," here.

Daewoo Motor will be sold under three principles -
normalization of company operations, employee job security
and protection of parts suppliers, he noted.  Chung's
remarks immediately sent a shock wave in the international
bidding race for Daewoo Motor and Ssangyong Motor, as
General Motors Corp. and Hyundai Motor Co. have vowed to
take over only profitable parts of Daewoo's operations.

GM, for instance, said in its letter of intent that it is
not interested in acquiring Daewoo's entire operations,
vowing to exclude a couple of nonviable and debt-laden
plants in and out of Korea from its shopping list. The U.S.
automaker refused to take over any of Daewoo's debts and
even threatened to close some plants after the takeover
deal is completed, raising the wrath of company unionists.
Similarly, Hyundai Motor, hoping to deter GM's bid,
expressed intent to take over Daewoo's Polish operations
alone.

Chung, meanwhile, noting that only giant automakers in the
so-called "4-million-unit capacity" range will survive in
the new millennium, said the sale of Daewoo is nevertheless
inevitable.  On the reason for the collapse of negotiations
with GM in 1998, Chung said that there was a sharp clash of
interest on wide-ranging issues.  (Korea Herald  05-Jan-
2000)


===============
M A L A Y S I A
===============

ARAB MALAYSIAN CORP.: To revise its debt restructure scheme
-----------------------------------------------------------
Arab-Malaysian Corp Bhd (Amcorp) is revising its proposed
debt restructuring scheme to include capital reduction and
shares consolidation.  Amcorp said in a statement to the
KLSE that the revised scheme was subject to creditors'
approval.

"(We) are still in negotiations with the creditors and, as
such, the terms of the revised scheme may be substantially
modified through the course of negotiations as further
comments from the creditors are received," it said.

The company said it was now proposing a capital reduction
involving the cancellation of 50 sen of the par value of
every existing ordinary share of RM1 each. This will reduce
its current share capital of RM282.794mil to RM141.397mil,
comprising 282.794 million ordinary shares worth 50 sen
each.  Following the proposed capital reduction, the 50 sen
ordinary shares will be consolidated into ordinary shares
of RM1 each in the proportion of two to one.

"The proposed capital reduction and proposed consolidation
are designed to reflect the overall diminution in
investment in quoted assets and to accommodate the losses
arising therefrom," the statement said.

Amcorp is also proposing to issue warrants to its
shareholders on the basis of three warrants for every one
Amcorp share after the proposed capital reduction and
proposed consolidation.  The proposed issue of 424.191
million warrants will have a tenure of five years and an
option to extend a further five years.

Amcorp said the proposed warrants issue was to mitigate the
dilution effect on shareholders arising from the revised
restructuring scheme.  Proceeds from the conversion of the
warrants will be used to repay creditors.

Amcorp said it was also proposing to restructure and settle
debts by way of a cash repayment of up to RM136mil to
secured creditors and a conversion of debts totalling
RM942mil into term loans with a tenure and interest rate to
be agreed upon.

Also, the company proposes to issue new shares totalling
566.423 million in exchange for debts of an equal amount.
Creditors who receive new Amcorp shares will have to carry
out an offer for sale of the shares to shareholders on a
proposed proportional basis offer price of RM1 per share.
(Star Online 04-Jan-2000)


=====================
P H I L I P P I N E S
=====================

CAPITOL WIRELESS, INC.: Signs final restructuring agreement
-----------------------------------------------------------
Capitol Wireless, Inc. (Capwire) and its creditor banks
last week finally agreed on the final terms and conditions
of its rehabilitation program. The signing of the
restructuring agreement will be held early this month.

In a statement, Capwire said the restructuring program
involves 908.83 million Philippine pesos (US$22.7 million
at PhP40.021:US$1) in obligations which will be paid in two
tranches. The first tranche totals PhP681.62 million ($17
million), or 75% of total debts and the second, PhP227.208
million ($5.7 million).  Tranche 3 involves preferred
shares worth PhP53.57 million ($1.3 million).

