/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRAP_Public/000302.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

           Thursday, March 2, 2000, Vol. 3, No. 43

                                   Headlines


* A U S T R A L I A *

BROKEN HILL PROPRIETARY CO.: Sets performance targets
PACIFIC DUNLOP: Needs to get the lead out on rehab
TELSTRA: Nats opposed to sale urged to step forward


* C H I N A  &  H O N G  K O N G *

GUANGZHOU FINANCE: Creditors expect Gzitic plea for time
HAINAN HONG KONG & MACAO INT'L TRUST: Debts close up


* I N D O N E S I A *

PT BAKRIE INVESTINDO: Bankruptcy suit filed against it


* J A P A N *

CSK CORP.: Forecasts annual net loss
GENERAL SEKIYU: Posts annual loss
SEGA ENTERPRISES: Warns of heavier losses
SUMITOMO COAL MINING CO.: Expects 19.2B Yen loss for FY99
TOHOKU ELECTRIC POWER CO.: To hand over 60B Yen of debt
ZEXEL CORP.: Foresees 8Bln Yen net loss for FY99


* K O R E A *

KOOKMIN LIFE INSURANCE: SK to take over, MOU signed


* M A L A Y S I A *

PENGURUSAN DANAHARTA NASIONAL: To rehab RM30B in loans


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

BW RESOURCES CORP.: Still dragging down stocks, peso
NEGROS NAVIGATION CO.: Blames fuel costs for losses
ONGPIN GROUP: Files P300-M countersuit versus APC
PHILIPPINE NAT.BANK: Gov't seeks sale of shares as block


* T H A I L A N D *

BANGKOK BANK: SET plunges to new low on banking shares
CAPETRONIC INT'L: Narrows annual loss
COUNTRY (THAILAND): Annual loss widens
DBS THAI DANU BANK: To close 35 branches, axe 700 staff
DBS THAI DANU BANK: Annual loss widens          
ELEC.GENERATING AUTH.OF THAILAND: To re-fi foreign debts
iTV PLC: SCB turns down rehab proposal
KRUNG THAI BANK: SET plunges to new low on banking shares
MODERN HOME DEVELOPMENT: Annual loss widens            
NATION MULTIMEDIA GROUP: Annual loss widens             
NOBLE DEVELOPMENT: Annual loss widens                  
SUPALAI PLC: Restructures 4.7bn baht in debt
THAI MILITARY BANK: Local share sale a contingency plan
THAI PETRO.INDUS.: SET plunges to new low on banking shares
THAI TEL.& TEL.: Creditors mixed over 3.8B baht rehab
THE AROMATICS (THAILAND): Posts annual loss            
TISCO FINANCE: Annual loss widens                       
UNITED BROADCASTING CORP.: Annual loss narrows


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

BROKEN HILL PROPRIETARY CO.: Sets performance targets
-----------------------------------------------------
Broken Hill Proprietary Co. Chief Executive Paul Anderson
set out a series of performance targets to build-up the
minerals, energy and steel company following two years of
disastrous losses, but analysts and portfolio managers
reacted cautiously, labeling the goals achievable rather
than particularly aggressive.

The performance targets failed to inspire the stock market:
BHP sales fell 3.8%, to A$16.12 (US$9.99), down 64
Australian cents, compared with a 0.2% decline in stocks
overall.  Brokers said the stock is falling because of
concern about BHP's decision last week to spin off its
long-steel. Products business, as well as a general lack of
interest in resources stocks.

Mr Anderson told a packed meeting of the Securities
Institute of Australia that topping his list of performance
targets is a minimum average return on capital, excluding
abnormal or unusual items, of 12% over the five years
ending June 2004. That compares with an average 5.8% return
avhieved over the previous three years.

Those years were marred by low comodity prices and
management mistakes that resulted in profit falling to just
A$365 million in the year ending May 31, 1999 - excluding
abnormal items - from A$1.30 billion a year earlier.
Abnormal asset devaluations actually sent BHP into the red
in both years, with the company posting a A$2.31 billion
loss last year on top of A$1.47 billion loss in 1997-98.

Given the now smaller asset base and Mr. Anderson's
efficiency drives across the company, BHP watchers reckon
the new target is reasonable.

"It's high enough for the market to think, `Well, that's
not a bad target," said Tim Baker, resources portfolio
manager at Rothschild Australia Asset Management Ltd. in
Sydney.

BHP is already in recovery mode. Its profit for the six
months ending Nov. 30, excluding the abnormal costs, rose
to A$809 million from A$436 million a year earlier. Mr.
Anderson wants BHP to generate A$11 billion in net
operating cash flow over the three years ending June 30,
2002. He also expects to have raised a further A$4 billion
in asset sales by June 2001.

Jock McKinlay, resources analyst at Merrill Lynch & Co. in
Melbourne, said the cost target "is a good stretch target"
given that Mr. Anderson has already made in-roads into the
cost base.

Mr. Anderson said BHP is aiming to generate higher earnings
while cutting capital spending. Over the next five years,
BHP has the potential to invest about A$12 billion in
maintenance capital, value-added growth projects,
exploration and investment expenditures, a cut of about 33%
from the previous five-year annual average, Mr. Anderson
said.

"We are also working to extend our debt duration to greater
than six years, and reduce reliance of bank funding and
credit support to less than 35% by the end of financial
year 2003," Mr. Anderson said.

Since his appointment in November 1998, Mr. Anderson has
impressed the market with the speed in which he moved to
end or jettison poorly performing projects, such as the
loss-making U.S. copper operations in the U.S. copper
operations in the U.S. state of Arizona and the Hartley
platinum mine in Zimbabwe.

The only remaining headaches now for Mr. Anderson are BHP's
technically-troubled Hot Briquetted Iron plant in Western
Australia and the 52%-owned pollution-causing OK Todi
copper and gold mine in Papua New Guinea.

Since its commissioning in February of last year, the iron
plant has failed to meet production targets, and Mr.
Anderson finally bit the bullet on Monday, giving up on
production targets and refocusing mangement on ironing out
the technical difficulties. (The Asian Wall Street Journal  
29-Feb-2000)

PACIFIC DUNLOP: Needs to get the lead out on rehab
--------------------------------------------------
Lead contamination costing hundreds of millions of dollars
could be behind Pacific Dunlop's failure to sell its
underperforming batteries division.

GNB Technologies, which makes automotive and industrial
batteries, has 16 facilities, 14 in the United States and
two in Australia. Environmental experts say lead smelters
and battery production facilities leave sites contaminated.
The sites would have to be cleaned up stringently,
including the removal of contaminated soil and ground
water, if sold for a non-lead-related use.

