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

                            A S I A   P A C I F I C

           Wednesday, March 8, 2000, Vol. 3, No. 47

                                   Headlines


* A U S T R A L I A *

ASTRO CINEMA COMPLEX: Bank seeks home for Astro debt
FISHER PAYKEL INDUS.: Out of Australian credit
RIVERSIDE NURSING HOME: Gov't closes down, residents moved
SIDDONS RAMSET LTD: ITW acquires takeover stake


* C H I N A  &  H O N G  K O N G *

FIRST PACIFIC CO. LTD.: Profits fall 62%
SILVON TEXTILE LTD: Facing winding up petition


* I N D O N E S I A *

PT KASOGI INT'L: To do debt-for-equity swap
PT PLN: Reaches temporary agreement with Paiton


* J A P A N *

ARABIAN OIL CO.: Considers 45% payroll cut
DAIEI INC.: Stock under pressure
MARUSHO & CO.: Kanemori to acquire majority stake
MINAMI SECURITIES: FSA, MOF file for its bankruptcy
MITSUBISHI MOTOR: Talk of Daimler alliance gets louder
SOFTBANK: Market capitalization drops $37bn


* K O R E A *

DAEWOO MOTOR: Creditors withhold new funds
DAEWOO MOTOR: Sale may include commercial vehicle div.
DAEWOO MOTOR: To close five overseas sales firms
HANBO IRON & STEEL: To be sold to Nabors Consortium
KOREA ELECTRIC POWER CORP.: Estimates 14pc rise in its debt
SAMSUNG MOTOR: Renault offer values Samsung Motor at $450M


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

BELLE CORP.: Belle loses P3.3 B
COCA-COLA BOTTLERS PHILS.: Strikers cripple plant
PHILIPPINE NAT.BANK: COP looking into PNB ownership
WESTMONT INVEST.CORP.: Woes traced to early payback scheme


* S I N G A P O R E *

CLOB INT'L: Effective Cap deal has strings


* T H A I L A N D *

BANK OF AYUDHYA: BBL plan drags bank stocks dowm
BUMMRUNGRAD HOSPITAL: Faces delisting
KIATNAKIN FINANCE: On credit alert
NAKORNTHAI STRIP MILL: Faces delisting
ROBINSON DEPT. STORE: Faces delisting
SIAM COMMERCIAL BANK: BBL plan drags bank stocks down
SIKARIN: Faces delisting
SINO-THAI ENG.& CONST.: Faces delisting
SRIVARA REAL ESTATE GROUP: Faces delisting
THAI CENTRAL CHEMICAL: To borrow money to re-fi debts
THAI MILITARY BANK: BBL plan drags bank stocks down
THAI PETRO.INDUSTRY: Prachai Tries to Evade Creditors
THAI TEL.& TEL.: Creditors may approach court
WONGPAITOON GROUP: New loans reported to SET


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

ASTRO CINEMA COMPLEX: Bank seeks home for Astro debt
----------------------------------------------------
Colonial State Bank is seeking possession of the
Strathfield home belonging to the wife of a doctor borrower
as well as a Campbelltown surgery to satisfy her husband's
outstanding debt with the bank.

Dr Peng Tin Chia borrowed $4.6 million from the then State
Bank of NSW in 1989 to build the Astro cinema complex at Mt
Druitt. The loan was rolled over and restructured a couple
of times before a dispute over penalty interest rates and
other charges imposed by the bank in 1995 resulted in the
bank's declaring Dr Chia in default and that his overdraft
was to be reduced. It also asked him to sell some
properties supporting the mortgage to reduce the debt.

Dr Chia sold three home units in the inner city. The bank
appointed a receiver to the Astro and it was sold for just
over $2 million in 1997. But the bank says he owes a
further $2,879,807.47. Colonial is also seeking "special
interest" on the judgment debt plus costs on an indemnity
basis.

Yesterday in the Supreme Court, when Dr Chia's lawyer asked
a bank officer, Mr Robert Moulds, for a breakdown of the
claimed indebtedness, the bank's senior counsel, Mr Joseph
Campbell, QC, told the court there was a clause in the debt
certificate that said the borrower could not "go behind"
the figure - that is, challenge it. Justice Cliff Einstein
suggested that the parties' lawyers sort out the matter
outside of court hours.

Dr Chia and his wife, Mrs Kit Cheng Chia, are cross-
claiming against Colonial and its receiver, Mr Kenneth
Rennie of Ernst & Young, for breach of fiduciary duty in
the handling of the debt.  Mrs Chia's counsel, Mr Richard
Evans, told the court Mrs Chia was challenging the bank's
demand of possession of her property using the Garcia
defence - a reference to a famous High Court decision
handed down two years ago in which the wife of a borrower
kept her properties from a bank's possession demand because
she was not made sufficiently aware of the implications of
her signature on loan documents her businessman husband had
asked her to sign.

Mr Evans said Mrs Chia had signed "all monies" mortgages,
documents that were totally unfamiliar to her. He described
the documents as "formidable" for any person to understand
even if they were legally trained, "and for an ethnic
Chinese woman almost beyond comprehension". The document is
about four centimetres thick.

Mr Evans said Mrs Chia's case relating to both mortgages
was that the law required that because she was married to a
borrower, she voluntarily gave both properties as security
for her husband's loan.  He said for the mortgages to be
enforceable required in effect that Mrs Chia's obligations
be properly explained to her so she could understand what
she was risking when signing the document.

"This was not done in either case," Mr Evans said.

He said the bank never bothered to contact Mrs Chia except
in correspondence addressed to Dr Chia and it was left to a
third party, her husband's solicitor, to explain the
documents to her.  During examination by Mr Evans, Mrs Chia
was shown a series of documents she had signed and asked if
she understood what they meant. She replied that she signed
them because "my husband asked me to so he could borrow
some money".

Under cross-examination by Mr Campbell, Mrs Chia, a former
nurse and now a receptionist at her husband's surgery,
agreed she had previously signed a mortgage on the
Strathfield home with Westpac but said that loan had been
repaid.  The hearing continues. (Sydney Morning Herald  07-
March-2000)

FISHER PAYKEL INDUS.: Out of Australian credit
----------------------------------------------
The New Zealand manufacturer Fisher Paykel Industries
yesterday announced the closing down of its Australian
finance company, Fisher & Paykel Finance Pty.

Fisher & Paykel said factors including a lack of critical
mass, the competitive Australian finance market and
different credit patterns, meant the Australian company
could not fully meet its objectives.  Fisher & Paykel said
it had already provided for the cost of an exit from the
Australian operation in the abnormals for the financial
year ending 31March and expected no further provisioning.

The Australian unit will manage the closing down of its own
receivables book over the next 12 to 18 months.  Fisher
Paykel's chief executive, Mr Gary Paykel, noted that the
company's October 1999 strategic review said the finance
arm's role was to assist in the sale of products,
particularly the provision of finance facilities for
whitegoods customers. However, he said the number of
whitegoods sold on instalment credit in Australia did not
give the company the critical mass to sustain the
infrastructure.