The repayment schedule under tranche 1 is eight years, with
a two-year grace period on principal payments while tranche
2 will have a nine-year repayment term with three years
grace period on principal. Interest rate will be based on
the yield of the 91-day Treasury-bill, the benchmark banks
use to price their loans, plus a 2% spread annually,
subject to quarterly repricing, the statement said. It was
also agreed that interest rate must not exceed 15% yearly,
subject to the annual review of Capwire's actual earnings
before interest and taxes. (Business World  04-Jan-2000)

FIRST WOMEN'S CREDIT CORP.: SEC stops takeover
----------------------------------------------
The commission en banc has stopped a newly formed
management receiver from taking over the assets and
operations of First Women's Credit Corp.

The temporary restraining order, dated Dec. 28, 1999, was
issued in response to a petition filed by FWCC owner Ramon
Jacinto which questioned an earlier order of hearing
officer George Palmares allowing the management receiver to
take over the lending company.  Jacinto, in the petition,
claimed that there was an abuse of discretion on the part
of the hearing officer in appointing the management
receiver.

"In order to maintain the status quo, a TRO for 20 days is
issued, enjoining (Palmares) from implementing the
questioned order," the en banc order said.

Jacinto's group, for its part, was enjoined from "misusing,
divesting or dissipating" funds and assets of FWCC.
The Commission en banc, the highest appellate body of the
SEC, has scheduled a hearing on Jan. 10 to determine if a
writ of preliminary injunction would be issued.  Jacinto's
group elevated its case to the Commission en banc after
Palmares issued an order appointing a management receiver
and subsequently denied Jacinto's motion for
reconsideration.

The Jacinto group opposed the appointment of the receiver
saying that there was no urgency to implement the order
appointing the management committee as FWCC's operations
were limited to collecting its receivables, having stopped
its lending operations since Oct. 27,1997.  The Jacinto
group added that in the two years since minority
shareholder Shig Katayama filed the case against the group,
he (Katayama) was not able to present evidence that Jacinto
continued to draw advances or loans from FWCC.

The Jacinto group also argued that the interest of the
stockholders and creditors of FWCC were protected even
without the interim management committee as the Regional
Trial Court has already issued an order conserving the
assets of FWCC. (Philippine Daily Inquirer  04-Jan-2000)

MINDANAO PORTLAND CEMENT CORP.: SEC asked to take over
------------------------------------------------------
Minority shareholders of Mindanao Portland Cement Corp.
have asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to
appoint a management receiver to take over the cement
firm's assets and operations.

MPCC shareholders Vicente Ponce and Juan Ponce Enrile told
the SEC that the assets of MPCC would be dissipated unless
the present officers and directors identified with Zeus
Holdings Corp. are replaced.

"In order to save what is left of the company, there is a
need to elect provisional directors. It is, therefore, most
appropriate that MPCC be placed under receivership to
preserve the assets," the shareholders said in a motion
filed with the commission.

Ponce and Enrile sought the removal of officials of Zeus
Holdings after the SEC prevented an increase in MPCC's
capital stock to P2 billion. The commission also prevented
the corporate secretary of MPCC from registering the sale
of the additional shares to Zeus Holdings.  Minority
shareholders earlier filed a petition to prevent an
increase in the company's capital stock. They said the 1995
stock. (Philippine Daily Inquirer  04-Jan-2000)

SOLIDBANK CORP.: SEC again resets Scotiabank block meeting
----------------------------------------------------------
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed
for a second time a meeting on Bank of Nova Scotia's
request to block the $167 million sale of half of Solidbank
Corp. to Metropolitan Bank & Trust Corp.

SEC director Daisy de Asis delayed yesterday's meeting
until today after the regulatory body failed to notify all
the related parties about the hearing, aimed at assigning
an officer to hear the petition filed by Scotiabank,
Canada's fourth-largest lender by assets and a 40 percent
owner of Solidbank.

"No hearing was held because the notice was not properly
served," said Augusto Macam, Scotiabank's counsel in
Manila.

The long holiday prevented SEC officials from notifying all
the concerned members of the Madrigal family, who own 38
percent of Solidbank, Macam said.  A week ago, the SEC
threw out Scotiabank's first petition because it failed to
include all related parties. Scotiabank submitted an
amended petition a day later.