PacDun yesterday disputed that the liabilities figure was
that high but declined to put a value on it. Environmental
legislation varies but generally Australia and the US
follow a "polluter pays" principle.  PacDun has been
writing off costs relating to the environmental costs of
GNB for years. One analyst said the company already had a
$10 million to $15 million earnings leakage a year,
resulting from GNB-related clean-ups.

The company wrote off $94 million last year in relation to
the mothballing of its Columbus lead smelter for
"environmental and fair value" reasons.  When PacDun struck
a $750 million deal with Texas-based recycler Quexco, which
later flopped, it included a $70 million contribution
towards future clean-ups.

Analysts say clean-up costs perhaps as high as $30 million
for some sites prevent PacDun from selling the GNB sites to
anyone other than a battery producer.  They say PacDun is
now dependent on the emergence of a player prepared to take
on the rationalising role, particularly in the low-margin
automotive battery sector.

And if PacDun cannot sell GNB, nor could any would-be
acquirer such as US investment company Shamrock Holdings,
which has signalled it is building up a stake in the
company.  US companies Johnson Controls and Exide have been
tipped as possible rationalisers of the automotive battery
division.

PacDun is still feeling the effects of paying out more than
$500 million in compensation and costs associated with
Telectronics, the business that sold faulty heart pacemaker
leads.

On another front, PacDun's Ansell division, along with
other latex product companies, now faces 280 lawsuits in
the US relating to latex allergies. Pacific Dunlop shares
closed up 1c at $1.61.  (The Australian  01-March-2000)

TELSTRA: Nats opposed to sale urged to step forward
---------------------------------------------------
The Australian Democrats have called on National Party MPs
opposed to the full sale of Telstra to come out of the
closet.

Democrats Senator Lynn Allison says a number of National
MPs have privately urged the party not to soften its
opposition to full privatisation.  She says there is no
economic sense in selling Telstra because it would only
mean more job losses and a decline in services in the bush.
Senator Allison says those National Party members who
support the Democrats should speak out.

"We have a number of National Party Senators coming to us
in particular and saying 'hang in there, don't sell
Telstra' but, of course, they're only saying that in
private," she said.  "It's time, I think, that they came
out in public and said in order to represent our
constituents we must tell you that Telstra shouldn't be
sold, because it would disadvantage people in the country."
(ABC News Online  01-March-2000)


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

GUANGZHOU FINANCE: Creditors expect Gzitic plea for time
--------------------------------------------------------
The insolvency suit against Guangzhou Finance, a Hong Kong
subsidiary of China's debt-laden Guangzhou International
Trust and Investment Corp (Gzitic), is due to be heard in
Hong Kong courts next Monday.

Creditor sources said they expected Guangzhou Finance to
ask for another extension to give its parent more time to
finalise a restructuring plan.

"We're looking at another extension," said a source close
to the banks, adding that a lot of details had yet to be
sorted out.

Gzitic, the fund-raising arm of the Guangzhou municipal
government, is in restructuring negotiations with creditors
who include more than 130 foreign institutions.
PricewaterhouseCoopers, its financial adviser, floated a
plan last August to repay 50 per cent of Gzitic's 29.7
billion yuan (HK$28.08 billion) in liabilities via
financial instruments linked to a new joint-venture
commercial bank to be set up with foreign partnership.

Another 35 per cent of the debt would be repaid in cash,
and the remaining 15 per cent via asset sales. The
Guangzhou government promised to make up any shortfall from
the asset disposal.  Creditors said they were still waiting
to hear who would be the foreign partners in the joint-
venture bank, and how the Guangzhou government's promise
would be documented.

Under existing regulations, Chinese provincial and
municipal governments were not allowed to offer formal
guarantees for debt.  The Guangzhou Finance court hearing
had already been postponed five times since 11 bank
creditors filed a wind-up petition last February.
Sources close to the petitioners said they were likely to
agree to another adjournment, but their decision would
depend on Gzitic showing adequate progress since the last
hearing in mid-December.

"It depends on how much progress has been made, how much
more time they still need," said a banking source. Other
banking sources said they expected a postponement of two to
three months. (Hong Kong Standard  01-March-2000)

HAINAN HONG KONG & MACAO INT'L TRUST: Debts close up
----------------------------------------------------
China has closed a small trust firm because it could not
pay maturing debts, the government's latest move to clean
up the ailing trust sector.  An official of the firm said
yesterday the Hainan Hong Kong and Macao International
Trust and Investment Company was closed on Saturday because
the firm's debts exceeded its assets. She gave no figures.

A central bank statement said the government closed the
Hainan trust because "it seriously violated business rules"
and "was unable to pay maturing debts." The central bank
had "confiscated" the trust's financial business licences,
including a foreign exchange licence, it said.

The Bank of China, one of the big four state banks, was
told to set up a task force to clear the trust's debts, it
added. It was not immediately clear whether Hainan Hong
Kong had any outstanding international borrowings.

Analysts said the closure showed China was going ahead with
its plan to consolidate some 240 trust firms through
closures or mergers, although the reform could take years
to complete.

China announced a shakeout of the trust sector following
the 1998 collapse of Guangdong International Trust and
Investment Corp (Gitic) - the flagship borrowing arm of
Guangdong province - under debts of US$4.7 billion
(HK$36.66 billion). So far, however, restructuring has not
been nearly as severe as many expected.

There have been relatively few reported closures or mergers
of trust companies. The closure of Hainan Hong Kong has not
been reported in the official Chinese media.  A state
banker close to the reform program said the government
planned to leave one trust firm in most provinces along
with several nationwide trust firms in Beijing.

But it would be cautious about any closures and keep them
low profile to prevent damage to public confidence in the
financial system, said the banker, who declined to be
identified.  "This is our basic policy," he said.

The Gitic collapse raised the costs of some Chinese
borrowers and drove some people to withdraw cash from
smaller financial firms and put it in big state banks.
The restructuring of Huitong International Trust and
Investment Corp, another Hainan-based trust, was proceeding
slowly and there had been no news on the plans for more
than three months, creditors said.

Huitong told creditors last September it would be merged
with several Hainan-based trusts to form a joint-venture
bank with foreign creditors through debt-for-equity swaps.
One foreign creditor said the Hainan government had set up
a task force to study the merger and send a detailed plan
to the central bank.