"Managing our own wind-down of the receivables book is
certainly the best option for all parties and provides the
best financial return for Fisher Paykel," he said. "Fisher
& Paykel is now focused on its core business groups -
whitegoods and health care - with the finance company's
strategic role in New Zealand to support the sale of the
group's products," he said. (The Age  07-March 7-2000)

RIVERSIDE NURSING HOME: Gov't closes down, residents moved
----------------------------------------------------------
Former residents of the Riverside Nursing Home at Patterson
Lakes in Melbourne have spent their first night in the
city's St Vincent's Hospital.  Another 10 residents are due
to move today.

The government effectively closed the troubled Riverside
Nursing Home yesterday by removing funding and
deregistering it.  The action was result of it not making
satisfactory progress for reform after kerosene baths were
given in January.

Twenty former residents are in a new unit at St Vincent's,  
but they are only expected to stay there a month.  Their
future beyond that is not known.  St Vincent's chief
executive Kerrie Cross says the new residents will have
more staff to care for them than they are used to.

"We know that when people will come to us they will have
medical conditions and they will be disturbed and anxious
and they will need a higher level of care," she said.
"Some of the rooms at Riverside are accommodating up to
five residents at the moment and we believe that they will
settle quite quickly."

The Australian Nursing Federation is demanding the
Commonwealth honour the outstanding entitlements of staff
at the Riverside nursing home.  The union says most nurses
and care-givers are now without jobs.  Nursing federation
secretary Hannah Sellers says Riverside staff are out in
the cold and fear they will lose their entitlements.

"I just find it absolutely appalling at the whole way this
matter has been handled," she said.  "It's quite obvious
that the staff, if they don't have that commitment given by
the Prime Minister or the Minister for Aged Care, that they
are going to be subsidising this whole debacle to the tune
of anything up to $500,000. And we believe that that's just
totally unacceptable."

Ms Cross says ex-Riverside staff are welcome to join St
Vincent's hospital's casual pool.  "Any Riverside nurse
could join our casual bank and continue to care for the
residents as long as those nurses are appropriately
qualified and meet our standards of care," she said.

Meanwhile, he Riverside Nursing Home has asked the Federal
Government to review the decision to cancel its licence and
withdraw funding.  The home's lawyer, Graham Ephron, says
he expects to receive a response from the Aged Care
Department sometime this morning.  Mr Ephron says the home
is likely to pursue the matter in the Federal Court or the
Administrative Appeals Tribunal today.

"It's an administrative decision, therefore it's a question
of procedural fairness, therefore we will be putting that
claim to the appropriate jurisdiction," he said.

The Federal Aged Care Minister, Bronwyn Bishop, has told
Channel Nine no-one will be moved from the Riverside home
against their will.

"We are working with the other residents, with counsellors,
with nurses and talking with them about the fact this home
did put their lives at risk," she said.  "There really is a
need to move but nobody is going to physically move people
against their will.  We are counselling those people and
looking after them with our staff." (ABC News Online  07-
March-2000)

SIDDONS RAMSET LTD: ITW acquires takeover stake
-----------------------------------------------
As of March 7, 2000, ITW Holdings Proprietary has become
entitled to an additional 5,000 ordinary shares in Siddons
Ramset Limited at a consideration of * see below.

* The entitlement arises because of acceptance of takeover
offers dated 11 January 2000 ("Offers"). The consideration
payable under the Offers is $5.95 for each share in the
Company.  ITW Holdings Proprietary has not ceased to be
entitled to any voting shares in Siddons Ramset Limited.
ITW Holdings Proprietary has a total entitlement of
2,370,273 ordinary shares in Siddons Ramset Limited.
(Australia Stock Exchange  07-March-2000)


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

FIRST PACIFIC CO. LTD.: Profits fall 62%
----------------------------------------
Lower non-recurring gains pulled First Pacific Co Ltd's
1999 full-year net profit down 61.7 per cent from 1998, but
the company said yesterday that operating contribution rose
82.2 per cent, thanks to its broad restructuring.

Controlled by Indonesia's Salim Group, the Hongkong-based
conglomerate's net income for the year totalled US$138.2
million (S$238 million) or 5.34 US cents a share, in line
with the consensus estimate of HK$138.3 million as
published in Barra Global Estimates. The results included
non-recurring pre-tax gains of US$98.5 million.

In 1998, First Pacific earned US$360.5 million or 15.21 US
cents a share, which included US$317 million in exceptional
gains, mostly from asset sales.  After nearly two years of
major restructuring, the new shape of First Pacific is
emerging, revealing a more focused, growth-oriented
company, executive chairman Manuel Pangilinan said.

PT Indofood Sukses Makmur contributed a 1999 profit of
US$31 million following First Pacific's US$650 million
acquisition of a controlling 40 per cent stake in the
instant noodle maker in September 1999.  Contribution from
Thailand-based Berli Juker Public Co Ltd rose 71.4 per cent
to US$15.6 million as turnover increased 14.8 per cent to
US$294.2 million, due to increased sales of glass
containers, paper tissues and snack products.

Philippine flagship Metro Pacific Corp's losses from its
consumer, packaging and transport activities declined 62.2
per cent to US$5.9 million. Turnover fell 21.9 per cent to
US$116.8 million as increased contribution from Negros
Navigation was offset by the sale of other units.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co, which First Pacific
acquired control of last year, contributed US$10.2 million
as gross revenues were largely unchanged despite a decline
in international long distance revenues. (Singapore
Business Times  07-March-2000)

SILVON TEXTILE LTD: Facing winding up petition
----------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Court of First Instance,
has scheduled a hearing for March 29 on the petition of
Nanyang Commercial Bank, Limited for the winding up of
Silvon Textile Limited. A notice of legal appearance must
be filed on or before March 28.


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

PT KASOGI INT'L: To do debt-for-equity swap
-------------------------------------------
PT Kasogi International Tbk, through Bambang Aribowo, Head
of Trading Division and Yose Rizal, Head of Listed
Company Monitoring Division report that the company
planned to execute debt to equity swap and informed
regarding the company's performance and successful of its
debt restructuring, PT Kasogi Internasional Tbk through
letter No.007/KIT/III/2000 dated 1 March 2000 gives the
following information :

1. The news in daily Ekonomi Neraca dated 28 February 2000
is the company's beginning step in preparing Public Limited
Offering II within the framework of implementation of the
company's financial restructuring.

2. The company also informed to Bapepam or JSX, through
Corporate Letter No. 004/KIT/II/2000, dated 24 February
2000, and will be follows up with the meeting between
company, Bapepam and JSX dated 9 March 2000.  (Jakarta
Stock Exchange  06-March-2000)

PT PLN: Reaches temporary agreement with Paiton
-----------------------------------------------
State electricity company PT PLN said on Monday it had
reached a temporary agreement with independent power
producer (IPP) Paiton Energy on their contractual dispute
and expected to find a final solution within 10 months.

PLN president Kuntoro Mangkusubroto said after reaching the
interim agreement, renegotiations on the power purchase
contract between PLN and Paiton would start next month.

