/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRAP_Public/000228.MBX      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

           Monday, February 28, 2000, Vol. 3, No. 40

                                 Headlines


* A U S T R A L I A *

AMP LIMITED: Posts large, full-year loss
BORAL: Teams up with Lafarge in Asia to clog bleeding
COPPER MINES AND METALS: Creditors' investment rewarded
NATIONAL TEXTILES: Creditors accept deed of arrangement
PARBURY: Fletcher emerges as a white knight
WATER WHEEL: Near insolvency, hires PWC as administrators


* C H I N A  &  H O N G  K O N G *

LAI SUN DEVELOPMENT CO.: Sells hotel stake for HK$1.88b
WAH LEE RESOURCES HLDGS.LTD: Reports on bankruptcy to HKSE


* I N D O N E S I A *

PT ANWAR SIERAD: JSX suspends trading of stock
PT ALAKASA INDUSTRINDO: JSX suspends trading of stock
PT ASTRA INT'L: Bidders for 40% stake in Astra announced
PT ASTRA SEDAYA: To issue bonds to raise money
PT DAVOMAS ABADI: JSX suspends trading of stock
PT LIPPON KARAWACI TBK: Reports rehab status to JSX


* J A P A N *

DAIEI INC.: Recruit Co. firms to buy its parent stock
IWANAMI PRODUCTIONS INC.: Hitachi buys film collection  
KUBOTA CORP.: Fined in anti-monopoly case
KURIMOTOR LTD.: Fined in anti-monopoly case
NEC CORP.: Raises FY99 extraordinary loss forecast  
NIPPON CHUTETSUKAN KK: Fined in anti-monopoly case
NIPPON CREDIT BANK: As expected, Softbank tabbed to buy
SHOWA KOGYO CO.: Steelmaker to shut down
TOBU RAILWAY CO.: Covering 150B Yen loss with rehab plan
TOKYO ELECTRIC POWER CO.: To book 200B Yen special loss
VICTOR CO. OF JAPAN: To speed up cost-cuts after loss


* K O R E A *

DAEWOO MOTOR: Race to buy it heating up
HYUNDAI GROUP: Subsids desperate to prop up stock prices


* M A L A Y S I A *

RASHID HUSSAIN BHD: Narrows first-half loss


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

MANILA ELECTRIC CO.: ERB takes refund issue to High Court
ORION SAVINGS BANK: Central bank to probe stock investment
PHIL.CEMENT MFTRS.CORP.: Vexed by foreign cement firms
PHILIPPINE NAT.BANK: IMF joins World Bank in sale concerns
TRANSFARM & CO.: Upside-down net worth; no Daewoo ops yet


* S I N G A P O R E *

CLOB INT'L: SGX, KLSE agree on solution


* T H A I L A N D *

AYUDHYA CMG LIFE ASSURANCE: Posts larger annual loss
BANGCHAK PETROLEUM: Seeks to move on share sale
BANGKOK EXPRESSWAY: Posts narrower annual loss
BANGKOK METROPOLITAN BANK: HSBC closer to takeover deal
BANK OF ASIA: Posts higher annual loss
GOLDEN LAND PROPERTY DEVEL.: Posts narrower 9-mo.loss
ITV: Bank unlikely to accept its call for hefty loss
PAE (Thailand) PLC: Court okays rehab plan
PRANEE SOMVIVATCHAI: B500,000 fine for share manipulation
SIAM CITY BANK: Disappointing bids trigger alternatives
WATTANA KARNPAET: Posts narrower loss


=================
A U S T R A L I A
=================

AMP LIMITED: Posts full-year loss
---------------------------------
AMP Ltd. reported a rise in operating profit for 1999, but
said an extraordinary charge related to reinsurance losses
in insurer GIO Australia Holdings Ltd. led to a net loss.

For the 12 months to December, the company posted a net
loss of A$424 million (US$263.7 million), compared with a
profit of A$1.03 billion in 1998.  The result includes an
abnormal item of almost $1.5 billion in losses, which takes
in a revaluation of its holding in GIO Australia.

Australia's biggest fund manager and insurer said in an
earnings statement that an abnormal loss of A$1.47 billion
had overshadowed the result. The abnormal loss included
A$1.21 billion attributable to reinsurance losses in
struggling insurer GIO, and a further A$245 million
abnormal cost stemming from AMP's U.K. operations. AMP took
over 57.4% GIO in January 1999, then in December acquired
the remaining stake of nearly 43%.

Paul Batchelor, AMP's Chief Executive, said the company's
bottom-line result was "extremely disappointing."

"The reinsurance losses recorded by GIO are unacceptable
and we have taken action to close this business and reduce
the group's exposure to past GIO underwriting as quickly as
possible." He said.

AMP declared a final dividend of 21 Australian cents a
share, up from 18 cents a share in the corresponding period
a year earlier.  AMP's operating profit before abnormal
items rose to A$1.05 billion from A$1.03 billion a year
earlier. This rise was supported by a 31% increase in
overall operating margins, excluding businesses that AMP no
longer operates.

AMP shares rose Thursday 4.3%, or 62 cents, to A$15.07,
after over 3.6 million AMP shares changed hands. The shares
were up by over A$1 at one point after the release of the
1999 result, but narowed their gains on some late profit-
taking.

Analysts said the 62-cent increase in AMP's shares was
mostly due to improved market sentiment for the stock, and
renewed buying following strong declines in recent months.

Scott Marshall, a banking and finance analysts at Shaw
Stockbroking in Sydney, said the company is making the
right noises about putting the problems in GIO behind it.
"The important thing is for the company to show that the
changes it has made to GIO will contain the reinsurance
losses," Mr. Marshall said.

Assets under management rose 47% to A$259.2 billion in
1999, driven by acquisitions and "positive internal and
external cash flows of A$17.2 billion across the billion.
(ABC News Online  24-Feb-2000, (The Asian Wall Street
Journal  25-Feb-2000)

BORAL: Teams up with Lafarge in Asia to clog bleeding
-----------------------------------------------------
New Boral managing director Mr Rod Pearse has moved
decisively to address the company's loss-making
plasterboard operations in Asia by forming a joint venture
with one of the world's biggest building-products
companies, France's Lafarge.

In his first major initiative since taking the helm from Mr
Tony Berg, Mr Pearse has decided to link Boral's gypsum or
plasterboard operations in Malaysia, China and Indonesia
with Lafarge's plants in China and South Korea.  Boral's
Asian operations, including concrete, lost $9 million in
the first half and $20 million in the second half.

The executive general manager of Boral Plasterboard, Mr
Ross Batstone, said the joint venture, with annual sales of
$US130 million ($208 million), would be profitable in its
first full year of operation.  Both parties will have equal
voting rights from the start of the venture at the end of
May, but Lafarge will control 70 per cent. Boral will have
the right to equalise the joint venture during the next few
years via funding new developments.

Mr Batstone said the Asian plasterboard market remained
considerably oversupplied with capacity in the region of
500 million square metres a year, compared with just 200
million square metres a year of demand. There have been
signs of industry rationalisation with British Gypsum's
purchase of Thai Gypsum.

"We are not factoring in significant price increases to be
necessary for this thing to work," Mr Batstone said.

The major benefit of the joint venture will be to enable
flexibility in the supply of gypsum across a number of
countries in Asia.  Boral is contributing two plants in
Indonesia, one in Malaysia and one in China, as well as a
metal roll-forming operation in Indonesia and a ceiling
tile operations in Indonesia and Malaysia.

While Boral had looked at selling the operation, it
believed Asia had growth potential as the economic recovery
continued.  Boral has already learned its lesson on this
front by selling its Briar Gypsum assets in the US in 1996
to James Hardie, which has subsequently turned the business
into a huge moneyspinner.

Boral joins forces with one of its biggest competitors
locally after Lafarge bought Pioneer out of their
plasterboard joint venture last year. Lafarge and Boral are
partners in the US through a roof-tile joint venture. The
move was announced after the sharemarket closed, with Boral
finishing the day 11c lower at $2.28. (Sydney Morning
Herald  25-Feb-2000)

COPPER MINES AND METALS: Creditors' investment rewarded
-------------------------------------------------------
A bevy of former creditors ended up much happier
shareholders in Copper Mines and Metals yesterday when
their investment more than doubled in value on the
company's relisting.

More than 160 million shares in Copper Mines, or almost 45
per cent of its issued capital, changed hands as the stock
traded between three cents and 4.7 cents a share. It closed
at 4.2 cents.

Copper Mines was suspended in August 1997 when it began
negotiating the $37 million purchase of the Cobar copper
mine in New South Wales.  The mine, then owned by Ashanti
Goldfields, was put into liquidation.

The managing director of Copper Mines, Mr Peter Prentice,
said: "When we started work on Cobar we had about 40 people
employed and had spent in the order of $9 million prior to
Ashanti pulling the pin."