The state banker said the central bank was helping domestic
trusts "streamline their debts" before letting them be
taken over by domestic financial institutions or closed.
The central bank statement said Hainan Hong Kong was now
under the receivership of China Dongfang Asset Management
Corp, which looks after the Bank of China's bad debts.

Securities operations were operating normally and the
trust's debts to personal investors were expected to be
repaid fully, it said.  The Hainan Hong Kong official said
that, before it was shut, the firm had registered capital
of 200 million yuan (HK$188.76 million).  The trust was
based in the island province of Hainan, which was hit by a
property market collapse in the mid-1990s and has never
fully recovered.

Official media have said China's big four banks were
striving to clean up problem loans stuck in property
projects in Hainan and had recovered 37 billion yuan in
problem loans. In 1998, the government closed the Hainan
Development Bank because of payment problems. In the same
year it closed China Venturetech Investment Corp for its
inability to pay maturing debt. (Hong Kong Standard  01-
March-2000)


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

PT BAKRIE INVESTINDO: Bankruptcy suit filed against it
------------------------------------------------------
An individual named Atas Rifara filed a bankruptcy suit on
Wednesday at the Jakarta Commercial Court against PT Bakrie
Investindo, the majority owner of publicly listed PT Bakrie
& Brothers, a lawyer said.

Dwi Ria Latifa from Rialatifa & Partners law firm said
Bakrie Investindo allegedly failed to repay a Rp 1 billion
promissory note that matured in January 1998.

"We don't see there is hope for Bakrie Investindo to
continue operating as a company, as its total assets are
less than half of its total debts according to its Feb.
1998 balance sheet. The company is technically bankrupt,"
Ria said.  The court was to decide on the first hearing of
the case early next week. (The Jakarta Post  02-March-2000)


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

CSK CORP.: Forecasts annual net loss
------------------------------------
CSK Corp. said it now sees a group net loss of 9.8 billion
yen ($88.9 million) for the year ending March 31, a sharp
deterioration from its profit projection of one billion
yen.

The leading Japanese information-services company also cut
its group sales outlook to 434 billion yen from 438 billion
yen, while group pretax profit was lowered to eight billion
yen from 16 billion yen.  CSK attributed the reductions to
sluggish business operations at an unlisted electronics
unit, CSK Electronics, and affiliate video-game maker Sega
Enterprises Ltd.

Sega Enterprises also lowered its earning estimates Monday,
citing weaker-than-expected sales of its Dreamcast video-
game machines.  Separately, CSK said it plans to offer 11.1
million shares to Japanese and overseas markets in a retail
offering. Of these, 10 million are newly issued shares and
1.1 million are existing shares currently held in private.
(The Asian Wall Street Journal  29-Feb-2000)

GENERAL SEKIYU: Posts annual loss
---------------------------------
The subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corp., General Sekiyu, said
it lost 14.2B yen on a consolidated basis in 1999. The
company on Jan. 31 estimated a group net loss of 14.3B yen.

No year-on-year comparison is available because General
Sekiyu switched its earnings period to the calendar year
after reporting for April-December 1998. The price of crude
oil more than doubled last year, allowing the company to
pocket 7.9B yen from reserves set aside in 1998 when weak
oil prices forced it to lower the estimated value of its
oil inventories. That represented more than half the
company's parent pretax profit of 14.96B yen and trimmed a
parent net loss of 26.3B yen in the first half.

SEGA ENTERPRISES: Warns of heavier losses
-----------------------------------------
Japan's Sega Enterprises on Monday warned of massive losses
in this fiscal year as it nearly halved the domestic sales
target for its Dreamcast console.

The downward revisions came with the home computer game
wars hotting up from this Saturday, when Sony Computer
Entertainment launches its new PlayStation2 in Japan to
take on the Dreamcast.  Sega now expects to incur a group
net loss of 44.9 billion yen (US$412 million) in the year
to March, more than double the originally estimated loss of
19.8 billion yen.

The Japanese games maker forecast a consolidated pre-tax
loss of 39.4 billion yen against the earlier estimated loss
of 16.3 billion yen. The sales projection was cut to 338.3
billion yen from 386.0 billion.

"Domestic (Dreamcast) sales have fallen far below the
plan," outlined last November when the firm announced
interim results, Sega said in a statement.

Company president Shoichiro Irimajiri said Sega had cut its
Japanese sales forecast for the Dreamcast to 600,000 units
from 1.1 million for the six months to March.  Sega also
slashed the sales target for Dreamcast software to 4.3
million units from 8.75 million.

"Sales in particular of games software declined
substantially," Irimajiri told a news conference. "Sales of
Dreamcast in the United States and Europe have maintained
strength and are exceeding our plans," he added.

Irimajiri was defiant against the PlayStation2. "I do not
think (PlayStation2) will move the overall game market,
although the hardware may gain some strong sales," he said.

Sega also said it would issue 36 million new shares to
computer systems developer CSK Corp. and Isao Ohkawa,
chairman of both CSK and Sega, at 2,816 yen each. The price
means a 31.3 percent discount from Monday's market closing
price at 4,100 yen.  CSK, the largest shareholder in Sega,
and Ohkawa will each take up half of the placement, with
their joint stake to rise to a total of 37.5 percent.

Sega will use some 101.4 billion yen of funds raised with
32 billion to be spent on developing optical fibre-network
game technology for use in game arcades operated by Sega.
It will invest a further 16.8 billion yen in upgrading
Dreamcast network systems, which allows gamers to play each
other over the Internet, as well as gaming content for
mobile terminals.

The Dreamcast, which comes with Internet access, brought in
a record $97.9 millions in the first 24 hours after it was
launched in the United States in September.  Last Tuesday
Moody's Investors Service upgraded the outlook on its junk-
bond ratings for Sega because of the strong foreign demand.

"Overseas demand of Sega's Dreamcast ... has been very
strong since Dreamcast was launched last autumn overseas,
while the demand in Japan has been weaker than the
company's expectation," Moody's said.

The credit risk agency warned that Sega's earnings would
"remain under pressure" because of discounts on the
Dreamcast's retail price and weak software sales in Japan.
(Business Day  01-March-2000)

SUMITOMO COAL MINING CO.: Expects 19.2B Yen loss for FY99
---------------------------------------------------------
Sumitomo Coal Mining Co. (1503) projected on Tuesday a 19.2
billion yen net loss for the fiscal year ending March 31
after recording about 19 billion yen of extraordinary
charges related partly to a faltering Australian
subsidiary.  This will be the parent company's second
consecutive loss.