"The renegotiations will start next month and are expected
to be completed in 10 months," Kuntoro said during a
hearing with the House of Representatives Commission VIII,
which oversees mines and energy.

He said the negotiations with Paiton were conducted by the
government, not PLN.  Kuntoro said the interim agreement
pertained to the price of power supplies from Paiton to PLN
until they reached a final solution to their dispute.
He also said PLN had reached an interim agreement with
other IPPs that had come on stream.

According to PLN's data, of the 27 IPPs that had signed
power purchase agreements, three have begun operations.
They are the 135-Megawatt (MW) combined cycle power plant
in Sengkang, South Sulawesi; the 165-MW geothermal power
plant in Salak, West Java; and one 615-MW unit of the 1,230
coal-fired Paiton I power plant in Probolinggo, East Java.

Under the contracts, Sengkang charges PLN 6.7 U.S. cents
per kilowatt hour (kWh) for its power supplies for 20
years; Salak charges an average of 6.6 cents per kWh for 30
years; while Paiton charges an average 7.3 cents for 30
years.

Kuntoro said thus far the IPPs and PLN had agreed on two
interim payment schemes until the completion of the
renegotiations.  He said under the first scheme, PLN bought
the IPPs' power supplies at the exchange rate of Rp 2,450
per U.S. dollar, as against the current rate of Rp 7,450
per dollar.

Under the second scheme, PLN buys the power supplies from
the IPPs at the price individually agreed upon by PLN with
each of the IPPs.  Kuntoro, however, refused to specify
which scheme was chosen by Paiton and other IPPs in their
interim agreements with PLN.  He said the right to
disseminate information on the agreements did not lie with
PLN, but the government.

"What is important is that during the 10 months of the
interim agreement period, PLN and the IPPs agreed not to
file any suits against each other until a long-term
agreement was reached, " he said.

PLN was one of the state companies heavily affected by the
economic crisis since it sells power in rupiah and spends
most of its costs, including the cost of the purchase of
power supplies from IPPs, in dollars. The company has been
seeking to renegotiate its contracts with the IPPs,
including a request for the IPPs to lower their power
prices.

After a year of unproductive negotiations with Paiton, PLN
filed a lawsuit in October last year to nullify its
contract with Paiton, causing an international controversy.
To avoid further controversy, President Abdurrahman Wahid
ordered PLN to drop the lawsuit, saying the suit hurt
relations with foreign investors.  The government
subsequently formed a new renegotiation team to deal with
PLN's dispute with the IPPs.

Heading the team is Coordinating Minister for the Economy
Finance and Industry Kwik Kian Gie, with Minister of Mines
and Energy Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, State Minister of
Investment and State Enterprises Development Laksamana
Sukardi and Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab as
members.

Paiton Energy is a joint venture between Japan's Mitsui
Corporation (32.5 percent), General Electric (12.5
percent), Edison Mission Energy of the United States (40
percent) and local company PT Batu Hitam Perkasa (15
percent). (The Jakarta Post  07-March-2000)


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

ARABIAN OIL CO.: Considers 45% payroll cut
------------------------------------------
Arabian Oil Co. (1603) announced on Monday a tough
restructuring program that calls for deep cuts in Japanese
staffing levels before the end of this month.

The step follows the company's failure in late February to
renew its concession in the Saudi Arabian part of the
Khafji oil field.  The cessation of drilling rights will
halve the firm's output and sale of crude in and after
March.

The company will slash its 330-strong Japanese work force
by 45% to 180 through an early retirement program.  The
Tokyo-based oil producer will also try to reduce annual
operating expenses at its headquarters by 60% to 2.1
billion yen from 5.3 billion yen. Directors' salaries will
be cut by 30% and employees' wages by an average of 15%,
effective April 1. The number of departments at the head
office will be trimmed to three from seven.

The company expects to record its third straight net loss
in the current term through December, with sales declining
29% to 128 billion yen and a special loss posted on assets
appropriated by Saudi Arabia.  The firm projects, however,
that the streamlining efforts will enable it to score 1.1
billion yen in net profit in the next term through December
2001.

President Keiichi Konaga said the firm will reduce the
number of Japanese directors to seven from 12 in April.
Commenting on his own situation, Konaga merely said, "I
keenly feel my management responsibility. But now is not
the right time to comment (on retirement)."

The company's stock dipped below its face value of 500 yen
to 445 yen in Monday morning trading, but rebounded in the
afternoon session on news that the firm would announce
restructuring steps. The issue closed the day at 540 yen,
up 23 yen from Friday. (Nikkei  06-March-2000)

DAIEI INC.: Stock under pressure
--------------------------------
Shares of Daiei Inc. (8263) have once again come under
pressure since the mid-January news that the company will
sell part of its stake in the convenience store operator
Lawson Inc. to Mitsubishi Corp. (8058).

With scant prospects for a recovery in its core business,
the supermarket operator announced March 2 that it has
lowered its earnings estimates for the year ended Feb. 29.
One market observer believes that all the bad news about
the company is now out in the open, and that it should
therefore begin to attract attention as a low-priced stock,
but there is little agreement with this sentiment.

Daiei now hopes to meet its goal of cutting 1 trillion yen
of its interest-bearing debt earlier than its initial
target of February 2002. The Daiei group plans to sell 70%
of its stake in Lawson, raising some 700 billion yen, when
Lawson's shares are listed this summer.

Nevertheless, business remains tough, with Daiei's
existing-store sales suffering decline of roughly 4% on the
year. The company has appointed a new vice president and
will more than double spending on store renovations, but
the impact of these measures is difficult to estimate.

The movement of capital among Daiei group companies is
complicated and opaque so that it is "impossible to
determine its real investment value," observes Masashi
Shoda, an analyst at Nomura Securities Co. For now, Daiei
shares will likely meet with resistance on the upside.
(Nikkei  07-March-2000)

MARUSHO & CO.: Kanemori to acquire majority stake
-------------------------------------------------
Wholesaler Kanemori Co. (7571) will acquire a 61.73% stake
in the struggling Marusho & Co. (8105) in an effort to
secure stable product supplies and joint product
development.

After the acquisition, Kanemori Chairman Akihide Yamano is
expected to become an advisor to the midsize kimono
wholesaler, which is in financial trouble.  Marusho is one
of the major suppliers of kimono, jewelry and accessories
to Kanemori.  Marusho posted a pretax loss for the year
ended March 1999, for the eighth consecutive year. (Nikkei  
06-March-2000)

MINAMI SECURITIES: FSA, MOF file for its bankruptcy
---------------------------------------------------
The Financial Supervisory Agency and the Kanto regional
bureau of the Ministry of Finance filed an involuntary
bankruptcy petition with the Tokyo District Court Monday
against Minami Securities, under a special law related to
corporate rehabilitation.

This is reportedly the first time the authorities have
invoked the law to seek a declaration of bankruptcy against
a financial institution.  The small brokerage, based in
Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, had a negative net worth of 360
million yen as of Jan. 31, and the Kanto regional bureau
discovered after an investigation that the company took
insufficient care to segregate customer assets from its
own. Such segregation is mandatory and the brokerage
reportedly falsely claimed it was segregating the assets.