Copper Mines struggled on but went into voluntary
administration under the weight of debt last March. Mr
Prentice said the company had clawed its way back, largely
by getting its 40 main creditors to agree to a
reconstruction under which they swapped debt for 300
million shares issued at two cents each.

On that basis, those creditors' investments gained almost
$7 million in value yesterday. The largest Copper Mines
shareholder at 11 February was Paterson Ord Minnett's Nefco
Nominees, with 82.7 million shares. Nefco has been
associated with the Swiss investor Mr Hans Rudi Moser.

Copper Mines has also just completed an additional
placement of 53 million shares at 95 cents each, raising
more than $500,000 as working capital.  Investors who took
up that stock have more than quadrupled their money if the
price stays at current levels. (The Age  24-Feb-2000)

NATIONAL TEXTILES: Creditors accept deed of arrangement
-------------------------------------------------------
The National Textiles saga came a step closer to a merciful
end when the company's creditors approved a deed of
arrangement that will trigger the release of $4 million of
Federal and State funds to retrenched workers.

With company chairman Stan Howard looking on, creditors
took three hours to approve the deed, in which the workers
get all of their entitlements and 400 unsecured creditors
get two cents in the dollar. But despite their unhappiness
with the deal, it was overwhelmingly approved, anyway.

"We're ecstatic," said David Brown, former National Textile
worker. "It seems like we've been campaigning for months
and months. Well, we really haven't been. We're ecstatic."

Not every creditor was so happy. "It's not what we wanted,
obviously," said Martin Skipper, an unsecured credtior. "We
would have liked a return on what we were owed, but, as far
as the employees are concerned, they're getting their
money. But there's also -- we're not getting anything, by
the look of it."

"I can't see us ending up with anything," added Bill Drain,
unsecured creditor. "I think we've fought for nothing."

A nasty surprise for creditors was revealed during the
meeting however. Many received letter from the Federal
Government asking that any monies recovered from directors
as a result of the ASIC inquiry should go to the government
rather than to creditors.

John Star received such a letter. "They were requesting a
variation on the deed, and, basically, what they were
saying is that, to the extent that they pay out employee
claims, and to the extent that ASIC make recoveries, then
they want to participate in any distribution from those
recoveries," he said.

Reporter Alan Kohler writes that "In other words, the
Howard Government wants its $2 million back first if the
current Securities Commission investigation of National
Textiles uncovers evidence of wrongdoing by directors and
they can be sued for their own personal assets and
insurance policies."

"Right now, the administrator has to raise $7 million
towards the retrenched workers' entitlements by selling the
machines they used to operate to a competitor, Bruck
Textiles."

Kohler adds that the main thing the creditors really were
deciding was the creation of an Australian monopoly in the
manufacture of cotton drill, and that's the material in
overalls.

"National Textiles and Bruck Textiles are Australia's only
two manufacturers of cotton drill," wrote Kohler. "Last
year, they tried to merge, but that failed through a lack
of money. And then National Textiles collapsed.  After
today's meeting, Bruck gets to pick up the pieces and take
it back to its own factory in Wangaratta."

Bruck Textiles managing director John Harvey admits that it
soon will be hiring more personnel.  "We will be hiring
more people to put these productive assets to use. So, it
will be an opportunity for rural Wangaratta to see job
growth and, if we continue to be diligent and effective and
manage our business wisely so that we're able to continue
to drive our costs down, yes, we can be competitive and be
here for very a long time."

Apart from picking up National's machinery and stock,
Kohler reports, Bruck now gets to deal on its own with the
two makers of overalls in Australia, King Gee and Yakka.
John Harvey has promised not to increase prices for 12
months to stop those companies importing cotton drill from
India. But the expansion of Bruck's plant will mean that
NSW's loss is Victoria's gain.  (ABC News Online  25-Feb-
2000)

PARBURY: Fletcher emerges as a white knight
-------------------------------------------
New Zealand's Fletcher Challenge has emerged as a potential
white knight to rescue Parbury as it fends off Atkins
Carlyle's $54 million takeover bid.

Fletcher Challenge Building said yesterday it had been
invited by Parbury's board to consider a takeover offer for
the Australian building materials company.  Such an offer
would almost certainly be higher than Atkins Carlyle's 43c
per share bid, which Parbury's board rejected as
inadequate.

But with no formal offer as yet on the cards, Atkins
Carlyle is urging Parbury shareholders to accept its bid
before it closes on Monday.  In a statement, Fletcher
Challenge Building chief executive Terry McFadgen confirmed
the company was looking at Parbury at the invitation of
Parbury's board.

"The initial indications are that there are synergy
benefits available between Parbury's wood panels operation
and our own that would support a valuation higher than the
current bid from Atkins Carlyle," Mr McFadgen said.

Atkins Carlyle's bid of 43c per share has been declared
free of conditions and was recently revised to allow
accepting Parbury shareholders to retain a fully franked
dividend of 1.75c declared by Parbury.  Atkins Carlyle
chief executive Kevin Clarke said there were no guarantees
in Fletcher's statement.

"Parbury shareholders should place no reliance whatsoever
on the prospect of receiving an alternative offer," he
said.  "There is no credible alternative and so
shareholders should accept our offer as soon as possible to
avoid missing out on the chance to get certain,
unconditional cash."

Atkins Carlyle has about 40 per cent of Parbury shares, but
Mr Clarke said the company was confident that it would
receive substantially more acceptances by Monday night.
Parbury's board and its two largest shareholders, Principal
and Morgan Stanley, are understood to be seeking a bid
closer to 50c per share.

An independent expert valued Parbury at between 56c and 66c
per share. Parbury managing director Gary Greenbank said
Fletcher Challenge was one of Parbury's large suppliers.
He said Parbury had approached Fletcher Challenge and other
"natural buyers" months ago, after Atkins Carlyle made its
initial takeover offer, but it was not until the last week
or two that discussions began.

Mr McFadgen said if the review of Parbury's business
confirmed initial indications, Fletcher Challenge would
progress the required internal and regulatory approvals.
Parbury shares eased 0.5 of 1c to 45c yesterday and Atkins
Carlyle shares dipped 10c to $3.20. (Herald Sun  25-Feb-
2000)

WATER WHEEL: Near insolvency, hires PWC as administrators
---------------------------------------------------------
Ten days ago Water Wheel's managing director Bernard Plymin
telephoned Christopher Daly, one of the most experienced
company doctors in town.

Plymin and the rest of Water Wheel board - John Elliott,
William Harrison and Kenneth Carnie - had run out of
options and were about to hand control of the group's
flour, rice and stockfeed milling operations to an
insolvency specialist. Daly and his offsider Nicholas
Brooke of PricewaterhouseCoopers agreed to become
administrators of four companies in the Water Wheel group.

It was about to become public knowledge that John Elliott's
grand vision of building a Victorian rice industry through
the 127-year-old Water Wheel had been spectacularly
unsuccessful.  The next day the administrators' appointment
was announced to the stock exchange, which the previous day
had received Water Wheel's accounts for the year to 3
December. These revealed that the company was in deep
trouble.

As well as losing nearly $7 million for the year, the
balance sheet showed that the company had accounts payable
of nearly $9million, compared with cash and receivables of
about $4.4 million.  Water Wheel's bank borrowings had been
reclassified as current liabilities and stood at $5.1
million and counting.

The precarious situation was not lost on the ANZ Bank,
which had Water Wheel on a close watch for some months. The
bank was so concerned that it had PricewaterhouseCoopers
monitor Water Wheel's affairs.  Something had to give, and
give it did when the flour and rice miller's results for
the year to 3 December were totted up a few weeks ago.

As revealed by Christopher Daly at a creditors meeting this
week, the initial loss came in at $4.1million.  That was
bad enough, and at first glance it showed that Water Wheel
had lost about $2 million in the second half of the year -
roughly the same as the first-half loss.

However, everyone was about to get a nasty surprise.  It
seems there were invoices totalling hundreds of thousands
of dollars, issued apparently by various grain
organisations, such as the NSW Grain Board. As well, it
seems there was a big adjustment to Water Wheel's stock
figure.

Result? Not a perhaps tolerable $4.1 million loss but a
$6.8 million excursion into the red.  The figures revealed
that the company's position had deteriorated in the second
half. In that half, the company was losing a staggering 30
cents in the dollar on every bag of flour, rice and
stockfeed that was shipped from the mill that sits on the
banks of the Loddon river flowing through the town of
Bridgewater, near Bendigo.

In the first half of the year, the company was losing 12
cents on every dollar of sales.  Unsustainable, the trading
performance had a nasty effect on the company's balance
sheet.  Shareholder funds were ravaged and closed the year
at less than $5million, compared with $11.5million when
shareholders got the annual report last year.

So what went wrong?  One simple explanation is that the
company has been paying too much for rice and has been
selling it into export markets too cheaply.