Shareholders' equity stood at 13.9 billion yen at the end
of last fiscal year, so Sumitomo Coal would have a negative
net worth at the end of this fiscal year. But the firm will
conduct a private placement of shares to 45 companies to
raise 11.1 billion yen. Payment is due March 27. The
Australian subsidiary's accumulated losses swelled to about
15.5 billion yen as of December 1999. (Nikkei  01-March-
2000)

TOHOKU ELECTRIC POWER CO.: To hand over 60B Yen of debt
-------------------------------------------------------
Tohoku Electric Power Co. (9506) plans to execute by the
end of this fiscal year debt assumption agreements totaling
about 60 billion yen to reduce its interest burden and
increase its shareholders' equity ratio.

The electricity provider's debt swelled to a record 2.66
trillion yen as of March 31, 1999. It hopes to reduce this
debt to around 2.6 trillion yen this fiscal year through
the agreements.  Tohoku Electric will in effect be
undertaking the early redemption of bonds and will make a
lump sum payment to the counterparties for the remaining
interest payments as well as for the final redemption.

The company will use regular earnings to fund the necessary
payment, because it is experiencing a lull in capital
outlays this fiscal year. (Nikkei  01-March-2000)

ZEXEL CORP.: Foresees 8Bln Yen net loss for FY99
------------------------------------------------
Zexel Corp. (6041) projected on Tuesday a net loss of 8
billion yen for the fiscal year ending March 31, worse than
its earlier estimate of a 2.5 billion yen loss.

The automotive parts manufacturer plans to form a joint
venture with France's Valeo SA to make vehicle air-
conditioning systems. To prepare, it will transfer the
business to a subsidiary as early as the end of March,
taking a charge of about 3 billion yen on the revaluation
of associated assets.

Zexel will also record losses on golf course memberships
and the disposal of fixed assets as it realigns its
manufacturing facilities. Altogether, it expects to book
extraordinary losses in excess of 6 billion yen.  The
company now projects a pretax loss of 1.5 billion yen.
(Nikkei  01-March-2000)


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

KOOKMIN LIFE INSURANCE: SK to take over, MOU signed
---------------------------------------------------
The SK group and Kookmin Life Insurance signed a memorandum
of understanding Tuesday, outlining an agreement that the
conglomerate will take over the ailing insurance firm in
due course, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC)
announced Tuesday.

The main sell-off contract is due to be signed in the
middle of March. The memorandum stipulates that several
subsidiaries of the SK group, including SK Energy Sales,
will jointly purchase 100% equity of Kookmin, and the
government will take over part of Kookmin's real estate and
non-perform loans, which SK does not wish to purchase as
part of the deal.

Kookmin is the last of the local life insurance firms that
the government had planned to sell off to streamline the
sagging life insurance sector last year. The other
insurance firms sold off as part of the plan are Chosun,
Dongah, Pacific, Handuk and Doowon. Chosun and Dongah were
sold off to Hyundai and Kumho respectively; Pacific signed
a memorandum of understanding with Tongyang Life Insurance,
while Handuk signed an MOU with Youngpoong group for a
sell-off; and Doowon liquidated its operations after
transferring its policies to Korea Life. (Digital Chosun  
29-Feb-2000)


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

PENGURUSAN DANAHARTA NASIONAL: To rehab RM30B in loans
------------------------------------------------------
Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Bhd expects to restructure a
total of 30 billion Malaysian ringgit (S$13.5 billion) in
gross loans by June this year, said managing director Azman
Yahya.

"We target to address non-performing loans of the largest
20 per cent borrowers which represent 85 per cent of the
value of loans in the secondary carve-out," he said, adding
that the NPLs within Danaharta's portfolio would amount to
RM50 billion by end of March.

Mr Azman was briefing reporters on the asset management
company's operations for the six months ended Dec 31, 1999.
Danaharta was set up in June 1998 and its primary carve-out
of NPLs was completed on June 30, 1999.  As at Dec 31,
1999, it had taken over a total of RM45.5 billion in gross
NPLs from 68 financial institutions, of which RM37.3
billion was from the banking system and RM8.2 billion from
non-banking and offshore institutions.

Mr Azman added that it had also restructured or disposed of
loans and assets valued at RM17.6 billion.  As for asset
management, Danaharta will conduct a second property tender
before end-March, 2000, comprising 123 properties worth
RM276 million. (Singapore Business Times  01-March-2000)


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

BW RESOURCES CORP.: Still dragging down stocks, peso
----------------------------------------------------
Philippine stocks yesterday fell a great deal more, and
analysts couldn't tell where the bottom is.  Local share
prices on Tuesday plunged another 4.5 percent to a 15-month
low on an extended sell-off by foreign investors amid a
widening stock fraud scandal involving the gaming firm BW
Resources Corp.

Market jitters crossed over to the foreign exchange dealing
system. The peso breached the critical 41-to-the-dollar
level in early trade but bounced back to close at 40.935 to
the greenback.  An analyst with a foreign securities
company said the sell-off "was worse than 1997" during the
Asian crisis.

"After the market dropped below 1,800 points, all the
technical support levels (did not hold). We don't know the
bottom at this point," he said.

Other traders said the SEC investigation of the BW scandal,
the peso's depreciation, and fears of interest rate hikes
combined with an overhang of political risk caused the
market to fall almost 10 percent in the two trading days
this week.  An increase in benchmark Treasury-bill rates on
Monday, coupled with the expected rise in US rates this
month, hurt the stock market further.

Luz Lorenzo of ATR Kim Eng Securities said loss of investor
confidence due to the BW fiasco was the main reason for the
78.71-point drop of the Philippine Stock Exchange composite
index. The 30-company index closed at 1,641.94, its lowest
since Nov. 13, 1998.

"There's just not enough good news," said Cristine Mercado
of Guoco Securities.

In fact, there's more of the bad. Take, for instance, late
Tuesday's disclosure by the chair of the Securities and
Exchange Commission which is investigating the BW
controversy.  SEC Chair Perfecto Yasay Jr. confirmed
reports that he spent the weekend at the Boracay golf
course, enjoying lunch and cocktails with the public
relations agent of BW owner Dante Tan, a friend of
President Estrada.

Fending off accusations of conflict of interest and lack of
delicadeza, Yasay insisted that he and PR man Bubby Dacer
never talked about the BW case.

"Just the kind of news that turns off investors," said one
analyst with a foreign securities company.

PSE officials said foreign funds again led the selling on
the market, where they account for between 30 and 60
percent of daily turnover.  Blue chips were hardest hit by
the sell-off. Manila Electric B was the most actively
traded stock, shedding 7.4 percent to P75. Losers included
San Miguel B which fell P1.50 to P48 and ABS-CBN which
dropped P5.50 to P45.