Scotiabank wants the sale to Metrobank delayed to settle a
dispute with the Madrigals, who together with the Lim
family, are selling their combined 51 percent in Solidbank
for P6.7 billion.  Scotiabank had the opportunity to match
Metrobank's offer but the Canadian lender contends the
offer was invalid because its agreement with the Madrigal
family requires the bank to offer to buy only that family's
38-percent stake, not the full block of both the Lim and
Madrigal families.  Scotiabank's right of first refusal
expired Dec. 27.

Metrobank, meanwhile, announced it would undertake a stock
rights offering in the first quarter of the year to raise
P5.94 billion partly to finance recent acquisitions.  A
senior Metrobank official told the Inquirer that the bank
was open to a share-swap deal with Scotiabank but still not
at the same price it offered to the Madrigal and Lim
families.

The official said, on condition of anonymity, that
Metrobank planned to issue 29.7 million shares at P200 each
partly to finance its P12-billion acquisition of Asianbank
Corp., Philippine Banking Corp. and Solidbank. (Philippine
Daily Inquirer  04-Jan-2000)


=================
S I N G A P O R E
=================

THAKRAL CORP.: Rehab plan to include noncore asset sale
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Thakral Corp. said it has set up a plan to restructure the
group's debt, which it had previously announced stood at
around S$230 million (US$138.1 million).

The Singapore electronics wholesaler said the debt-
restructuring plan included the disposal of noncore assets
and the reduction of the group's working-capital needs. The
group said in late December that it had a net loss of
S$58.9 million for the six months ended Sept. 30, 1999,
compared with a profit of S$24.5 million in a year earlier.

Thakral plunged into the red in its 1999 financial year
ended March 31, 1999, when it shocked the market with a net
loss of S$218.7 million, from S$70.4 million in 1998. The
bulk of its losses in 1999 and the current interim period
were attributed to poor hedging in foreign currencies.
(The Asian Wall Street Journal  04-Jan-2000)


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T H A I L A N D
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CHAROEN POKPHAND GROUP: To streamline with core businesses
----------------------------------------------------------
Charoen Pokphand Group, the agro-industrial giant, will
shed businesses in which it has no expertise, and focus
fully this year on core activities: food, retailing and
telecommunications, according to chairman Dhanin
Chearavanont.

All of CP's agriculture and agro-industrial ventures would
be controlled by Charoen Pokphand Food Plc (CPF), formerly
known as CP Feed Mill Plc, the group's listed flagship, Mr
Dhanin said. The telecom businesses would be overseen by
TelecomAsia Plc, and retailing by CP 7-Eleven, the company
that runs the convenience store chain.

The recession, as well as recommendations by the group's
consultants, prompted CP to return to its basic businesses.
While the food business was affected only slightly over the
past two years, the group sought to strengthen it by
consolidating nine agriculture-related firms, three of them
listed, under the umbrella of CPF. The listed companies
were Bangkok Agro-Industries, Bangkok Produce and CP North
East. After CPF bought up almost all their shares, they
were delisted.

The consolidation is expected to increase annual sales of
CPF to 55 billion baht from 20 billion baht, with retained
earnings of more than two billion baht at the middle of
this year.  Apart from the consolidation of agriculture
activities, the group will retain other food operations
through CP Interfood and CP Intertrade Co, the group's food
trading arm.

"We may in the future sell profitable businesses, not bad
firms as many Thai business operators have done," Mr Dhanin
said.

Mr Dhanin, now 60, said he planned to work less but travel
more in the coming year to monitor his business empire,
which employs about 100,000 people.

"We have adopted a decentralised management style. I alone
do not control everything. This enables me to leave the
workload to management staff who may not belong to the
Chearavanont family," he said.

But by no means is Mr Dhanin planning to retire. He said he
wanted to see the conglomerate achieve prosperity in new
fields, including online commerce.  In October the group
developed its own cybermall, where CP and non-CP products
and services are available online at. Operated by its
payments service provider, Counter Service Co Ltd, the site
allows consumers to place orders and pick up products at 7-
Eleven and other convenience stores and selected department
stores near their homes.