The court made a preliminary ruling to protect the
company's assets, and the MOF's Kanto bureau ordered the
company to halt operations at all branches by March 27.
Minami Securities was discovered to have 400 million yen
less than it should have had in trust and that about 330
million yen had mysteriously disappeared from its own
accounts.

"The brokerage's trust fund was short by several hundred
million yen," said a source at the Japan Investor
Protection Fund.

In December, and then again last month, the FSA ordered the
company to halt bond sales promotion activity and close
some branches. Minami Securities failed to comply, however,
and the FSA charged that management knowingly violated the
Securities and Exchange Law.  The FSA concluded that
preserving the brokerage's assets would become increasingly
difficult the longer it waited to act.

The Japan Investor Protection Fund, tasked with recovering
assets entrusted by investors to securities houses, began
investigating the brokerage's finances Monday.  After
determining during the next two weeks the degree of
insolvency and amount of assets entrusted by the
brokerage's some 7,000 customers, the fund will start to
pay off investor claims. It will be the first time for the
fund to reimburse investors since it was inaugurated in
December 1998. (Nikkei  06-March-2000)

MITSUBISHI MOTOR: Talk of Daimler alliance gets louder
------------------------------------------------------
Speculation intensified on Tuesday that Japan's fourth
largest automaker, debt-ladened Mitsubishi Motors Corp,
would team up with German-US auto giant DaimlerChrysler AG
in an equity alliance focusing on small cars.

"In theory, it's potentially a very good match," said
Howard Smith, auto analyst at ING Barings.

Mitsubishi Motors declined to comment on Japanese newspaper
reports that DaimlerChrysler AG would take a 30 percent
stake, worth about 92 billion yen ($855.1 million), in the
Japanese car maker.  The authoritative business daily Nihon
Keizai Shimbun said the two were in the final stages of
negotiations on a tie-up, and other reports said they aimed
for a basic agreement this month.

The talks were focusing on cooperation in developing
smaller cars that might lead to a comprehensive alliance,
said the Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan's largest circulated daily.

"We can't make any comments on the reports as they are
speculation by reporters," Mitsubishi said.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Corp -- major
shareholders of Mitsubishi Motors -- are not opposed to
teaming up with DaimlerChrysler, the Yomiuri Shimbun said.
Analysts said such a deal would make sense, especially
considering Mitsubishi's 1.7 trillion yen ($15.8 billion)
in interest-bearing debt.

That burden puts the Japanese automaker in a weak position
as it faces huge costs involved in developing new
technology needed to meet emission standards that are
expected to grow more stringent.  Any form of alliance for
Mitsubishi, particularly one leading to an injection of
capital, would provide welcome relief.

"It makes a lot of sense for Mitsubishi, as they have a lot
of debt on their balance sheet and need more capital.
Likewise, DaimlerChrysler needs help with GDI (gasoline
direct injection) engines and with small car platforms,"
said Smith of ING Barings.

The Japanese company has led other automakers in developing
cleaner gasoline direct-injection engines, but lags in fuel
cell technology and developing hybrid engines that combine
gasoline and battery motors.  Mitsubishi has had a long
relationship with Chrysler, making cars and supplying
engines to DaimlerChrysler in a US joint venture.

"However, there are a lot of outstanding issues that will
need to be resolved, such as what Mitsubishi will do with
the cash it receives and what sort of vision they have for
sharing platforms," Smith said.

In late January, local media reported that Mitsubishi was
talking to both Ford Motor Co and DaimlerChrysler about an
environmental technology alliance that could come by the
end of March, including a capital tie-up.  Mitsubishi
declined to comment on that report. A company spokeswoman
said at the time: "We are talking with various other
companies but we can't go into specifics."

Last October, Mitsubishi Motors announced an alliance with
Sweden's AB Volvo in truck and bus operations, but it has
yet to forge a new alliance with another automaker designed
to shore up its passenger car division.  Mitsubishi Motors'
shares were bid-only on the Tokyo Stock Exchange at 413
yen, against its close on Monday of 333.  (China Daily  07-
March-2000)

SOFTBANK: Market capitalization drops $37bn
-------------------------------------------
Japanese Internet pioneer Softbank saw more than $37
billion wiped from its market capitalisation yesterday as
sentiment soured over its planned purchase of the failed
Nippon Credit Bank.

Softbank, founded by Masayoshi Son, has been a standout
performer on the Tokyo Stock Exchange for the past year,
soaring past Sony to become Japan's third-most-valued
company behind NTT DoCoMo and Toyota.

At its mid-February peak, it was valued at $320 billion,
but with Japanese technology stocks in decline for the past
few days, the market has taken a negative view of how
Softbank will integrate a failed bank into its ambitious
plans to build an online financial services powerhouse.

By last Friday, its value was down to $235 billion and
yesterday it slipped again to $198 billion. Nikko Salomon
Smith Barney cut its rating on Softbank from "outperform"
to "neutral" yesterday, citing what it said was a series of
recent value-destroying actions. Among them is the Nippon
Credit deal, viewed by the market as tying an "old economy"
albatross around Softbank's new economy neck.

Since the Japanese Government announced on February 24 that
it had selected Softbank and its partners Orix and Tokio
Marine & Fire Insurance to take over Nippon Credit (which
collapsed in 1998), Softbank's share price has tumbled from
168,000 yen to yesterday's close of Y117,000. However the
stock, which reached a peak of Y182,000 on February 18, is
still up almost 20 per cent for the year and a staggering
1300 per cent from its price a year ago of Y8180.

Japan's other Internet stars of 1999-00, Yasumitsu
Shigeta's Hikari Tsushin and the Okuda family's Trans
Cosmos, have also lost headway. Hikari Tsushin closed
yesterday at Y144,000, well down from its mid-February peak
of Y241,000 and a Y34,000 loss for the day.

But Hikari Tsushin, which swapped equity with Hong Kong-
based Richard Li's Pacific Century CyberWorks last month,
is still up 1000 per cent on its share price of Y13,100 12
months ago, and Shigeta remains convinced that Japan's love
affair with mobile Internet access is the business story
for 2000.

Trans Cosmos, Japan's third-largest Internet stock by
market capitalisation, has eased from a February 22 high of
Y56,000 to Y40,800 yesterday. But, like Softbank and Hikari
Tsushin, it has enjoyed a fantastic price run; a year ago
it was trading at just Y3600.

Trans Cosmos' founding Okuda family has followed the path
laid down by Son and Shigeta, entering into numerous joint
ventures in the US and Asia. Less than two weeks ago, Trans
Cosmos said it had reached agreement with Chinadotcom Corp
to form a joint venture that would provide consulting
services for companies hoping to do Internet business in
the region

Japan's most volatile high-tech stock has been Toshihiro
Maeta's Mobilephone Telecommunications International, which
opened at Y2 million last October 1 on the over-the-counter
market, hit Y16 million in January and is now at Y5.5
million. Maeta, who worked with Shigeta to set up Hikari
Tsushin before striking out on his own in 1996, likewise
has no doubt that the future is mobile Internet. But for
the moment, the market is taking that proposition under
advice. Or does the high-tech downturn presage something
more fundamental? (The Australian  07-March-2000)


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

DAEWOO MOTOR: Creditors withhold new funds
------------------------------------------
Daewoo Motors is experiencing serious problems it was
reported Sunday as creditors are withholding new funding,
preventing the development of new models.