There were 93 decliners as against 24 advancers in frenzied
trading that saw 6.81 billion shares worth P2.25 billion
change hands.

"The market proved more bearish than we earlier thought,"
said Jose Vistan, research head of Wise Securities
Philippines Inc.

Vistan said analysts were banking on a technical bounce
following heavy market losses and on the 1.8-percent gain
of the Dow Jones industrial average Monday.

As economic reform bills stagnate in Congress and charges
of cronyism hound the Estrada administration, the
Philippine stock index has become the worst performer in
Asia.  The index has fallen 23.4 percent so far this year
after foreign investors dumped close to P5 billion worth of
shares last month.

PSE data showed that foreign investors were net sellers in
18 of the 20 trading days in February. The biggest sell-
down occurred on Feb. 21, a week after the release of the
PSE investigative report on BW, when foreign investors were
net sellers of P678.48 million worth of shares. Net sales
by foreign investors reached P506 million yesterday.

According to a survey by the US polling organization Gallup
and the American investment firm Merrill Lynch, foreign
fund managers in Asia think the Philippine and Indonesian
stock markets have the worst prospects because of
"political and regulatory uncertainty."

In a presentation during the Philippine Business Outlook
2000 conference yesterday, Merrill Lynch managing director
William Belchere said fund managers were bullish in other
Asian countries.

"If they ask us what is the story behind the Philippines,
we say there is none," Belchere said.

In the Merrill Lynch-Gallup survey, the Philippines had a
negative rating of 27 percent (which means there were more
bearish than bullish investors in the country) in February
which was worse than its rating of negative 9 percent in
January and negative 20 percent last December.

Xen Gladstone, head of research for ING Barings in Manila,
said the index was likely to fall to the 1,500 point level
before investors re-assess values.

"It will fall until something is seen to materially change
and that could be on the macro side with a major
improvement on the economic or the political scene or it
could be from a more micro-driven angle in terms of value,"
he said.

Neel Sinha, head of research for SG Securities, said
individual stock valuations were now of little consequence.
"All the blue chips are already screaming buys. The market
is trading at a 30-percent discount . . . but I'm still
hesitant to call it a buy, because I don't see a turnaround
in sentiment for the next few weeks or a month or so.
I don't think it (the catalyst for a reversal) will be
emergence of value. It has to be a policy issue, something
which will restore investor confidence."

Earlier Tuesday, PSE president Jose Luis Yulo tried to
downplay the huge losses, but acknowledged that a recovery
could only be sustained once the BW investigation is
finished.

"If we can prove that manipulators cannot play dirty in our
market because they will be caught, investor confidence
will return," Yulo said.

Traders said the peso was dragged down by deteriorating
investor sentiment toward the Philippines resulting in fund
outflows from the stock market.  Central bank officials
said they did not intervene to support the peso, but some
traders believed it may have indirectly sold dollars via
friendly banks.

Finance Secretary Jose Pardo, a member of the Monetary
Board, predicted that the peso would recoup its losses next
month on expectations of dollar inflows from corporate
investments.

"It's temporary," he said, referring to the breaching of
the 41-peso level. (Philippine Daily Inquirer  01-March-
2000)

NEGROS NAVIGATION CO.: Blames fuel costs for losses
---------------------------------------------------
Affected by losses from discontinued operations of
conventional ferry business and increasing fuel costs, the
listed inter-island shipping firm Negros Navigation Co.,
Inc. (Nenaco) registered a consolidated net loss for full
year 1999, its third consecutive loss since 1997.

In the company's unaudited financial statement submitted
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Nenaco and its
subsidiary companies posted a 777.8-million-peso (US$19
million at PhP40.972:US$1) net loss for the the year 1999.
This is, however, comparatively lower than the PhP847.4-
million ($20.7 million) loss the previous year. Nenaco
incurred closure costs of PhP106 million ($2.6 million)
from disposal and writedown of its ferry vessels.

The Metro Pacific-owned shipping firm ceased conventional
ferry business in the last quarter of 1999, realizing
higher potential in the fast ferry business. In a telephone
interview, Nenaco director and chief financial adviser
Robin M. Arrowsmith said more people are moving to fast
ferries that management deemed it no longer feasible to
continue operations of its conventional ferry business.

Nenaco decided to stop operations of its ferry vessels
plying the Bacolod and Iloilo route. The shipping firm sold
ferry vessel M/V Sta. Maria, together with related property
and equipment, for PhP25 million ($610,000) in October
1999. (Business World  01-March-2000)

ONGPIN GROUP: Files P300-M countersuit versus APC
-------------------------------------------------
PhilWeb.Com chairman Roberto V. Ongpin is fighting back at
business rival APC Group Inc. (APC) and is filing a
countersuit against the latter for P300-million for
fabricating "malicious and baseless claims" against him.

"How can I steal something which belonged to me to begin
with?" Ongpin asked.  "For APC to lay claim that I stole
the concept from them is ludicrous since they have no clue
whatsoever of how to establish, much less, run an internet
business. There are over 200 companies in the country today
in the internet business and yet, APC sounds like they are
entitled to a monopoly of the business. It just goes to
show how little APC knows about internet," Ongpin said.

Ongpin was reacting to APC's accusations that PhilWeb.Com
stealing by Ongpin's group of APC's internet business "was
a premeditated act."

APC filed a P150-million suit against Ongpin, PhilWeb.Com
and South Seas Natural Resources Inc. for illegally
appropriating for themselves corporate opportunities and
business that properly belong to APC's Philcom (Philippine
Global Communications Inc.) and PhilCom Interactive Systems
Inc. (Philcom Interactive)

APC, a company owned 49-percent by Belle Corp., from which
Ongpin and his ally Jaime Gonzales were ousted from the
board during its stockholders meeting last year, said the
Ongpin group has acquired interests adverse to Philcom and
Philcom Interactive.

Ongpin, however, countered that at no time did Philcom,
whose main asset involves submarine cables, ever have a
business or even a business plan based on broadband access
via satellite.

"It is ironic that APC now bemoans Alex Villamar's
resignation from Philcom," Ongpin said, adding that for
many months after his ouster from Belle and APC, Villamar
tried many times to convince Belle and APC to re-engineer
Philcom as an internet company.  "My proposals regarding
opportunities in the internet were clearly over their hand
and this is one of the reasons I resigned, as I clearly
stated in my resignation letter dated January, 2000"
Villamar said in a statement.