However, there is also talk around the sharemarket of
losses on grain trading activities.  What is certain is
that Water Wheel management had inadequate accounting
systems and had little idea of how it was trading. (The Age  
26-Feb-2000)


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

LAI SUN DEVELOPMENT CO.: Sells hotel stake for HK$1.88b
-------------------------------------------------------
Fresh from its purchase of a controlling stake in DBS Land,
Pidemco Land said yesterday it had bought a 65 per cent
stake in the Furama Hotel site in Hongkong, paying loss-
making Lai Sun Development Company Ltd HK$1.88 billion
($412.3 million) for the stake, with plans to redevelop the
hotel into a prime office building.

Hongkong-listed Lai Sun Development will hold the remaining
35 per cent and will continue running the 517-room hotel
under a lease from Pidemco before it is redeveloped. The
Hongkong property and hotel group will pay HK$145 million
each year in rental, giving Pidemco a net yield of 5 per
cent, Pidemco said.

Located at 1 Connaught Road and commanding views of the
harbour, the site is sandwiched between the Ritz Carlton
Hotel and Hutchison House.

"This acquisition is part of our ongoing strategy to build
up a significant presence in gateway cities. This is a
superb site with unrivalled views of the harbour and the
Peak. It is one of the very few 999-leasehold sites in
Hongkong's prime Central," said Pidemco president Liew Mun
Leong in a statement.

A Pidemco spokeswoman said the developer is in talks with
potential partners for the redevelopment. She added, "We
think this is a good time to enter the Hongkong commercial
market as prime office capital values are more than 50 per
cent off their peaks, and the market is firming up."

The 24,427 sq ft site, subject to approval from the
authorities, could yield 410,000 sq ft of gross floor area,
which means Pidemco paid HK$7,073 for each sq ft of
potential area.  The hotel is Pidemco's second major
purchase in Hongkong. Last September, the developer bought
a 20-storey block of 40 units at the plush Hong Kong
Parkview apartment project in Repulse Bay.

On Monday, Pidemco announced that it will buy a 24.9 per
cent stake in listed DBS Land for $966 million or $2.98 a
share.  The troubled Lai Sun Development is headed by
tycoon Lim Por-yen. The company reported a loss of HK$6.83
billion, including an exceptional loss of HK$5.69 billion,
for the year ended July 31, 1999.

Last November, Lai Sun said that it has not been able to
comply with certain financial covenants with regard to its
massive debts. The group has been aggressively selling off
its assets to lighten its debt. (Singapore Business Times  
24-Feb-2000)

WAH LEE RESOURCES HLDGS.LTD: Reports on bankruptcy to HKSE
----------------------------------------------------------
Wah Lee Resources Holdings Limited (incorporated in Bermuda
with limited liability) through Yeung Kwok Fan, Chairman
and Managing Director, reports to the Hong Kong Stock
Exchange that on 26 November 1999, ABSA Asia Limited
("ABSA") filed petitions (the "Hong Kong Petitions") for
winding up against four subsidiaries of the Company (as
defined below), namely Wah Lee Resources Company Limited,
Linfa Industrial Company Limited, Supreme Million Limited
and Wah Lee Trading Company Limited (collectively, the
"Subsidiaries").

The Directors have confirmed that the Subsidiaries are no
longer the main operating subsidiaries of the Company. The
Directors have noted the recent decrease in the price of
the shares of the Company and wish to state that, apart
from the below, the Directors are not aware of any reasons
for such decrease.

ABSA is a financial institution which is an independent
third party not connected with the directors, chief
executives or substantial shareholders of the Company or
any of its subsidiaries or any of their respective
associates (as defined in the Listing Rules). ABSA claimed
that the Subsidiaries were indebted to them in the
aggregate sum of approximately HK$19,332,000, being
facilities provided by ABSA to the Subsidiaries.

At the hearing held on 2 February 2000, the hearing of the
Hong Kong Petitions were adjourned to 8 February 2000. At
the adjourned hearing held on 8 February 2000, the hearing
of the Hong Kong Petitions were further adjourned to 21
February 2000. At the hearing held on 21 February 2000, the
Subsidiaries were ordered to be wound up.

The Directors consider that the winding up of the
Subsidiaries will not have any material and adverse effect
on the day-to-day operations of the Group because such
operations have been taken up by Wah Lee Enterprises
Limited, Linfa Industrial (International) Limited and Great
China Net Company Limited, the subsidiaries of the Company
and the Company intend to pay off the debt by utilising the
fund raised in the placing as announced on 18 February
2000.
The Company is still in the progress of negotiations with
the bankers and a financial institution to restructure the
Group's indebtedness due to such creditors (the "Debt
Restructuring"). No binding agreement in relation to the
Debt Restructuring has been reached between the Company and
such bankers and financial institution. The possible
consequences of the Group in the event no binding agreement
on the Debt Restructuring can be reached between the
Company and such creditors will depend on the actions to be
taken by such creditors.

The Company will keep the public informed by making further
announcement on the progress of the Debt Restructuring.
In the meantime, public investors, shareholders and
warrantholders of the Company are urged to exercise extreme
caution in dealing in the securities of the Company. (Stock
Exchange of Hong Kong  23-Feb-2000)


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

PT ANWAR SIERAD: JSX suspends trading of stock
PT ALAKASA INDUSTRINDO: JSX suspends trading of stock
PT DAVOMAS ABADI: JSX suspends trading of stock
-----------------------------------------------------
The Jakarta Stock Exchange suspended trading in stocks in
PT Davomas Abadi, PT Anwar Sierad and PT Alakasa
Industrindo on Thursday over their legal battles in the
bankruptcy court.

JSX said in a statement that trading on the three stocks
would resume once each of the three companies gave
satisfactory explanations to the exchange.

According to JSX, Davomas Abadi was facing a bankruptcy
suit from American Express Bank Ltd., while Anwar Sierad
was confronting a bankruptcy claim from Elevation Group
Ltd.  Meanwhile, BNP Lippo plans to file a bankruptcy suit
against Alakasa Industrindo. (The Jakarta Post  25-Feb-
2000)

PT ASTRA INT'L: Bidders for 40% stake in Astra announced
--------------------------------------------------------
The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) named on
Wednesday three consortia of bidders qualified to buy a 40
percent stake in the country's largest automaker Astra
International.

The three consortia are Singaporean auto distributor Cycle
& Carriage (C&C) Limited Consortium with partners Batavia
Investment Management and JP Morgan International Capital;
American consortium comprising Gilbert Global Equity
Partners, Newbridge Asia II, Chase Asia Equity and Saratoga
Investama Sedaya; and Lazard Consortium of France.  

The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC)
has agreed to participate as a co-investor with each of the
three consortia, IBRA said in a statement.  The
participation was in line with the role that the government
of Singapore intends to play in helping IBRA sell its
assets as pledged by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong to
President Abdurrahman Wahid in January, 2000.

"We are greatly encouraged by the enthusiasm of investors.
IBRA is committed to provide equal treatment to all bidders
during the due diligence period and throughout the sale
process," IBRA chairman Cacuk Sudarjianto said.

Cacuk earlier said IBRA controlled a 45 percent stake in
Astra but in the statement he said the share controlled by
the agency was only 40 percent. The shares were obtained by
the agency through debt-settlement with the previous
shareholders of Astra.  Cacuk said IBRA contacted over 60
investors on the Astra sale and 14 investors in four
consortia submitted their written interest.

Three of the four consortia met the selection criteria made
by IBRA, including preliminary bid price, financial
capacity of bidders, suitability of bidders and others, he
said. He did not mention the fourth failed consortium.
He said the three bidders would be allowed to conduct due
diligence over a three-week period beginning Monday.

The due diligence process will be conducted concurrently by
the bidders and will be comprised of data room review,
management meetings and site visits.  Final bids including
submission of definitive transaction documentation will due
within one week after due diligence has been completed.

"IBRA expects to select and announce the winning bidder and
close the transaction by the end of March, 2000," Cacuk
said.

In December, 1999, IBRA chose the Gilbert-Newbridge
consortium as the preferred bidder for the former's stake
in the company with the bid proposal of Rp 3,750 per share
(around 50 US cents).  But, it failed to realize the plan
following its inability to conduct a due diligence on the
automaker and its failure to pay a 30 percent up-front
payment by the deadline.

Astra's previous management led by Rini Soewandi reportedly
obstructed Gilbert-Newbridge's from conducting due
diligence in protest over IBRA's deal.  Lazard Asia Fund, a
unit of France's Lazard Freres & Co, later stepped in the
acquisition battle with a price offering of Rp 4,000 per
share for the Astra sale.

IBRA is expected to raise Rp 3 trillion from the Astra sale
to meet its target of raising Rp 17 trillion to help
finance the current state budget ending March 31.
Separately, Reuters quoted C&C as saying on Tuesday in
Singapore it was seeking to buy 20 percent of Astra in a
deal likely to be worth over S$400 million (US$234
million).