In addition sales have fallen for four consecutive months.
For the first two months of 2000 creditors provided W23.2
billion for operations US$65 million in letters of credit
(LC) and US$310 million in guarantees for documents against
acceptance (DA), however this is W139 billion less than was
originally agreed upon in Daewoo's workout plan.

The committee in charge of restructuring the bankrupt
company said that if creditors fail to live up to the
agreement it will take legal action. Car sales which
reached 37,807 in October 1999 have fallen consecutively
each month to 24,268 in February this year. Sales personnel
said that this was due to competitors spreading rumors
about poor service and a lack of spare parts. Exports have
also fallen by 13.7% in December and 4.8% in February,
pushing operations down to 40%.

Experienced staff are also deserting the beleaguered
company with 630 leaving in February alone. A spokesman
said that if this continues Daewoo Motors image will suffer
irreparable damage and lower the bidding price of the
company. (Digital Chosun  06-March-2000)

DAEWOO MOTOR: Sale may include commercial vehicle div.
------------------------------------------------------
The auction of Daewoo Motor Co's car divisions may also
include the company's commercial vehicle plants as part of
a package deal, Daewoo Motor president Jung Ju-ho said.

"There were some (companies) which showed interest in the
commercial vehicle units among the five bidders presenting
letters of intent," Jung said.

Daewoo has a truck assembly line in Kunsan, Cholla
province, with an annual production capacity of 12,000
units and a bus factory in Pusan with a 5,000-unit annual
capacity.  Separately, the Daewoo Restructuring Committee
said it plans to shut down about 10 ailing units of Daewoo
Motor's 34 overseas subsidiaries.  It said the winning
bidder for Daewoo Motor will be selected no earlier than
the end of August.  (AFX News Limited  06-March-2000)

DAEWOO MOTOR: To close five overseas sales firms
------------------------------------------------
Daewoo Motor plans to close some of its 30 overseas
marketing companies, excluding them from the upcoming
international auction, said sources at the Daewoo Group
Restructuring Committee yesterday.

"About four to five overseas sales companies with heavy
debt-to-equity ratios will be disposed of before the start
of the international bidding," said a committee official.

Meanwhile, with Ford Motor, Hyundai Motor and three other
bidders set to launch due diligence of Daewoo Motor this
week, employees at Daewoo Motor's commercial-vehicle plant
in Pusan staged a three-hour walkout last Saturday, vowing
to block foreign takeover of their company. (The Korea
Herald  06-March-2000)

HANBO IRON & STEEL: To be sold to Nabors Consortium
---------------------------------------------------
Hanbo Iron & Steel Co Ltd will be sold to U.S.-based Nabors
Consortium for 485 mln usd, the Naeway Economic Daily
newspaper reported.

The creditors of Hanbo Iron and the Nabors Consortium have
submitted a draft of the formal contract to the bankruptcy
court for approval on Friday, the report said.  Asked to
comment on the report, an official with major creditor
Korea First Bank declined to confirm the figure, saying the
formal contract is expected to be signed this week after
obtaining court approval.  (AFX News Limited  06-March-
2000)

KOREA ELECTRIC POWER CORP.: Estimates 14pc rise in its debt
-----------------------------------------------------------
Korea Electric Power Corp (Kepco) said its debt will rise
14 per cent this year, as income at the nation's state-run
power generator may not cover all the expenditure needed
for new plant construction.

Southkorea Korea Electric Power Corp (Kepco) said its debt
will rise 14 per cent this year, as income at the nation's
state-run power generator may not cover all the expenditure
needed for new plant construction.  Kepco said its debt was
expected to reach 28.1 trillion won (about HK$195 billion)
by December, compared with 24.7 trillion won a year
earlier. Kepco's debt has tripled since 1995, prompting
concern that its debt is growing too fast.

"This year, the utility concern may not afford its rising
capital investment costs unless it is allowed to raise
electricity charges," said Kim Ho-cheol, an analyst at
Credit Suisse First Boston in Seoul.

The company, which produces 94 per cent of Korea's
electricity, needs to finance the construction of new power
plants as the country's economy is expected to grow 7.2 per
cent this year, following an estimated 10 per cent
expansion last year. (South China Morning Post  07-March-
2000)

SAMSUNG MOTOR: Renault offer values Samsung Motor at $450M
----------------------------------------------------------
Renault of France on Monday submitted a bid to take over
the operating assets of South Korea's Samsung Motors in
what would be the latest step of its international
expansion.

The French company, which last year acquired 36.8 per cent
of Japan's Nissan Motor, said it had put forward a proposal
to set up a joint company with initial share capital of
$335m, owned 70 per cent by Renault and 30 per cent by
Samsung.  The company would acquire the operating assets of
Samsung Motors for a total of $450m, $50m of which would be
paid in cash. The assets include the Pusan plant, the
Kiheung R&D centre, a domestic dealer network and use of
the Samsung brand name.

Renault intends to operate the plant at full capacity, with
annual volumes of about 200,000 vehicles, "in a few years'
time."

It aims to take a 10-15 per cent share of Asia's second-
largest market with the Samsung brand and so double volumes
of the Renault-Nissan alliance in Asia, excluding Japan.
These stand at 180,000 vehicles.  The new company would
keep on the Samsung Motors workforce and continue
production of the existing Samsung vehicle, derived from a
Nissan. It would gradually introduce a range of Renault-
and Nissan-based vehicles adapted to the Korean market.

Monday's announcement, made after the Paris market closed
with Renault shares up 2.16 per cent at E44, came two
months after the French group confirmed it had started
exclusive negotiations with Samsung. It came during a visit
to Paris by Kim Dae-jung, the South Korean president.

Renault said it considered its bid, submitted to the
Samsung group and Samsung Motors' creditors, represented an
opportunity for its Korean partners to become an effective
part of one of the world's leading automotive groups.
(Financial Times  06-March-2000)


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

BELLE CORP.: Belle loses P3.3 B
-------------------------------
Belle Corp. released its tentative 1999 financial results
yesterday, disclosing a staggering net loss of P3.3 billion
after posting net profits of P104 million in 1998 and P1.2
billion in 1997.

This was the first net loss posted by Belle since the
company re-emerged as an investment holding company in
1989.  In a disclosure to the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC), the company said that Belle's share in
net losses of its unconsolidated subsidiaries totalled P1.1
billion, mainly comprised of Belle's share in losses of APC
(P799 million) and Sinophil (P254 million).

APCs net loss for 1999 of P1.4 was primarily due to
investment write-offs and loss provisions totalling P1.3
billion, as follows: P855 million in losses from
investments in Pilipino Telephone Corp. (Piltel) made in
1997; a P346 million net loss at APC's largest investment,
Philippine Global Communications (Philcom), which was made
in 1996; a P171-million loss provision for an investment in
PICOP Resources Inc. made in 1996; and a P23-million loss
provision for an investment in First Asian Industrial
Equities Inc.