The APC rebutted Ongpin's charges, saying he is trying to
confuse the issue. The APC said that Villamar as president
and chief executive officer of Philcom made a presentation
to the APC board last July 30, 1999 and the proposed
business plan was approved. Villamar and his team were
supposed to fine tune the plan and present it again to the
board for approval.

In a statement APC said that Ongpin and six of his
associates controlled the 10-man board of Philcom.

"No board meeting was called which is typical of Ongpin's
management style. No plan was ever formally presented to or
rejected by the Philcom board controlled by Ongpin. The APC
board or management was never formally consulted on the
matter, nor was any approval ever sought from them.

Villamar, thus, cannot claim that he resigned because the
APC turned down his business plan, the APC said.  The APC
stressed that until today, Ongpin is still a director and
chairman of Philcom. His six close associates, including
Villamar are still directors of Philcom.

"They also happen to be directors of PhilWeb.com. There is
a clear and undeniable conflict of interest," APC said.
(The Philippine Star  01-March-2000)

PHILIPPINE NAT.BANK: Gov't seeks sale of shares as block
--------------------------------------------------------
The National Government is confident it can command a
selling price of between 150 Philippine pesos (PhP) and
PhP160 per share of semiprivate Philippine National Bank
(PNB) if existing shareholders will offer their combined
87% stakes as a block.

The Department of Finance (DoF) and the Bangko Sentral
(Central Bank of the Phils.) are now trying to convince
beer and tobacco magnate Lucio Tan to sell his 45% stake in
PNB together with the government's remaining 30% stake, a
ranking government source privy to the talks yesterday
said.

He said the government will also ask Hong Kong-based
Templeton Asset Management Corp., managed by emerging
markets guru Mark Mobius, to join the deal by selling its
12% stake in PNB.

"If we can offer this combined 87% to a strategic investor,
then the government can command a good price for PNB," the
source said.  "This is an undisputable 'supermajority' that
will be attractive to them" since the percentage of
ownership is even higher than the 72% stake made available
when PCIBank was sold last year."

Templeton reportedly acquired its PNB shares before the
Asian crisis at PhP400 per share or more.  The source said
Mr. Tan's average buying price for his stake in PNB was
PhP126 per share since these had been accumulated "when
(PNB) was doing PhP60 per share last year".

"This would earn him an 'acceptable profit" if a sale price
of PhP150 to PhP160 per share can be agreed upon," the
source said.

The Chinese-Filipino businessman started accumulating PNB
shares at PhP60 apeice then bought them at PhP138 during
the bank's rights offering in September last year. The
share price rose to as high as PhP150 last November 4 but
had since been trailing the bearish stock market.

As of end-1998, the bank's book value reportedly stood at
PhP90 per share, which is "already below par", the source
said.  At yesterday's closing prices at the Philippine
Stock Exchange, PNB shares fell to P66 from Monday's PhP68.

Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Jose T. Pardo said the
government will have to consult a financial advisor to
determine if it can get a premium from teaming up with Mr.
Tan.

"We will get a financial advisor for this," he told
reporters at the fringes of the Philippine Business Outlook
Conference yesterday.  "We're pursuing that option... We
should be able to put together a sizeable block... With so
many branches abroad and here and with a deposit base so
large, PNB should command a premium."

Meanwhile, Bangko Sentral Gov. Rafael B. Buenaventura
yesterday urged PNB to update its "obsolete" audit report
to enable regulators and investors to determine the bank's
true financial state.

At first glance, a PhP150-per-share price for the combined
87% stakes of the PNB's three major stockholders sounds
"cheap."

For a controlling stake in the bank, the prospective
investor would only pay a 30% premium, or an equivalent of
1.3 times the bank's book value, an analyst from a foreign
securities firm said.  The average price banks pay for
mergers and acquisitions is usually 2.5 times a bank's book
value.

"That is reasonable, offhand... You pay a premium for
control," the analyst said.

Another analyst from a local brokerage house said the price
would be low, compared with the pricing other banks got for
an acquisition or merger.  However, if PNB's nonperforming
loans (NPLs), which stood at 29% as of December 21 last
year, will be considered, the PhP150 per share exit price
would appear "relatively expensive".

Taking in this "baggage" would jack up the price to equal
2.9 times PNB's adjusted book value, the analyst from the
foreign house said.

"If you take into account NPLs and how much the investor
will spend in terms of cleaning up PNB's books, it would be
expensive... You have to consider not just the cost of the
stake, but also the additional cost of cleaning up the
balance sheet... PNB also needs to change its culture and
do cost-cutting measures," the analyst added.

Analysts said PNB's "saving grace" is its franchise, which
other local banks do not have. It has a network of 319
branches and more than 70 outside the country.

"It depends on the value investors will attach to the
bank," the analyst said.

The analyst from the local firm said shareholders will have
a better chance of getting a good price for their PNB stake
if the bank shows signs of improvement.

"In the past few months, our position has been not to be
bullish on PNB... unless the banks shows signs of
improvement on basic fundamentals," he said.  "If you are a
stock market investor, we would recommend that you buy the
stock to speculate... If there is an improvement, then we
would recommend a long-term buy," he added. Yesterday, PNB
shares closed at P66 apiece, down P2 from the other day's
P68.

The analyst said given the right management team and
technology, PNB will have a better chance of a turnaround.

"PNB is in some sort of limbo. When Lucio Tan came in, the
plan was to focus on the mid-sized corporate accounts. That
is a feasible strategy. But another transformation is not
going to help build up confidence," he said.

Both analysts said a foreign investor would do PNB more
good since it could bring a different culture and
technology. (Business World  01-March-2000)


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

BANGKOK BANK: SET plunges to new low on banking shares
KRUNG THAI BANK: SET plunges to new low on banking shares
THAI PETRO.INDUS.: SET plunges to new low on banking shares
-----------------------------------------------------------
Led by Bangkok Bank (BBL) and Krung Thai Bank (KTB), the
SET index yesterday slumped 14.07 points or 3.6 percent,
its four month low, closed at 374.32.

Three shares fell for each share that rose.  Trading was
4.8 billion baht, 20 percent less than this month's
average.   BBL, Thai Petrochemical Industries' (TPI)
biggest lender in Thailand, tumbled 4.25 baht, or 9.7
percent, to 39.50, Krung Thai Bank, another creditor, fell
1.25 baht, or 8.8 percent, to 13, taking the most off
today's SET index.  Banks accounted for two-fifths of the
SET index's decline.