C&C said it submitted the bid to take a 20 percent stake in
PT Astra on Monday as the single largest investor and lead
member in a four-member consortium bidding to acquire a
total interest of 30.4 to 40.6 percent in the Indonesian
firm.  C&C's Finance Director, Neville Venter, said C&C
would not want a stake of less than 20 percent in PT Astra,
and said a 20 percent stake was worth S$400 million to
S$500 million.

Asked how the firm would finance the purchase, Venter said
C&C had low debt to equity gearing and some cash, but would
also need to make bank borrowings.  "On balance, we need to
borrow," he said. "We have in excess of S$100 million cash
on hand."

C&C distributes Mercedes Benz, Mitsubishi, Kia and Proton
vehicles in Singapore. (The Jakarta Post  24-Feb-2000)

PT ASTRA SEDAYA: To issue bonds to raise money
----------------------------------------------
Indenesia finance company PT Astra Sedaya said Wednesday it
will issue 300 billion rupiah in fixed interest three-year
bonds with a 17. 675 % coupon, signaling further recovery
in Indonesia's battered corporate bond market.

The bonds have been rated single-A-minus with stable
outlook by Indonesian ratings agency Pefindo, the company
said.  Astra Sedaya is a joint venture between auto maker
PT Astra International and General Electric Capital Corp.,
a unit of General Electric Co. of the U.S. It provides
loans for car purchases, among other services. (The Asian
Wall Street Journal  24-Feb-2000)

PT LIPPON KARAWACI TBK: Reports rehab status to JSX
---------------------------------------------------
PT Lippo Karawaci Tbk through Yose Rizal Bambang Aribowo,
Head of Listing Division Pjs. Head of Trading Division,
letter No. 022/LK-CRP/II/2000 dated 11 February 2000 gives
information of summary of public expose conducted on 11
February 2000, are as follows:

1. Clarification Delay of Mid Audited Financial Statement
of June 1999:  The mid financial statement of 1999 which
was informed to JSX was fair opinion of accountant without
exception. Start of 1 January 1999, IAI had executed a new
PSAK regarding calculation of deferred income tax valid for
all companies. It caused by company wants to give an
accurate data and avoid significant correction at the end
of year, therefore, the company invited auditor to give
opinion audit for the company's accounting for period of
June 1999.

2. The Progress of Debt Restructuring:  The debt
restructuring process, until now Company is still
negotiating with creditors, either with IBRA or others.
Wished could be finished immediately.

3. Plans of The Company's Business Progress:  The company
is an urban developer in West Jakarta. The company impacted
by monetary crisis and the latest two years is a hard time
for all of us. But the company is still developing during
the latest of 2 years and all commitments which were given
to consumers are still executing.

The company's management had conducted several important
matters during the recent monetary crisis such as: tight
surveillance of cash flow, restructuring of the company's
liabilities, concentrating for sales, which the company
fulfilled all sales liabilities, it is giving units to all
consumers, therefore, the company's consumers still have a
high trust to the company.  The company has been waiting
for the recovery of economy condition.

We all know that the property market down during monetary
crisis with a high interest rate. Start from the beginning
of this year, the market condition is getting better. The
company believes that in the next two years, the condition
of market property as significantly is recovery. (Jakarta
Stock Exchange  23-Feb-2000)


=========
J A P A N
=========

DAIEI INC.: Recruit Co. firms to buy its parent stock
-----------------------------------------------------
Recruit Co. decided Wednesday that five group firms this
month would buy the bulk of shares in the company held by
Daiei Inc. (8263).

In January, Recruit agreed to take control of a 25.2% stake
from Daiei for 100 billion yen, leaving the retail chain
operator with a 10% holding. Recruit From A Co., a magazine
publisher, will acquire a 15.1% stake, with four other
group companies, including Recruit Ablic Inc. and Recruit
Staffing Co., each taking 2.5%.

In addition to using cash on hand, Recruit will borrow some
80 billion yen from banks to provide a combined 100 billion
yen in loans to the five firms for the share purchase.
Recruit's total debt is expected to reach a little over 820
billion yen at the end of March. (Nikkei  23-Feb-2000)

IWANAMI PRODUCTIONS INC.: Hitachi buys film collection  
------------------------------------------------------
Hitachi Ltd. (6501) said Tuesday it has bought 4,151
documentary and other films made by Iwanami Productions
Inc., which filed for bankruptcy in December 1998.

The price is estimated to be in the region of 300 million
yen, industry sources said.  Hitachi will digitize the
films for sale as DVDs and place them in its film library,
which has yet to be set up. Hitachi Media Pro Co. will
begin the digitizing from April.

Hitachi also plans to distribute the films via satellite
for educational use by schools, officials at the firm said.
(Nikkei  23-Feb-2000)

KUBOTA CORP.: Fined in anti-monopoly case
KURIMOTOR LTD.: Fined in anti-monopoly case
NIPPON CHUTETSUKAN KK: Fined in anti-monopoly case
--------------------------------------------------
The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday fined Kubota Corp. (6326)
and two other manufacturers of ductile pipe for forming a
cartel in violation of the Anti-Monopoly Law. The two other
firms are Kurimoto Ltd.(5602) and Nippon Chutetsukan KK
(5612).

Kubota was fined 130 million yen, Kurimoto 70 million yen
and Nippon Chutetsukan 30 million yen.  Ten former
executives received suspended prison sentences of between
six and 10 months for their role in the scandal.
According to the ruling, the three companies agreed in the
second half of the 1950s to set Kubota's share of public
works orders at 63%, Kurimoto's at 27% and Nippon
Chutetsukan's at 10%.

Since then, they have met every year to readjust the
percentages based on actual results in the previous year.
The executives were prosecuted for holding secret meetings
in fiscal 1996 and 1997 to decide on the firms' market
share allotments for those years. (Nikkei  23-Feb-2000)

NEC CORP.: Raises FY99 extraordinary loss forecast  
--------------------------------------------------
NEC Corp. (6701) on Thursday raised by one-third its
extraordinary loss forecast for the year through March to
240 billion yen. The 60 billion yen increase is the result
of structural reforms, including loss from the sale of
shares in a Canadian battery subsidiary and from dissolving
cathode-ray tube production lines at another unit.

It also comes from a partial repayment to the government of
31.8 billion yen in overcharges on defense-related
contracts.  The company boosted its projected extraordinary
profit by 50 billion yen to 200 billion yen.  As a result,
the high-tech firm expects a net profit of 20 billion yen,
or 10 billion yen less than previously forecast.

Sales are expected to rise 3% year on year to 3.8 trillion
yen, while operating profit is seen jumping to 110 billion
yen from 23.1 billion yen.  The operating profit projection
rose 10 billion yen from an earlier forecast thanks to
strong semiconductor sales and serious cost-cutting.

In contrast, pretax profit is expected to come in at 70
billion yen, 10 billion yen below the earlier projection,
due to nonoperating items such as foreign exchange loss on
European and non-Japanese Asian currencies.

Consolidated extraordinary loss will likely stand at 140
billion yen, compared to the 100 billion yen previously
predicted, but group extraordinary profit of 140 billion
yen is also expected -- bringing the extraordinary balance
to zero. (Nikkei  24-Feb-2000)

NIPPON CREDIT BANK: As expected, Softbank tabbed to buy
-------------------------------------------------------
The Financial Reconstruction Commission will give priority
negotiation rights for the purchase of Nippon Credit Bank
to a consortium led by Softbank Corp. (9984), the FRC
announced Thursday.

The consortium, which also includes Orix Corp. (8591) and
Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co. (8751), will pay 1
billion yen to Deposit Insurance Corp. for all the bank's
common shares. The bank is currently under government
control and Deposit Insurance Corp. owns all the shares.

The public will foot a bill of some 3.19 trillion yen --
the bank's negative net worth at the end of September -- to
make NCB solvent again. The government will throw in
another 240 billion yen through purchase of the new NCB's
preferred shares.  To protect borrowers, current loans to
NCB borrowers are to be continued for at least three years.

The new NCB could start operations as early as June, and
Tadayo Honma, a former NCB executive, will be president.
The new bank will concentrate on providing capital to high-
tech and other start-ups.

"The public burden is smaller than if the deal went to one
of the other candidates," FRC chief Michio Ochi told a
press conference Thursday evening. "I hope the aggressive
promotion of venture businesses will influence the
management of other Japanese banks."

The deal calls for some 80-90 billion yen in paper profit
at NCB to be included in the bank's net worth after the
purchase. Deposit Insurance Corp. is required to buy back
at face value any loan claims that lose 20% or more of
their value within three years of the handover.

Memoranda confirming the priority negotiating rights were
exchanged Thursday by the Deposit Insurance Corp., NCB and
the consortium. (Nikkei  24-Feb-2000)

SHOWA KOGYO CO.: Steelmaker to shut down
----------------------------------------
Steelmaker Showa Kogyo Co. will stop production by the end
of April, it was learned Wednesday, making the small
affiliate of the Godo Steel Ltd. (5410) group the first
electric furnace steelmaker to face closure since last
spring.