Sinophil incurred a 1999 net loss of P714 million, caused
mainly by: P281 million in goodwill amortizations
attributed to its investments in Legend International
Resorts (HK) Ltd. (LIR) and MagiNet Corp. , both of which
were made in 1997; its 40-percent share of LIR's net loss,
which amounted to approximately P344 million.

A loss provision of P1.1 billion for land development costs
in the Belle Bay Plaza project, which Belle's management
had to put on hold in 1998 due to lack of capital and the
prevailing poor economic environment.  Belle also reported
P715 million in interest expenses, which predominantly
arose from loans incurred in 1997. In addition, the company
was hit with a foreign exchange loss of P79 million related
to about $150 million in dollar-denominated floating rate
notes (FRNs) incurred in 1997.

Belle, when contacted by newsmen, said that this huge loss
was caused by write-offs on various investments during the
tenure of Jaime Gonzalez as chairman of the board and
Roberto V. Ongpin as chairman of the executive committee.
(The Philippine Star  07-March-2000)

COCA-COLA BOTTLERS PHILS.: Strikers cripple plant
-------------------------------------------------
The Royal Plant Workers Union (RPWU), which staged a strike
since Sunday afternoon, claimed to have paralyzed the
operation of Coca-Cola Bottlers Phils. Inc. But the Coca-
cola management believes the strike crippled only about
five percent of the plant's operation.

RPWU president Danielo Academia attributed the success of
their strike to the closure of the Coca-Cola compound along
M.C. Briones Highway, Mandaue city. However, some Coca-Cola
employes who did not join the strike gained entry at the
company's premises at about 10:30 a.m. yesterday after a
heated confrontation broke.

"We will surely close the gate tonight (last night). We are
now consulting our legal officer about what to do with the
ingress and egress rule," Academia said. Coca-Cola liaison
officer Ramon Dumadag Jr. said they are saddened by the
decision of some workers to go on strike.  "On the other
hand, we are also joyful that we were able to normalize the
operation after some hitches for several hours. But, there
is no labor dispute to talk about. They do not have a
notice of strike. We just hope that things provided for by
law will prevail," he said.

But the strikers insist that they filed a notice of strike
with the National Conciliation and Management Board (NCMB)
last year.  RPWU's Nicanor Dichos said they filed their
notice of strike with the NCMB but Director Isidro Cepeda
allegedly recommended that the complaint be brought back to
the company's grievance machinery. At present, there is a
pending case against Cepeda and Arturo Kierrulf at the
Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas for allegedly tampering
with the minutes of the union's meeting last Dec. 7, 1999.

Dumadag confirmed though that Coca-Cola incurred losses
when its production slackened due to the strike. However,
he could not estimate the damage brought about by the
strike. Vice Mayor Amadeo Seno Jr., who heads the City's
tripartite industrial peace council, said they will meet
with representatives of management and labor to discuss the
dispute.

The striking union members are asking the management for
Academia's reinstatement, a negotiation for their
collective bargaining agreement and payment for the alleged
absences incurred by union officers who attended a union
meeting in Iloilo. (Sun Star Cebu  07-March-2000)

PHILIPPINE NAT.BANK: COP looking into PNB ownership
---------------------------------------------------
The Committee on Privatization (COP) is currently reviewing
the present ownership structure of PNB to determine the
extent of Lucio Tan's holdings, Finance Secretary Jose T.
Pardo disclosed Friday.

The COP is an interagency commitee chaired by Pardo which
approves the guidelines and modes of privatization in the
sale of government assets like PNB.  Pardo said the COP
will look into how Tan obtained control of PNB as shown in
an official disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange
(PSE) wherein Tan directly owns only 10 shares of the bank.

Three securities firms - Mandarin Securities Corp., Wealth
Securities Co., Inc. and Luy Securities Co., Inc., - which
assigned their proxies to Tan's relatives holds 19.22
percent stake in PNB.  Based on official documents, Finance
Secretary Edgardo B. Espiritu ensured that government
should remain on top of the bank even without subscribing
to the stock rights offering last September due to
financial constraints.

This was based on the deed of assignment signed by Espiritu
on behalf of the national government on September 9, 1999
with the PNB Retirement, Inc. (PNBRFI) with Juliana
Dimalanta representing PNBRFI as president.  Under the deed
of assignment, the national government agreed to transfer
and assign to PNBRFI its rights to subscribe to the stock
rights offering of the bank, which took place from
September 6 to 17 last year.

Under the rights offering, PNB offered for subscription to
its registered shareholders - including the national
government, which has 62,670,355 common shares as of August
18, 1999 - a total of 68,740,086 new common shares at
P137.80 per share. For every two shares they have,
shareholders were offered one new share.

This represents about 15 percent of PNB ownership
considering the 45.6 percent stake of the national
government in the bank before the rights offering, which
went down to 30 percent after the rights offering.
The additional 15 percent of PNBRFI brings to a total of 19
percent its holding since it already owns about four
percent of the bank.

However, the two parties agreed that the holder or holders
of those shares would have to vote together with the
national government until June 30, 2000 - the deadline set
for the full privatization of PNB.  The deed of agreement,
however, stipulates that "the assignee and/or its assigns
commit to vote together with the assignor until June 30,
2000 on the shares subject to this assignment.

Subsequently, however, PNBRFI had reportedly assigned the
shares obtained from the national government to other
parties, namely Witter Webber and Schwab; Integrion
Investment Inc. and Dreyfuss Mutual Investment Inc., which
owns a total of 10.59 percent of PNB.

It was stressed that this action did not supersede the deed
of assignment inked with the national government, making
the shares still covered by the deed of assignment.
(Manila Bulletin  06-March-2000)

WESTMONT INVEST.CORP.: Woes traced to early payback scheme
----------------------------------------------------------
The liquidity problems that hit investment house Westmont
Investment Corporation (Wincorp) could be traced to a
scheme that apparently backfired, BusinessWorld interviews
from sources yesterday indicated.

A source said Wincorp was selling five-year long-term
commercial papers (LTCPs) to clients with an agreement to
buy the instruments back at the end of 30 days.  The
investment firm, however, later suffered liquidity problems
and has not been able to repurchase the commercial papers
from investors.

Wincorp's financiers number between 1,000 and 1,200, most
of whom are Binondo- and Cebu-based Chinese-Filipinos.
As an investment house, Wincorp is a "non-borrower and non-
lender" and serves only as "facilitator" of funds,
Florencio B. Orendain, who is being tapped as financial
adviser to both creditors and borrowers, said earlier.
Wincorp is 100% owned by listed firm Unioil Resources and
Holdings Co., Inc.

The Bangko Sentral (Central Bank) has said it will look
into possible violations of Wincorp.  It will also check if
Westmont Bank, which was bought by Singaporean bank United
Overseas Bank (UOB) last year, is liable for
misrepresentation when it accepted placements on behalf of
Wincorp.  The management of UOB Philippines (formerly
Westmont Bank) recently stopped taking deposits for Wincorp
when it discovered the practice.