Counter Service now has 473 outlets, of which 375 are at 7-
Eleven stores. The remainder are located at allied outlets
such as Robinson department store, The Mall, Jusco, Food
Lion supermarket, and some petrol-station convenience
stores including Shell Select and Caltex's Star Mart.
Strengthened by a wide range of retail businesses, good
distribution centres and the huge customer base represented
by 2.6 million TA phone lines, the CP group's electronic
commerce business would expand rapidly, Mr Dhanin said.

CP would also seek foreign funds to set up a venture
capital arm to support small investors who wanted to run
online businesses, he said.  On the agriculture side, Mr
Dhanin said the group planned to emphasise its rice
business more.

"Even though Thailand has grown rice for centuries and has
become the world largest rice exporter, we have seen very
little development in rice," he said. "About 6.5 million
tons were expected to be exported in 1999. The figure is
quite high, but there is still much room for expansion."

According to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture
Organisation, global paddy output in 1999 was forecast at
589 million tons, and about 24.4 million tons of rice were
traded globally. Thailand produced between 20 million and
21 million tons of paddy in the 1999 crop year.  Three
years ago, CP established a modern rice mill in Buri Ram as
a pilot project, encouraging farmers to cultivate fragrant
rice strains with good quality, less use of chemicals,
better marketing and processing to add value in products
such as rice crackers.

"The Buri Ram pilot project worked successfully and CP is
ready to provide know-how to other millers," he said.

The integrated rice-farming project in Buri Ram involves
2,000 farmers and covers 80,000 rai, each yielding an
average of 500 kilogrammes of rice. It is aimed at
increasing rice output through the use of better irrigation
and milling.  The mill has a capacity of 100 tons of paddy
per day and is part of the royally-initiated integrated
agriculture project.

The group not only helps farmers to run the mill but
assists them in diversifying into chicken- and pig-raising,
and planting vegetables and fruit.  CP holds a 51% stake in
the 75-million-baht mill, with 49% held by a group of
farmers. CP handles the marketing of about 50 tons a day of
fragrant rice which is sold in small bags.

Based on 60 million rai of rice plantation areas
countrywide, Thailand needed about 600 modern rice mills,
each requiring one million baht in investment, Mr Dhanin
said.  Many existing mills, he said, were outdated and
their milled rice was often broken, leading to a fall in
rice prices.

Mr Dhanin urged agricultural co-operatives to emulate the
Buri Ram model and hire private companies with expertise in
agribusiness, such as the SCT and CP groups, to manage the
mills and process rice products.  Mr Dhanin also said he
saw good prospects for the Thai economy, with significant
recovery in 2000 and more direct foreign investment in
bargain shares on the local stock market.

Japanese automobile companies, in particular, would resume
their investment plans to help develop Thailand as a
regional auto industry hub, he said.  But he warned that
the government should come up with clearer directions to
improve the farm sector and earnings of farmers, especially
by improving irrigation systems.  (Bangkok Post  04-Jan-
2000)

LAND AND HOUSES PLC: Restructure, new partner paying off   
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Land & Houses Plc, the country's largest property-
developer, has strengthened its position after welcoming
equity participation by Singapore's government investment
corporation (GIC) as part of its corporate-restructuring
scheme.

Adisorn Thananun-narapool, executive vice president of LH,
said that under a plan recently approved by the company's
directors, LH would sell 94.3 million shares at a price of
Bt14 apiece via a private placement to GIC Real Estate Pte
Ltd - a property investment arm of the Singapore GIC -
which raised Bt1.3billion in total.

"GIC RE has become a strategic partner of the company," he
said.

LH and GIC had been in talks for several months for the
possible equity participation, after the indebted Thai
property developer giant moved to restructure its financial
position via shareholding- and debt-restructuring.  GIC is
a fund-management firm that manages in excess of US$70
billion worldwide. GIC RE is a wholly owned subsidiary of
GIC managing real estate investment.