With Godo Steel trying to improve group profitability, it
has decided the money-losing unit can no longer continue.
Many other electric furnace steelmakers have been
performing dismally over the past year.  Godo Steel will
hold a board of directors meeting Thursday morning to take
an official decision before making a public announcement in
the afternoon.

Showa Kogyo's goodwill will be transferred to a subsidiary
of Osaka Steel Co. (5449) in March, informed sources said.
Showa Kogyo was founded in 1948. In 1984, three Godo Steel
group firms acquired all its shares. The firm is looking at
sales of some 2.5 billion yen for the year through March,
far short of the near 5.5 billion yen recorded in fiscal
1994. (Nikkei  23-Feb-2000)

TOBU RAILWAY CO.: Covering 150B Yen loss with rehab plan
--------------------------------------------------------
Tobu Railway Co. (9001) announced Wednesday it will be able
to meet a loss of some 150 billion yen in the current
fiscal year through March by undertaking major
restructuring, including property reassessments, from next
month to realize around 120 billion yen.

The loss is due to costs related to scrapping unprofitable
operations and liquidating nonperforming assets at the
group's some 160 firms.  The railway company has a string
of properties with latent profits, which will be
reappraised, making Tobu the first nonfinancial company to
use land revaluation to effect a major reorganization.

To dispose of the nonperforming assets, Tobu will next
month establish three subsidiaries. One will supervise
distribution operations, another will run the company's
hotels and the third will handle other business. Most group
firms will come under the umbrella of one of the
subsidiaries.

The distribution subsidiary will have a net worth,
including capital and paper profit, of about 125 billion
yen. Eight affiliates operating hotels will be dissolved on
March 17 and their operations transferred to the hotel
subsidiary. (Nikkei  23-Feb-2000)

TOKYO ELECTRIC POWER CO.: To book 200B Yen special loss
-------------------------------------------------------
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501) will post an extraordinary
loss of about 200 billion yen in the year ending March 31
to cover part of its estimated 260 billion yen shortfall in
pension and retirement pay assets, company sources said
Friday.

The move comes ahead of the introduction in fiscal 2000 of
a new accounting system that requires companies to disclose
their unfunded pension obligations.  To cover the 200
billion yen shortage, Tepco will raise its allowance ratio
for retirement severance payments to 100% from 40%. It is
likely to post the remaining 60 billion yen shortfall as a
one-time loss as early as fiscal 2000, the sources said.

The shortfall is calculated by subtracting pension assets
and severance pay allowances from the present value of
obligations. The discount rate is set at 3.5% to determine
the present value of future payments.  Japan's listed
companies are accelerating efforts to book losses to cover
pension and retirement liabilities ahead of fiscal 2000,
boosting their combined losses from such coverage to more
than 2 trillion yen.

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (9432) is expected to
post the largest loss to cover pension shortfalls of 768.0
billion yen on a consolidated basis, followed by 274.2
billion yen at Nissan Motor Co. (7201).  Companies are
concerned that their pension liabilities could adversely
affect their credit ratings and stock prices, analysts
said. (Nikkei  26-Feb-2000)

VICTOR CO. OF JAPAN: To speed up cost-cuts after loss
-----------------------------------------------------
Victor Co. of Japan (6792) plans to speed up job cuts and
reorganize overseas production in the year ending March
2001, in response to an expected net loss of 26.5 billion
yen in fiscal 1999.

The appreciation of the yen and continued falls in domestic
sales are behind the poor performance, company sources
said. Sales are expected to decline 7.7% to 550 billion yen
in fiscal 1999. In fiscal 2000, JVC will advance plans to
cut payrolls from 11,000 to 10,000 by one year from its
original plan.

The company will reorganize its overseas production network
by boosting foreign production to 60% of total output from
50%. It will also entrust half of the color TV output in
Europe, or about 200,000 TVs a year, mainly to South Korean
producers, and expand production of digital camcorders and
other value-added digital products in the region.

JVC seeks to return to the black in fiscal 2000. It aims to
slash about 10 billion yen in fixed expenses in fiscal 2000
by moving up the restructuring schedule and cutting
executive pay.  In an effort to speed the decision-making
process, the company will set up in April four in-house
companies for audiovisual equipment, parts, software and
other products, as well as three in-house companies for
North and South America, Europe and other regions. (Nikkei  
25-Feb-2000)


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

DAEWOO MOTOR: Race to buy it heating up
---------------------------------------
Five of the six companies invited to participate in the
bidding for South Korea's insolvent Daewoo Motor Co. have
signaled they plan to do so, indicating the competition is
heating up.

The list of potential bidders includes the top auto makers
in the world, General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., as
expected. But it also includes Korea's relatively small
Hyundai Motor Co. as well as germany's powerful
DaimlerChrysler AG and Italy's struggling Fiat SpA.

GM, Ford, Hyundai and Fiat all confirmed that they
submitted letters of interest by Monday's deadline. In
addition, an individual close to DaimlerChrysler confirmed
that the company intends to do so, although officially the
company isn't commenting.

A sixth invitee, Germany's Volkswagen AG, didn't respond at
all to the invitation, according to an official of one of
Daewoo Motor's creditor banks. A VW spokesman in Germany
declined to comment.

Submitting the letters of interest allows the auto makers
to begin studying Daewoo Motor's financial situation and
operations. The concern is being sold as part of the
breakup of the Daewoo Group. A corporate restructuring
committee made up mostly of Daewoo Group executives is
handling the sale. A spokesman for Daewoo Motor said the
committee would choose in May one or two companies with
which to negotiate a sale agreement.

Officials on the committee declined to confirm which
companies had responded to the invitations to participate,
but the official at the major creditor bank said four car
companies submitted letters of interest and a fifth asked
for extra time to make a decision. A spokesman for Daewoo
Motor said invitees could still respond.

GM, which opened talks to invest in Daewoo Motor back in
1998, said it would continue to focus on acquiring Daewoo
Motor's passenger-car business.

GM, which opened said that Daewoo Motor's operations in
Korea and elsewhere in Asia would complement Fiat's
European activities. Hyundai Motor, which previously said
it hoped to bid for Daewoo Motor along with a foreign
partner, said it submitted a letter of interest
independently. It may still link up with a foreign car
company later. (The Asian Wall Street Journal  24-Feb-2000)

HYUNDAI GROUP: Subsids desperate to prop up stock prices
--------------------------------------------------------
Prompted by the sharp fall in the share prices of its
subsidiaries, Hyundai Group has gone all-out to prevent
further declines.

Hyundai companies are rushing to set up funds, pouring a
huge amount of money to buy their own shares and ensure
efficient management of stock prices.  Hyundai Heavy
Industries (HEI) yesterday said it has formed a fund worth
of 200 billion won toward that purpose following the suit
of other Hyundai subsidiaries.

Earlier, Hyundai Elevator unveiled a plan to invest nine
billion won to buy 500,000 of its shares by May. Last
month, Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. and Hyundai Mipo
Shipyard revealed they would spend 150 and 15 billion won
respectively, to establish their own funds.

Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance Co. already established a
fund worth 50 billion won while Diamond Co. spent 50
billion won to prevent its share prices from faltering.
In the meantime, almost all Hyundai subsidiaries, except
for Daehan Aluminum, registered sharp declines in stock
prices by 20 to 40 percent this year.

The price of Hyundai Motor Co. which stood at 20,700 won
per share on Jan. 4 dropped to 12,200 won as of Feb. 22,
down 27.70 percent during the period.  Hyundai Heavy
Industries registered a negative 27.70 percent growth rate
while Hyundai Corporation posted posted a 35.63 decrease
during the same period.

The price of Kia Motors, which Hyundai took over, was 7,350
won per share on Jan. 14 but fell to 5,130 won on Feb. 22,
a decrease of 30.20 percent.  Hyundai Pipe's price more
than halved from 4,500 to 2,000 won per share, recording
the sharpest drop of 53.33 percent. (The Korea Times  23-
Feb-2000)


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

RASHID HUSSAIN BHD: Narrows first-half loss
-------------------------------------------
Rashid Hussain Bhd (RHB), a Malaysian property and banking
group, said losses for the first half narrowed as bad loans
fell following a rebound in the nation's economy.

Rashid Hussain, which controls Malaysia's third largest
bank, said losses for the six months ended Dec 31 narrowed
to 69 million Malaysian ringgit (S$31 million), or 17.6 sen
a share, from RM368.2 million, or 95.4 sen, in the year ago
period.

The nation's economic recovery "will have a further
positive impact" for the rest of its fiscal year, the
company said in a statement.  Banking groups are seeing an
improvement in their earnings on fewer problem loans as the
nation's economy recovers from its worst recession in 40
years. Last week, Malayan Banking Bhd, the country's
biggest bank, said its first-half profit doubled to RM690.6
million.