"When we came in, there was no mention of the Wincorp
transaction. This was not highlighted. As far as I know,
the placements were done in the branches...Westmont was
just providing a service to its client," an officer from
UOB Philippines said. The bank has 97 branches.

"Since this was brought to UOB management's attention, we
have temporarily suspended the operation so that proper
documents and agreements between the two parties can be
made," the bank executive earlier said.

The officer said Wincorp still has a deposit account with
the bank.

"The account is still there...(but) there is no money to
withdraw. They have already exhausted their funds in that
deposit account," the bank executive said.

What the investors learned from the Wincorp experience is a
difficult lesson in taking financial risks. Simply put,
higher returns on investments mean riskier ventures.
In the case of LTCPs issued by corporations, yields depend
on the creditworthiness of the issuer.  If the company is
not a "prime borrower" or if its ability to pay is
doubtful, yields on the LTCPs will be higher to compensate
for the risk an investor is taking.

On the other hand, if the company is considered a "prime
borrower," the risk of getting burned is lower, thus,
yields on the LTCPs are lower.  Banks and other financial
institutions have two ways of selling the LTCPs: either
"with recourse" or "without recourse."  If the LCTPs were
sold "without recourse," banks assume no liabilities, one
bank officer said.

"It is an outright sell. The rightful owner is now the
investor," the banker explained.  "The bank merely acts as
custodian. It has no liability. When the issuer pays, it
collects the money and distributes it to the individual
investors," the banker added.

With this type of arrangement, investors with LCTPs issued
by companies in distress or which have defaulted on their
loans cannot legally ask the selling bank to repurchase the
LTCPs.

"But if the investor wanted out, banks can provide a market
for the securities...Banks are normally market makers. They
could make a bid and an offer to sell the same securities
based on market-determined prices. The investor could get a
capital gain or incur losses," the banker said.

Meanwhile, if the LTCPs are sold "with recourse," the
selling bank is committed to buy back the commercial papers
at a future date, the banker said.

"If, for whatever reason, the issuer was not able to pay,
the investor could go to the bank for repayment...The
investor's risk is to the bank. The bank's risk is to the
issuer," the banker added.

LTCPs sold "with recourse" are considered "deposit
substitutes" and are subject to withholding tax.
The bank also needs to set aside reserves for the LTCPs,
similar to what it does for its deposits, the banker said.
Borrowers of the funds pooled by Wincorp have about 7.1
billion Philippine pesos ($0.174 billion at PhP40.854=$1)
in debts.

Most of the 21 borrowers are identified with former Finance
Secretary Edgardo B. Espiritu, who also has a stake in
Wincorp.  Mr. Orendain said the borrowers' assets which
were assigned to Wincorp are worth between PhP15 billion
($0.367 billion) and PhP18 billion ($0.441 billion).
Based on unaudited reports, one of the biggest borrowers is
Luis Juan Virata's Power Merge, which has PhP2.5 billion
($0.061 billion) in debts.

In a statement, Mr.Virata yesterday said the loan of Power
Merge was originally a Hottick Holdings loan. The loan was
granted by Tan Sri Halim Saad, chairman of the Renong Corp.
Mr. Virata stressed he has no personal liability whatsoever
and was acting as an attorney-in-fact. He added the fund
was used for the acquisition of National Steel Corp. in
1996.

"The Coastal Road Corp. has no connection whatsoever with
this loan," he emphasized.

Sources said earlier that Power Merge has the "best cover"
since its debts are secured by 800 hectares of a future
reclamation site.  Sources said National Steel Properties
Corp. assigned 60% of its real estate assets to Wincorp
while Hottick Holdings Corp., which has a PhP1.5-billion
($0.037-billiion) loan, has PhP1 million ($0.024 million)
in daily proceeds from toll fees which could be used for
payment.

Borrowers who are also owners or indirectly related to the
owners of Wincorp include Exequiel Robles' Sta. Lucia
Realty Development Corp., PhP943 million ($23.08 million);
EBE Capital, PhP846 million ($20.7 million); the Cua
family's ACL Development Corp., PhP632 million ($15.47
million); EBE Development, PhP464 million ($11.36 million);
Zipporah Realty, PhP289 million ($7.07 million); Alfonso
Reyno, Jr.'s Golden Era, PhP248 million ($6.07 million);
Manuel Tan's Pearlbank Securities, Inc., PhP274 million
($6.7 million); listed firm Unioil Resources, PhP40 million
($0.979 million); Philippine Racing Club (PRC), PhP5
million ($0.122 million); and Manila Jockey Club (MJC), of
which its extent of borrowing has yet to be determined.
Other borrowers are Straight Line, PhP132 million ($3.23
million); Chevy Chase, PhP56 million ($1.37 million); and
West Mamburao, PhP14 million ($0.345 million).

Sta. Lucia's Mr. Robles, Santiago S. Cua, Jr., who was
formerly a director of the Philippine National Bank (PNB)
and a "good friend" of Mr. Espiritu, and Pearlbank's Mr.
Tan have 25% stake each in Wincorp.  Mr. Reyno and Mr.
Espiritu has 10% each, while the remaining 5% is owned by
Ebecom Inc.

Wincorp became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Unioil
Resources after its owners exchanged their shares in
Wincorp for shares in Unioil Resources, sources said.

Over in Cebu City (Central Visayas), affected Chinese-
Filipino investors -- although a bit worried by this
controversy -- are confident they will recover their
investments in Wincorp.  Sources in the Chinese-Filipino
community there clarified that the investors did not pull
out of Wincorp, adding they don't have plans to do so just
yet.

"We are indeed worried. Who would not be? But we are
confident that our investments are sound," a Chinese-
Filipino investor told BusinessWorld.

He confirmed Wincorp asked for a 30-day moratorium on the
principal payments starting late February.  A group of
Wincorp investors in the Chinese-Filipino community met
yesterday to discuss the problem and resolved to wait until
Wednesday before taking any further action.

Sources said the investors believe the problem is "not very
serious" because they continue to receive their interest
payments. The next interest payment is due late this month.
Besides, they said the loans extended by Wincorp are all
secured by real estate mortgages.  Among those who invested
in Wincorp are members of the Cebu Filipino-Chinese Chamber
of Commerce. (Business World  07-March-2000)


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

CLOB INT'L: Effective Cap deal has strings
------------------------------------------
Holders of frozen Malaysian Clob shares saw red yesterday
on learning that they will have to pay upfront the 1.5 per
cent migration fees if they accept Effective Capital Sdn
Bhd's proposal for a staggered release of their shares.

In its latest proposal mailed out to shareholders,
Effective said Clob shareholders should send their bank
draft together with their acceptance forms, before March
31. Effective's 56-page proposal, signed by its director
Mohd Moiz bin JM Ali Moiz, was mailed out to the 172,000
Clob shareholders over the weekend. It detailed the
migration procedures for the 156 securities which have been
frozen since Malaysia imposed capital controls in September
1998. It also listed the Feb 15 prices of the shares upon
which its 1.5 per cent fees will be based.