According to Adisorn, LH plans to raise at least Bt5billion
in new capital. Adisorn said that LH had, as of July 1999,
also reached a satisfactory conclusion in its debt
restructuring with 97 per cent of all of its creditors to
reschedule payment to seven years with a grace period of
two years with MLR interest rate.  After LH's debt-
restructuring plan is complete the company plans an
aggressive policy to invest in new projects in 2000 such as
setting up a property fund worth Bt500million.
(The Nation  04-Jan-2000)

TANAYONG PLC: Creditors approve restructure plan
------------------------------------------------
Mr.Sudha Liptawat and Mr.Rangsin Kritalug of the Tanayong
Public Company Limited reported to the Stock Exchange of
Thailand that all of the company's creditors unanimously
approved the restructuring plan of the Company at a meeting
on December 30,1999 at the Bank of Thailand.  (Stock
Exchange of Thailand  04-Jan-2000)

THAI PETROCHEMICAL INDUS.: Debtors turning rehab into drama
-----------------------------------------------------------
After nearly two years of tough negotiations over the
largest corporate debt in Thailand, Prachai Leophairatana,
the major shareholder of TPI, could be dubbed "the master
of delay". Pressure from hostile creditors and even
intervention by government authorities was not enough to
conclude the restructuring of TPI's US$3.5 billion in
debts. So two years of drawn-out negotiations will continue
into the new millennium.

A debt-restructuring agreement was probably in sight as
early as February 1999. At that time, most of TPI's 146
creditors were ready to accept the agreement reached by the
major shareholders, led by Prachai. Under the agreement, $4
hundred million was to be converted into equity and the
remaining $3.1 billion to have its maturity postponed for
another six years.

The first repayment of $200 million was to be due Dec 2000.
A second instalment of $500 million was to be due in 2002,
and the final $2.5 billion was to be due in 2003. New
equity was to be raised to cover the last installment, but
there was no specific time frame for the recapitalisation.

This plan was acceptable to the Prachai group. After
defaulting on the massive debt in late 1997 following the
baht's devaluation, it did not have much choice. However,
later in the year the shareholder group appeared to have
secured some leverage. Plastic prices started to rise in
the world market from $450 to about $600 per tonne.

With higher prices for its product, TPI began to enjoy a
monthly cash flow of Bt4 billion. This gave shareholders
the opportunity to consider an early capital hike that
would give them more power to bargain with creditors, who
included the World Bank's development arm, the
International Finance Corp (IFC).

Ownership and management control was at stake. According to
the Feb 1999 plan, the debt conversion would hand creditors
a combined 53.9-per-cent equity while the existing
shareholders would see their holding drop from 65 per cent
to 46.5 per cent.

To minimise the losses to existing shareholders and resist
management change, Prachai, whose group controls 60 per
cent of the company, proposed in late 1999 a new $1-billion
equity-raising plan that would be implemented in 2000.
Creditors cried foul, citing the Feb 1999 plan that had
already been agreed to by all parties.

The $1-billion recapitalisation plan, if successful, would
allow the existing shareholders to maintain control of the
company by selecting friendly partners for the
recapitalisation process.  While opposing the plan,
creditors led by the IFC suggested that it was unlikely
TPI's shareholders would find investors willing to inject
$1 billion in equity at this juncture.

Many twists and turns and masterly debtor tactics that
exploited legal loopholes marked the debt-restructuring of
Thai Identity Group. It was also accompanied by the murder
of an Australian auditor.  On March 10, 1999, Michael
Wanley, head of the team that audited the sugar group, was
shot to death outside one of the group's sugar mills. He
had discovered an illicit transfer of Bt3 billion in
company funds.

The audit team had spent three months formulating a debt-
restructuring plan for creditors when the murder took
place. Police later arrested a gunman who allegedly had
connections to Pradit Siriviriyakul, a member of the family
that controls Thai Identity Group and the head of the sugar
mill where the murder occurred. The case is still in
criminal court. (The Nation  04-Jan-2000)


S U B S C R I P T I O N  I N F O R M A T I O N

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