RHB Capital Bhd, the publicly traded banking arm of Rashid
Hussain, said it swung to a profit of RM179.3 million in
the first half from a loss of RM207.4 million in the same
period a year ago.  The earnings were announced after the
market closed.  Shares of Rashid Hussain rose 15 sen, or
2.9 per cent, to RM5.35. (Singapore Business Times  24-Feb-
2000)


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

ORION SAVINGS BANK: Central bank to probe stock investment
----------------------------------------------------------
Caught off-guard with the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE)
report, the Bangko Sentral (Central Bank of the Phils.)
will now start investigating Orion Savings Bank for
possible violations when it invested in gaming and leisure
stock BW Resources Corp. (BW) last year.

"We will be looking at their books to see if we can find
evidence of any violations," an officer at the central
bank's Department of Thrift Banks and Non-Bank Financial
Institutions (DTB) yesterday said.

Another department source admitted the central bank is
"unaware" of the thrift's investment in the speculative
stock since the last annual examination on Orion Savings
was July 31, 1999. The thrift bank began operations only on
November 1997.

Based on the PSE's recent findings, Orion Savings was among
the buyers of 10 million BW shares on September 30, 1999.
At the time, BW shares closed at 53 Philippine pesos (PhP)
apiece.  Armstrong Securities, Inc. executed the cross
sale. Also among the buyers was Charlie Chang-Baik,
currently chief operating officer of Orion Savings. Mr.
Baik was unavailable for comment yesterday, while another
bank official declined to comment.

"We were unaware of that... We didn't see that as of the
cutoff (date of the examination)," the central bank source
said.

The sources said the central bank is now mobilizing a team
that will examine the thrift bank's books at the "soonest
possible time".

One source said the Bangko Sentral would have to determine
if Orion Bank has indeed made violations before passing any
sanctions.  "We cannot just rely on this Philippine Stock
Exchange (PSE) report," he said. "We have to conduct one
from our side as well."

Under the Bangko Sentral's manual of regulations for banks,
"only expanded commercial banks may invest in an equity of
an enterprise engaged in non-allied or non-related
activities."

The Thrift Banks Act or Republic Act 7906 prohibits thrifts
from making equity investments in non-allied undertakings
without prior approval from the Monetary Board, the policy-
making body of the Bangko Sentral.

"Obviously, BW as a gaming firm does not fall into any of
the investment classifications that a thrift bank may go
into without MB approval," an official said.

Asked how investigators plan to go about the examination,
the source replied, "In cases like these, there are paper
trails that we can follow, especially in the fees and taxes
they pay for the transactions."

The Bangko Sentral official said Orion Savings may be
slapped with a fine by the Monetary Board.  Depending on
the gravity of the offense, however, the MB may also impose
non-monetary penalties, the heaviest of which would be a
reprimand and suspension or expulsion of the officer who
approved the transaction, on top of any fine the bank has
to pay.

He also said examiners will have to determine whether Orion
Bank had indeed invested in BW shares as part of bank
policy or if it was only used as a "conduit" by "other
interests".  Orion Savings is a joint venture between
Armstrong Holdings, Inc. (AHI), and the Tong Yang Group of
Korea. The Tong Yang Group is a 40-year-old Korean
conglomerate whose interests in the Philippines include
cement manufacturing, investment house and real estate
development.

Armstrong Securities, meanwhile, is 20%-owned by the listed
holding firm.  Dante Tan, majority owner of BW, gained 59%
ownership of AHI in September last year after buying out
company chairman Tony King. Mr. Tan plans to convert AHI
into a holding company for all his investments.

As a complementary move, AHI last year said it will divest
120 million shares in Orion Savings for PhP136 million
(US$3.3 million at PhP40.779:US$1) and 80,000 shares in
Armstrong Securities for PhP16 million ($392,000). Proceeds
will be used to fund the acquisition of BW stocks worth
PhP191 million ($4.7 million).

Mr. Tan also offered to purchase the remaining 73 million
shares or 41% of AHI last year at PhP2.75 apiece, but the
minority shareholders opted not to sell out. (Business
World  25-Feb-2000)

PHIL.CEMENT MFTRS.CORP.: Vexed by foreign cement firms
------------------------------------------------------
Cement giants Taiwan Cement Corp. of billionaire Jeffrey
Koo and Japan's Southern Cross Cement Corp. are leading the
massive dumping of imported cement into the country over
the last 12 months, according to industry sources, directly
contributing to Philippine Cement Manufacturers Corp.'s
financial woes.

Taiwan Cement and Southern Cross were reported to be
selling their cement at $20 a ton in the Philippines, just
a third of the prevailing prices in Taiwan and Japan.
Cement is selling at between $60 and $70 a ton in these
countries. Imports have cornered 9 percent of total market
share last year and this is likely to double by the end of
the year if the government fails to address the industry's
dumping concerns.

Imports are surging even though there is a glut in the
market due to weak construction activities. The unabated
rise in cement import were among the key factors cited by
the Philippine Cement Manufacturers Corp. (Philcemcor)
yesterday for the industry's mounting losses, which
ballooned to P5.7 billion last year, or 63 percent more
than its losses of P3.5 billion in 1998.

The other factors affecting local cement companies are
depressed prices, high production costs and tightening
competition in the industry.

Philcemcor general manager Lupo Feliciano said a weak
industry "would force the country to rely on imports that
will affect balance of payments and force the construction
sector and its consumers and end users to fall prey to the
uncertainties of import prices and supply."

Feliciano said the country needed a strong and stable
cement supply to safeguard against the volatility of import
prices and supply.

"The industry needs to generate reasonable returns now to
be able to address a forecast rise in demand in the next
five years. Otherwise, the Philippine economy would fall
prey to shortages. In about five years, there will be a
high demand for cement in other Asian countries. That would
give the Philippines very serious problems with supply and
price volatility," he warned.

An industry source claimed that Taiwan Cement and Southern
Cross were sacrificing near-term profits to eat market
share from local companies in line with their long-term
goal of making a killing once they have pushed most local
players out of business and dictate prices after. Both
companies have more than enough capacity to fill up
Philippine demand, including their own.

Taiwan Cement and Southern Cross are distributing their
goods through local traders that sell at a discount of P5
to P10 per bag versus local brands. This predatory pricing
strategy is meant to build up market share and gobble up
any increase in demand. (Philippine Daily Inquirer  23-Feb-
2000)

PHILIPPINE NAT.BANK: IMF joins World Bank in sale concerns
----------------------------------------------------------
Echoing its "twin" institution, the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) has expressed concern over the impending sale of
the Philippine National Bank (PNB).

Like the World Bank, the IMF also wants government
assurance the privatization process will be "transparent,"
Bangko Sentral (Central Bank of the Phils.) Gov. Rafael B.
Buenaventura yesterday said.  He said the IMF also wants to
know "how" and "why" the government's stake in the bank was
reduced to only 30%.

"They're (asking) how will you sell the remaining 30%. Is
it going to be in a transparent way?" he told reporters
after emerging from a closed-door meeting with IMF resident
representative Sean S. Nolan.

Mr. Buenaventura said the central bank and the Department
of Finance (DoF) have given assurances that the government
will follow bidding rules. "I think (after) two failed
bids, we will probably put a floor price," he added.

Mr. Buenaventura also said they made an assurance the
government will not sell PNB below its par value. "It will
be above (the par value). It has goodwill. It has the
branch network, it has a remittance business," he said,
adding, "The balance sheet may look shitty right now, but
if you clean it up, it has some value."

He said the IMF is also concerned about the reduction of
government's stake in PNB when it waived the chance to
subscribe to a rights offering last year.  The government
passed up the chance to buy PNB shares at the rights
offering last year, giving up 15.6% of its stake in the
bank. Chinese businessman Lucio Tan allegedly scooped up
all the shares.

Mr. Buenaventura said the IMF was asking, "Was the
government disadvantaged? The question of why did we sell
to the point of becoming a minority interest." But he said
the IMF was more concerned with the transparency of the
sale.

Earlier, the World Bank asked the central bank for a
certification that no laws were violated when Mr. Tan was
allowed to accumulate PNB shares via the bank's stock
rights offering last year.

In a related development, the camp of Lucio Tan, breaking
its silence, yesterday said the Chinese-Filipino
businessman deserves to be "credited," rather than be
"vilified" for investing into PNB. The statement was issued
through retired Gen. Salvador M. Mison, president of the
Lucio Tan Group of Companies, in response to allegations
tagging Mr. Tan as a "crony" of the Estrada administration.

In the case of PNB, Mr. Mison said "Tan was the only
private investor who dared invest into the bank despite its
being in precarious financial status, racking up a 7.3-
billion-peso (US$179.3 million at PhP40.717:US$1) loss in
1998 alone. Likewise, the bank has the highest level of
non-performing loans in the commercial banking industry
with bad accounts representing 29% or PhP34.9 billion ($857
million) of its total loan portfolio as of last year. The
bad loan ratio is way above the industry average of 14.6%
as of November 1999."

The statement said Mr. Tan's investments in PNB, reportedly
at around PhP9 billion ($221 million), "technically paid
up" some $200 million "in long-overdue loan" to European
creditors "which the bank has to immediately raise so as
not to be declared in default."