Almost a month after TPI reignited a dispute with creditors
by vetoing an already agreed upon plan to restructure its
US$3.5 billion debt, the two sides have yet to reach a
compromise.  The next hearing is scheduled for today.
Investors are concerned that other Thai debtors will follow
TPI's move and stall banks' effort to restructure bad
loans.

"The TPI case stirs up everything," said Sriyan Pietersz,
head of research for SG Securities Asia which has offices
in Bangkok.  "It is a bellwether for debt restructuring
progress in Thailand. If the Court rules against the
creditor, then confidence in the system would fall," he
said.

TPI's stock sank 0.75 baht, or 7 percent, to 10. (Business
Day  01-March-2000)

CAPETRONIC INT'L: Narrows annual loss
-------------------------------------
Capetronic International said its audited net loss for the
period ending Dec 31 was 1.1bn bt, compared with a net loss
of 40m bt for the same period in the previous year.
(Bangkok Post  29-Feb-2000)

COUNTRY (THAILAND): Annual loss widens                     
--------------------------------------                      
Country (Thailand)reported a Bt4.84 billion net loss in
1999 against a Bt1.50 billion loss in 1998.  (The Nation  
01-March-2000)

DBS THAI DANU BANK: To close 35 branches, axe 700 staff
-------------------------------------------------------
DBS Thai Danu Bank will close 35 branches and shed 700
staff this year in a bid to get out of the red, according
to president Pornsanong Tuchinda.

Among moves to improve efficiency, the bank will invite
applications for early retirement. The programme over the
next two months will offer compensation of up to 20 months'
salary.  The bank hoped to reduce its head count to 1,850
employees, Mr Pornsanong said, and cut the number of
branches to 60.

Branches will be closed in areas where there is little
demand for banking services, such as the Eastern Seaboard.
The bank hopes the cutbacks will trim 100 million baht or
as much as 15% off operating costs this year.  Low
dividends paid to shareholders prompted the restructuring
plan, he said.

"The bank posted a 13 billion baht loss last year. But even
in the best days, we could make no more than 1.5 billion
baht profit. The returns to shareholders are lower than
those at Bangkok Bank," Mr Pornsanong said. "We have to
make big changes. The number of staff is larger than the
business needs and curtails profitability."

The bank aims to increase lending by 14% this year against
5% for the industry. It plans to lend eight billion baht to
corporate customers and five billion to mortgage and
personal-loan clients.  Despite a recovery in consumer
buying power and manufacturing, banks were still cautious
about lending because customers still had a "non-payment
culture", he said.

Retail customers had better potential in terms of growth
and ability to pay.  The bank would increase its lending
share to these customers to 30% in the next few years, from
20% now. Lending to corporations now accounts for 70% of
outstanding loans.

"Instead of competing with foreign banks, our main rivals
are Thai banks which control large market shares in the
credit systems," he said.

Improving technology and developing new delivery channels
will be a key strategy. The bank will develop its
electronic and telephone banking services.  The bank has
received good support from DBS in recruiting specialists
and supplying technology, services and new products. It
will also benefit from links with DBS's clients in Asia.

The bank's current capital fund was enough to meet the
minimum reserve levels required to cover bad loans, Mr
Pornsanong said.  The bank had set aside 81% provision
against non-performing loans at the end of last year, more
than the Bank of Thailand's regulatory limit, he said.

The DBS has established a regional integration centre in
Thailand to improve ties among DBS branches in Southeast
Asia.  Yeng Fang Ong, vice-president for institutional
banking, said the centre would apply the same guidelines
for management policies, risk management systems and
delivering technology throughout the region.  DBS wanted to
become the biggest regional bank in Southeast Asia
providing a full range of services, she said. (Bangkok Post  
29-Feb-2000)

DBS THAI DANU BANK: Annual loss widens                     
--------------------------------------                           
DBS Thai Danu Bank ended last year with a net loss of
Bt12.94 billion, compared to a loss of Bt9.13 billion the
previous year. (The Nation  01-March-2000)

ELEC.GENERATING AUTH.OF THAILAND: To re-fi foreign debts
--------------------------------------------------------
The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat)
will issue US$426 million (16 billion baht) in bonds next
month to refinance its foreign debt to ease the impact of
currency volatility.

Deputy governor Boonchoo Direksthaporn said Egat's debts
totalled 290 billion baht. It suffered a 20-billion-baht
foreign-exchange loss last year.

The planned issue of bonds next month is expected to win
approval from the Finance Ministry because the country's
liquidity has improved. Details of the term, interest rates
and underwriters have not been disclosed. (Bangkok Post  
29-Feb-2000)

iTV PLC: SCB turns down rehab proposal
--------------------------------------
The Siam Commercial Bank Plc's board of directors flatly
rejected yesterday the debt restructuring plan submitted by
iTV Plc, which owed the bank around four billion baht.

The board turned down the proposal as it is "absolutely
unacceptable" to the bank, according to Chatchawal
Phannalarp, a senior executive vice-president of the bank.
iTV had requested the bank to grant it a write-down of 1.6
billion baht and convert to equities another one billion
baht.

Instead, the bank had told iTV to work out a more
acceptable plan, Mr Chatchawal said.  The bank also wanted
the independent TV operator to come up with a
recapitalisation plan.

"iTV should help itself first, and if it has done
everything to improve its financial status and the problems
are still not addressed, the bank will then be willing to
lend a hand," he said.

The major problem of iTV is its need to mobilise at least
800 million baht to pay the concession fee to the
government in May this year. However, the company's two
major shareholder groups are still locking horns over the
the recapitalisation plan.

The Crown Property Bureau and its associates, which
together hold 30% of all shares, reportedly want to sell
the company's new shares to Thai Rak Thai Party leader
Thaksin Shinawatra, while the Nation Multimedia group, with
a 10% stake, wants to sell them to a Singaporean telecoms
firm.

Nation editor-in-chief Suthichai Yoon also made a proposal
to sell new shares to the public, but the Crown Property
Bureau viewed it impractical.  As the rift widens, Mr
Suthichai has been strongly attacking the bank through his
"Black Coffee" column in Krung Thep Thurakit, a Thai-
language business daily of the Nation Group.