"What government favor did Tan receive from his foray into
PNB? Potential losses that could run into billions of
pesos?" Mr. Mison said.

"Instead of vilifying Tan for buying into PNB, he should be
credited for saving the bank from collapsing due to heavy
losses and bad loans," the Tan Group's statement said.

Mr. Tan entered into PNB through the stock market last
year, accumulating shares now equivalent to nearly 50% of
the bank. The National Government plans to sell its 30%
stake to possible investors next quarter, but already
anticipates the possibility of souring investor interest
after giving up ownership control to Mr. Tan. Aside from
the market, the PNB privatization is also being closely
watched by multilateral lending bodies such as the World
Bank, which has committed the release of a $300-million
loan for banking sector reforms. The second $100-million
loan tranche is hinged on the successful PNB transfer to
private hands. (Business World  23-Feb-2000)

TRANSFARM & CO.: Upside-down net worth; no Daewoo ops yet
---------------------------------------------------------
From the time the Norkis-led Transfarm & Co., Inc. and
Daewoo Corp. of Korea forged a joint venture agreement in
1994 until their partnership soured in 1997, not a single
Daewoo passenger car was manufactured at its assembly plant
in Canamucan, Compostela, around 30 kilometers north of
this city.

In its general information sheet filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) Cebu extension office last
year, TransDaewoo Automotive Manufacturing Co., Inc.
reported that it has not started commercial operations.

Under a joint venture agreement signed by Transfarm and
Daewoo in April 1994, the start of commercial operations
refers to the date on which TransDaewoo is able to complete
the manufacture of the first completed knocked down (CKD)
passenger car for sale and delivery on a commercial basis.
This does not include the manufacture of Daewoo cars during
the pilot production or trial basis period.

Sources said the company's production facilities on a
37,440-square-meter Transfarm property in Compostela have
remained idle. Corporate secretary Carmen Bugash declined
to be interviewed while other officers of the company could
not be reached.  The company was to use Transfarm's license
to assemble or manufacture Daewoo cars under the People's
Car category of the car development program of the Board of
Investments (BOI).

Pending the completion of its facilities at Compostela,
TransDaewoo imported semi-knocked down parts of Daewoo
passenger cars and distributed these in the country.
It has been more than five years since the company was
registered with SEC in October 1994. In December 1997,
TransDaewoo and Transfarm filed a damage suit for 1.15
million Philippine pesos (US$28,000 at PhP40.717:US$1)
against Daewoo Corp. and Daewoo Motor Co. Ltd.

They also asked the Regional Trial Court in Cebu to issue
an injunction of the joint venture agreement between
Transfarm and Daewoo Corp. for the production of Daewoo
passenger cars in the Philippines. The case is still
pending at the RTC.  The Norkis Group has just been allowed
to distribute Chrysler vehicles in the country, although it
has been importing the American-made vehicles since 1997.

Despite the absence of commercial operations at its
Compostela facilities, sources at the SEC Cebu extension
office said TransDaewoo is still considered active because
it has met its reportorial requirements so far. The company
filed a general information sheet last year, after it held
its annual meeting on July 5, 1999.

But several economic factors, especially the foreign
exchange rate volatility and the high interest rates caused
by the 1997 regional currency crisis, are likely to
continue affecting the company's operations, according to
external auditors from SyCip, Gorres & Velayo Co.

In its notes to the company's balance sheets as of December
31, 1997 and 1996, SGV auditors noted that the company has
availed of a long-term loan facility from the DBP-OECF
special lending program through a local bank. As of
December 31, 1997, the company has availed of a total of
PhP83 million ($2 million) of the facility payable in 12
equal quarterly installments starting in 1999.  This loan
was collateralized by real estate mortgage of the company's
facility.

As of December 31, 1997, TransDaewoo's total current assets
reached only PhP51.54 million ($1.3 million) as against
PhP231.75 million ($5.7 million) of accounts payable and
accrued expenses.  Accounts payable and accrued expenses
included purchase the machinery and equipment from Daewoo
Corp. amounting to $5.692 million in 1997 and $5.665
million in 1996.  (Business World  23-Feb-2000)


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

CLOB INT'L: SGX, KLSE agree on solution
---------------------------------------
After nearly one-and- a-half years of at times bitter
wrangling, the stock exchanges of Singapore and Malaysia
have resolved the 20 billion ringgit issue of frozen
Malaysian shares formerly traded on Clob International,
Singapore's over- the-counter market.

A joint press statement late last night by the Singapore
Exchange (SGX) and the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE)
said the two exchanges had, in two agreements signed
yesterday, reached ""a comprehensive and amicable''
solution to the Clob issue.

The resolution to the Clob impasse will come as a pleasant
surprise to Clob's 172,000 weary shareholders mostly retail
Singapore-based investors. They now have to choose between
two schemes to unlock their shares. The first one is by
Akbar Khan's Effective Capital, which allows them to trade
all their securities within 17 months for a fee of 1.5 per
cent of the value of the securities as at Feb 15 this year.
(Singapore Business Times  26-Feb-2000)


===============
T H A I L A N D
===============

AYUDHYA CMG LIFE ASSURANCE: Posts larger annual loss
----------------------------------------------------
Ayudhya CMG Life Assurance Plc's net loss in 1999 was
Bt490.29 million against a Bt224.98 million loss the year
before. (The Nation  26-Feb-2000)

BANGCHAK PETROLEUM: Seeks to move on share sale
-----------------------------------------------
State-owned Bangchak Petroleum Plc will ask the government
to allow it to sell new shares at a price below Bt10
apiece, said Sirichai Sakornratanakul, the company's
president.

The state enterprise policy committee will be asked to
approve the move so that Bangchak can proceed with further
privatisation amid the current slide of the Thai stock
market.  Bangchak will ask the committee, chaired by Deputy
Prime Minister Supachai Panitchpakdi, to approve the sale
of new shares worth Bt2.5 billion. The committee earlier
approved the sale of 32 per cent of the company's shares
held by the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) and Krung
Thai Bank.

The authority has objected to any plan by Bangchak to sell
new shares over concerns an increase in the supply of
shares would lower the price of the shares that it intends
to sell.  Bangchak's proposal was recommended by its
financial advisers who said a capital increase would
enhance the company's value and consequently have a
positive impact on the price of the shares to be sold by
the authority, Sirichai said.

Bangchak would use the proceeds from its planned
recapitalisation to reduce debt and financial costs, invest
in efficiency improvement projects and expand oil retail
outlets.  The company reported a net loss of Bt1.62 billion
last year. However, it had an operating profit of Bt72
million last year, compared to an operating loss of Bt300
million the year before, Sirichai said.  Bangchak stocks
closed unchanged at Bt7.90 per share yesterday. (The Nation  
24-Feb-2000)

BANGKOK EXPRESSWAY: Posts narrower annual loss
----------------------------------------------
Bangkok Expressway Plc and its subsidiary last year
suffered a net loss of Bt44.79 million, down significantly
from a Bt654.90 million loss in 1998. (The Nation  26-Feb-
2000)

BANGKOK METROPOLITAN BANK: HSBC closer to takeover deal
-------------------------------------------------------
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation yesterday
reached an agreement with Thai authorities to take over
Bangkok Metropolitan Bank, banking sources said.

But pricing has become so sensitive and complicated an
issue that the two sides were still working on the legal
terms of the purchasing contract, they said.  HSBC
executives, led by Niall SK Booker, and banking authorities
declined to comment on the details of their talks. HSBC
executives were invited to the Bank of Thailand yesterday
to negotiate the final terms of the takeover agreement.

Earlier it was reported that Bangkok Metropolitan Bank,
which was nationalised during the financial crisis, was
worth between Bt40 billion and Bt50 billion.  After taking
into account bad debts, its net price has been estimated at
between Bt15 billion and Bt16 billion.

However, banking authorities, led by Chaktip Nitibhon, the
assistant central bank governor and manager of the
Financial Institution Development Fund (FIDF), are
reluctant to make a hasty decision on the sale of Bangkok
Metropolitan Bank.

The banking authorities, recently subject to political
accusations of selling Thai banks cheaply to foreign banks,
are now nervous to make decisions for fear of being charged
with negligence later.  Earlier, the sale of the Radanasin
Bank to United Overseas Bank of Singapore fetched about
Bt17.95 billion, but banking authorities had an obligation
to work out a deal on profit or loss sharing for the bank's
Bt45 billion in problem debts.

Similarly, Nakornthon Bank, which was sold to Standard
Chartered Bank of the United Kingdom, fetched Bt12.38
billion, but both Standard Chartered Bank and the FIDF
agreed on a loss-sharing formula on the problem debts worth
Bt33 billion.  Meanwhile, Reuters' Bisnews quoted Sutut
Siripun, Bangkok Metropolitan Bank vice president, as
saying his bank would recover to post an after-provisioning
profit from the third quarter of this year.

Typically, provisions of nationalised banks by Dec 31 stood
at 60 per cent - the same level as required by the Bank of
Thailand.  According to the Stock Exchange of Thailand,
Bangkok Metropolitan Bank last year posted Bt5.99 billion
in net losses, down significantly from Bt55.9 billion in
losses the previous year.

Sutut's forecast was based on the assumption that the bank
would have higher service fees this year and spreads
between lending and deposit rates would widen.
Thamnoon Duangmanee, Bangkok Metropolitan Bank executive
director, said the bank was preparing to liquidate
distressed assets worth Bt2.7 billion, all of which is real
estate used as collateral for loans when the economy was
booming.

The first Bt2.2 billion worth of assets, representing 1,580
land title deeds, are to be sold yesterday and today, and
the remainder will be put on sale later.

"The soon-to-be-sold projects will include single-
residential units, condominiums and commercial buildings.
We expect to fetch about Bt400 million or 10 to 20 per cent
of the total value of assets put on sale," he said.

The asset liquidation is needed to help reduce the bank's
non-performing loans. (The Nation  26-Feb-2000)

BANK OF ASIA: Posts higher annual loss
--------------------------------------
Bank of Asia has reported its audited performance for 1999,
saying it recorded a Bt11.58 billion net loss against a
Bt7.70 billion loss the year before. (The Nation  26-Feb-
2000)

GOLDEN LAND PROPERTY DEVEL.: Posts narrower 9-mo.loss
-----------------------------------------------------
Golden Land Property Development Plc has reported a Bt48.69
million net loss for the first nine months of 1999 against
a Bt266.93 million net loss for the same period in 1998.
(The Nation  24-Feb-2000)

ITV: Bank unlikely to accept its call for hefty loss
----------------------------------------------------
Television station iTV's debt restructuring plan could soon
be in limbo as Siam Commercial Bank will not accept a loss
of 1.6 billion baht requested by the broadcaster, a bank
source predicted yesterday.

"It is impossible for the bank to accept the plan as it
would suffer an immediate loss of 1.6 billion baht on its
loan of four billion," the source said.

The plan was discussed at iTV's board meeting yesterday and
will now go to the bank for consideration.  Another key
element is a proposal for Siam Commercial Bank to convert
one billion baht of the money owed into shares in iTV.
If the plan was implemented, iTV's total debt would fall to
1.4 billion baht, helping elevate its debt-to-equity ratio
to 0.5:1.

iTV board sources said the request for the bank to accept a
loss was proposed by Suthichai Yoon, a director of the
company and editor-in-chief of the Nation Multimedia group.
Many board members disagreed with Mr Suthichai, as they
knew the bank would not accept the proposal. The bank has
already reduced interest charged on the loan to 1% a year.

While some iTV board members favour asking the bank to
accept shares in lieu of cash, Mr Suthichai opposes the
idea.

"If the bank converted debt to equity, it would make the
bank a 70% shareholder and that's against the principle of
making iTV a public TV station," Mr Suthichai said.

He said that instead new shares should be offered to the
public in a bid to raise one billion baht.  However, many
board members disagree with his plan. They said that as iTV
was in the red and its loan to Siam Commercial Bank was
non-performing, it would be difficult to attract small
investors to new shares.

Any delay in raising new capital would adversely affect the
company's ability to pay 800 million baht as a concession
fee to the government, they warned. The payment is due in
May.  Although Mr Suthichai admitted that it might take
time to raise new funds from the public, the company could
borrow more from its creditors to pay the concession fee.

Mr Suthichai said that the board, despite disagreeing with
the plan to sell shares to the public, eventually agreed to
allow him to attach his proposal as an annex to the debt
restructuring plan.  Sarunthorn Chutima, managing director
of iTV, said the next step depended on whether Siam
Commercial Bank would accept the debt restructuring plan.

He said that iTV board members who had been executives of
Siam Commercial Bank would not get involved in talks with
the bank. They are board chairman Prakit Pradepasen,
managing director Sarunthorn Chutima and Sompote
Indaranukul.  Chatchawal Phannalap, senior executive vice-
president of Siam Commercial Bank, said iTV had the right
to propose its plan but the final say would rest with the
bank.

The bank source, who declined to be named, said the bank
might counter-propose that iTV write down its registered
capital before the bank accepted a loss on its loan.

"The haircut proposal is very unfair, as iTV wants the bank
to absorb its loss while its shareholders refuse to
shoulder the burden," the source said.

The source said that if the company agreed to write down
its capital first, the bank could then convert part of its
loan into iTV shares.

"If so, the bank would become the company's major
shareholder, making the haircut sensible," the source said.
(Bangkok Post  24-Feb-2000)

PAE (Thailand) PLC: Court okays rehab plan
------------------------------------------
PAE (Thailand) Plc has been informed that the Central
Bankruptcy Court has ruled that the firm can proceed with
its rehabilitation plan as requested.

To proceed, the court has appointed GTT Planners Co Ltd to
help complete the plan within 90 days, with two possible
extensions of 30 days each.

GTT Planners is also responsible for assuming the financial
advisor's responsibility in preparing the rehabilitation
plan to allow PAE to begin trading again in place of IFCT
Advisory, which was originally picked to help with the
rehabilitation but has withdrawn its services to avoid any
duplication. (The Nation  26-Feb-2000)

PRANEE SOMVIVATCHAI: B500,000 fine for share manipulation
---------------------------------------------------------
The Securities and Exchange Commission said yesterday that
it had fined Pranee Somvivatchai 500,000 baht for
manipulating share prices of Prudential TS Life Assurance
Plc (PTSL).

From Feb 12, 1998 to March 2, 1998, Mrs Pranee transacted
1,000 shares of PTSL at the ceiling level, through her own
account and the account of a nominee. The time when the
purchase order was placed was close to that when the order
to sell was given.

The transaction was considered a matched order, pushing the
price of the share to 28.5 baht from 7.90 baht.
Manipulation was possible because PTSL was generally an
illiquid share, the SEC said.

Mrs Pranee was motivated by expectations that if the price
of PTSL shares rose, she would not have to pledge
additional collateral for outstanding margin loans, the SEC
said. (Bangkok Post  24-Feb-2000)

SIAM CITY BANK: Disappointing bids trigger alternatives
-------------------------------------------------------
Bank regulators have been ordered to consider alternatives
for the sale of Siam City Bank as privatisation bids,
submitted for the state-owned bank by foreign investors,
have fallen below expectations.

M.R. Chatumongol Sonakul, governor of the Bank of Thailand,
ordered officials of the Financial Institutions Development
Fund earlier this month to explore alternatives if the
privatisation was cancelled, sources said.

Two foreign groups-one led by Newbridge Capital and another
by the Development Bank of Singapore-are competing for a
majority stake in Siam City Bank, taken over by regulators
in early 1998.

"The low bids have placed us in a difficult position,"
admitted one official from the Financial Institutions
Development Fund. "If we sell cheap, we get attacked by the
politicians and the public. But there aren't that many
choices, given market conditions."

Possibilities would be to split performing and non-
performing assets, with stakes sold separately.
Another source said Newbridge recently completed a new
audit of Siam City Bank, but had not submitted a revised
bid to regulators.  Any decision on the future of Siam City
would likely wait until Newbridge decided whether to
increase its previous bid.

That was unlikely, said one source, considering that
Newbridge, using its own classification standards, has
estimated non-performing loans at Siam City at 90% of total
credit.  One argument is that the low bids fetched from
asset auctions by the Financial Sector Restructuring
Authority helped set a benchmark in the market, as low as
20 satang to the baht for some asset classes.

"While the regulators will get attacked for selling too
cheaply, investors on the other hand certainly don't want
to be seen as overpaying," an official said.

Political and economic uncertainties are also complicating
the picture, as investors see more promising opportunities
in other markets.  But regulators are likely to conclude a
separate deal for Bangkok Metropolitan Bank with HSBC
Holdings over the next several weeks.

In any case, Siam City Bank says splitting good and bad
loans is the surest way for survival if privatisation is
delayed.  Paitoon Kijsamrej, president of Siam City Bank,
said bad loans could be channelled to a new asset
management company, purchased with notes from the Financial
Institutions Development Fund.

Recovered assets could then be transferred back to the
bank's portfolio, with the management company either run by
the bank or outside professionals.  Currently Siam City
Bank has assets of around 280 billion baht, with only about
100 billion of those performing.  Non-performing loans,
under central bank standards, account for 60% of total
outstanding loans at Siam City Bank.

"Managing a 'good' bank is likely to be easier than it is
now," Mr Paitoon said.

Siam City Bank is targeting asset growth of four percent
and deposit growth of five percent for the year. (Bangkok
Post  25-Feb-2000)

WATTANA KARNPAET: Posts narrower loss
-------------------------------------
Wattana Karnpaet Plc reported a Bt38.39 million net loss
for 1999, down slightly from a Bt39.47 million net loss in
1998. (The Nation  26-Feb-2000)


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