An informed source in iTV said iTV had decided to drop two
programmes supplied by the Nation group starting tomorrow.
However, the source said the iTV board had not yet decided
to dismiss Mr Suthichai as board member as reported by some
newspapers. (Bangkok Post  29-Feb-2000)

MODERN HOME DEVELOPMENT: Annual loss widens                
-------------------------------------------                 
Modern Home Development suffered a net loss of Bt2.51
billion in 1999, up significantly from a Bt1.19 billion
loss in 1998. (The Nation  01-March-2000)

NATION MULTIMEDIA GROUP: Annual loss widens                
-------------------------------------------                 
Nation Multimedia Group ended the year with a net loss of
Bt378.65 million against a profit of Bt163.34 million the
previous year.  (The Nation  01-March-2000)

NOBLE DEVELOPMENT: Annual loss widens                      
-------------------------------------                        
Noble Development last year made a loss of Bt943.8 million,
up significantly from Bt580.507 million the previous year.  
(The Nation  01-March-2000)

SUPALAI PLC: Restructures 4.7bn baht in debt
--------------------------------------------
Supalai Plc said it had restructured 4.7bn bt in debt,
allowing it to cut its debts by 25%, and converted 14% of
debts to unsecured zero-coupon bonds with 7-year maturity.
For creditors not covered by the Corporate Debt
Restructuring Advisory Committee, Supalai is negotiating on
debts totalling 1.5bn bt. (Bangkok Post  29-Feb-2000)

THAI MILITARY BANK: Local share sale a contingency plan
-------------------------------------------------------
Thai Military Bank, faced with an uphill battle to raise
new capital, is preparing contingency plans to sell new
shares in the domestic market if foreign investors decline
to buy them.

The bank will hold a roadshow overseas to promote a 30-
billion-baht capital increase, offering two billion new
preferred shares with half of the new capital raised from
the government's tier-one recapitalisation programme.
Bank executives say that if the roadshow fails to draw
interest, an alternative would be to reduce the placement
price and sell the new shares in the domestic market.

The armed forces, Thai Military Bank's biggest shareholder,
are looking to use profits from their Channel 5 and Channel
7 television stations to buy new shares as well. Bank
directors met last week to consider a report from Salomon
Smith Barney, the bank's financial adviser, on the
recapitalisation.

Salomon reported that overseas markets remained "closed" to
a share issue, citing recent declines in foreign portfolio
investment and the recent shift of regional portfolio
weightings by Morgan Stanley Capital International.
The MSCI indices, widely used by international fund
managers in juggling portfolio holdings, were recently
adjusted to reinstate Malaysia and raise the weighting of
Taiwan.

The change has helped prompt a foreign sell-off of Thai
stocks and a 20% decline in the Stock Exchange of Thailand
index since the start of the year.  The roadshow will be
Thai Military Bank's second attempt in six months.
The bank cancelled its recapitalisation programme last
October at the last minute after foreign investors proposed
paying only 12 baht per share, compared with a 15-baht
target.

The poor result led to the board ordering a change in
advisers, from CS First Boston to Salomon.  Despite
progress in restructuring bad loans and signs of
improvement in the economy, Thai Military Bank faces a
serious need to raise capital to cover asset damage and lay
the foundation for future business expansion.

At the end of 1999, the bank reported loan-loss reserves
equal to 67% of the total that would be required at the end
of this year.  At least 10 billion baht in new capital is
needed to meet full coverage under Bank of Thailand
guidelines.  The bank posted 1999 losses of 11.6 billion
baht, compared with losses of 7.69 billion the year before.

Assets at the end of 1999 totalled 335 billion baht, with
deposits of 259.8 billion and loans of 261 billion.
Shares of Thai Military Bank closed yesterday at 10 baht,
down one, on turnover worth 15.79 million baht. The
problems have placed the armed forces, which control over
30% of the bank, in a quandary.

Gen Surayud Chulanont, the bank's executive chairman and
Army commander, has said the armed forces planned to reduce
their stake in the bank.  Sources said military directors
told the board meeting last week that the armed forces
lacked the funds to purchase new shares.

A capital increase, assuming the armed forces do not
participate, could reduce the military's stake in the bank
under 10%.  But reducing prices for new shares would force
the bank to issue even more shares to raise the capital it
needs, diluting the stake of existing shareholders even
more.

"But cutting prices is necessary because there aren't many
choices available," said one source.  "And if we are going
to cut the share price, then it's better to sell the stake
in the local market to Thai investors."

The executive acknowledged that the bank had missed
opportunities to raise capital earlier.  But it had wanted
to see the results of Siam Commercial Bank's
recapitalisation, completed early last year under the
government tier-one programme, before making a decision.
(Bangkok Post  29-Feb-2000)

THAI TEL.& TEL.: Creditors mixed over 3.8B baht rehab
-----------------------------------------------------
Creditors of Thai Telephone & Telecommunication will air
mixed feelings on the 3.8 billion baht debt restructuring
plan when they vote on the proposal today, a source of
leading creditors said yesterday.

According to the source, there has been a series of
discussion among the creditors, and their opinions are said
to be varying.  The source said most of the Thai creditors,
who are financial institutions, have agreed to accept the
debt restructuring plan proposed by TT&T, citing the reason
that the scheme mainly involves extension of principal
money repayment period.

However, said the source, some foreign financial
institutional creditors do not agree with the plan, saying
that the case will be dragged on for more than ten years,
including the period of principal money repayment.  The
numbers of domestic and foreign institutional creditors are
equally the same.

The major Thai creditors include Thai Farmers Bank (TFB),
Krung Thai Bank (KTB) and Bank Thai.  The Office of
Corporate Debt Restructuring Advisory Committee (CDRAC) on
February 28 invited the creditors' representatives for
discussion in preparation of the voting on the debt
restructuring proposal.

CDRAC, with agreement from the creditors, set the rule for
the first round of voting that the acceptance of the debt
restructuring plan must receive the votes from creditors
with at least 75% of the total debt amount held by them.

"It is not known now whether there will be a second round
of voting, but it is likely that there will be only one
round of voting" the source said.

The source disclosed that TT&T proposed the extension of
principal money repayment to 17.5 years. (Business Day  01-
March-2000)

THE AROMATICS (THAILAND): Posts annual loss                
-------------------------------------------                    
The Aromatics (Thailand) reported a Bt2.39 billion net loss
last year against a Bt1.50 billion profit the year before.  
(The Nation  01-March-2000)

TISCO FINANCE: Annual loss widens                          
---------------------------------                              
Tisco Finance reported an operating loss of Bt4.474 billion
last year against a Bt3.85 billion net loss the year
before.  (The Nation  01-March-2000)

UNITED BROADCASTING CORP.: Annual loss narrows             
----------------------------------------------               
United Broadcasting Corp.Plc said its net loss last year
amounted to Bt2.71 billion, down from Bt3.09 billion the
year before.  (The Nation  01-March-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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