It is estimated that Effective will rake in some 300
million Malaysian ringgit (S$135 million) in gross fees
through its 1.5 per cent charge. The package sent to Clob
shareholders also included a letter from Singapore's
Central Depository Pte Ltd (CDP) which said the Singapore
Exchange (SGX) would not be liable for any loss or damage
sustained as a result of accepting or rejecting Effective's
proposal.

Not surprisingly, many Clob shareholders greeted all this
with anger. "This is nonsense," said Denis Distant, who
holds "several thousand dollars worth" of Clob securities.

"How can Effective collect the money upfront even before
migrating the shares? What if things go wrong? And how can
SGX say they will not be responsible? Here we are looking
to them to make sure everything goes all right, and they
are saying it is not their responsibility? This is a real
shocker."

Also enclosed was a letter from law firm Allen & Gledhill
(A&G) to CDP which outlined its independent opinion on
Effective's proposal. A&G noted that besides paying the 1.5
per cent fee to Effective and having their shares suspended
for a specified period, the proposal document also limited
Effective's liability to Clob shareholders should the
release of the shares not be completed.

A&G raised the possibility that although the MCD and the
Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) had agreed to the deal,
other governmental agencies could prevent Effective from
carrying out its obligations under the proposal.  

Referring to individual provisions in Effective's proposal,
A&G said: "The effect of these provisions is that if
Effective is prevented by any governmental agencies or acts
from implementing the proposal, Effective's obligations
will be limited to the refund of the fees to the holders of
the Clob securities.

"Such refund will include any interest accrued on the fees
if none of the Clob securities have been migrated in
accordance with the proposal; if some, but not all, of
these Clob securities have been migrated, Effective will
refund the fees for those Clob securities which were not
migrated but will not refund any interest."

It advised Clob shareholders to note that if their shares
were successfully migrated to their CDS (Central Depository
System operated by MCD) accounts but not released according
to Effective's timetable, the terms of the proposal
document did not expressly confer any rights or remedies on
Clob shareholders.

"In particular, the document does not provide for any
refund of the fees paid to Effective."

Clob shareholders have until the end of this month to
accept the Effective offer. Those who do not want to accept
the offer (known as Scheme A) have a second option, called
Scheme B, where CDP and Malaysia's Securities Clearing
Automated Network Services (Scans) have hammered out a deal
to allow investors to trade their shares at the end of 42
months from now for an "administrative" fee of one per cent
based on average prices on the last five trading days of
the 31st month.

Meanwhile, in a separate statement to the press yesterday,
the Securities Investors Association (Singapore) (SIAS)
president David Gerald said that he personally preferred
Scheme B.

"I have always subscribed strongly to the view that the
Clob issue is a matter strictly for the two exchanges to
settle," he said.

But he conceded that given the "mindset and adamant
attitude of the KLSE", Effective's scheme was the best
available for those who could not wait much longer to have
the issue settled.  But he added that many Clob
shareholders felt strongly that stockbrokers should help
defray the 1.5 per cent fee payable to Effective.

"SIAS feels that such an expectation is not unreasonable
and that it is only fair that members of SGX who have made
handsome profits for nine years from the fees collected
from Clob investors should consider this call favourably,"
SIAS said.

Under Effective's staggered release proposal, Clob shares
would be released in batches of 50 units per week over a
period of 56 weeks after an initial set-up period of 13
weeks from the March 31 IRA deadline.  The 13-week set-up
period is for the verification of information and to allow
time for Clob investors to open individual accounts with
the MCD through their chosen ADAs.

Non-share securities (warrants, etc) will be released in
batches of 50 units per week over a period of 16 months
after the initial set-up period of 13 weeks.  The latest
proposal is an amended version of an earlier one sent out
by Effective in late December which received a poor
response and lapsed on Feb 22.

While the 1.5 per cent fee now being charged is a reduction
from the 2 per cent proposed by Effective under its earlier
offer, it is now based on Feb 15 prices -- unlike the
earlier scheme based on prices on Dec 22.  The KLSE Index
on Feb 15 was some 26 per cent higher at 995.52 points
compared to the Dec 22 level of 787.91. The KLCI was at
389.08 points on Sept 15, 1998, when the trading of
Malaysian securities came to an abrupt halt on Clob
International. (Singapore Business Times  07-March-2000)


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

BUMMRUNGRAD HOSPITAL: Faces delisting
NAKORNTHAI STRIP MILL: Faces delisting
ROBINSON DEPT. STORE: Faces delisting
SIKARIN: Faces delisting
SINO-THAI ENG.& CONST.: Faces delisting
SRIVARA REAL ESTATE GROUP: Faces delisting
------------------------------------------
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) amended its delisting
rules and regulations last year so it placed more emphasis
on listed companies that have negative shareholders' equity
and required such firms to rehabilitate their operations so
as to avoid being delisted from the SET

If company's financial statements show a negative level of
shareholders' equity on the balance sheet, then the SET's
delisting rules will be applied.

In considering a company's shareholders' equity, the
Exchange will base some of its assessment on the auditor's
report. That is, if an auditor presents a qualified opinion
that results in a company having negative shareholders'
equity, the company will also face possible delisting.

Under these requirements, it should be noted that any
unrealized losses recorded as an extraordinary item as a
result of the introduction of the managed float exchange
rate system in 1997 can be used to adjust a company's
shareholder equity.

In addition, the Exchange has considered the audited yearly
financial statements as of 31 December 1999 filed by the
listed companies.

Based on the financial statements as of 31 December 1999,
there are 6 listed companies that have shareholders'equity
of less than zero. These companies may face possible
delisting as a result of these rules and regulations. The
names of the companies are as follows:

(1) Nakornthai Strip Mill Public Company Limited.(NSM)
(2) Srivara Real Estate Group Public Company Limited (S-
VARA)
(3) Sikarin Public Company Limited (SIKRIN)
(4) Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction Public Company
Limited (STECON)
(5) Bummrungrad Hospital Public Company Limited (BH)
(6) Robinson Departmentstore Public Company Limited
(ROBINS)

Therefore, the Exchange will proceed as follows under the
requirements of its Rules Governing Delisting of Securities
and other regulations relating to possible delisting :

1. Formally announces to the general publics that 6 listed
companies are facing possible delisting and the Exchange
has posted SP signs to suspend further trading of the 6
listed securities on 6 March 2000.

2. Transfers the 6 securities to a new category for listed
companies so called Companies Under Rehabilitation
(REHABCO) on 9 March 2000 and the Exchange will suspend
these securities for 30 days from the date of announcement
to 4 April 2000. This is to give the companies'
managementtime to make prudent decisions that benefit all
parties concerned.

3. The companies must inform the SET whether they decide to
prepare a rehabilitation plan to propose to the companies'
shareholders, or to ask for voluntary delisting, or to try
other options which will benefit all stakeholders involved
in the companies. The companies must also inform a time
schedule to implement one of the above decisions.  This
report must be submitted to the SET within 4 April 2000.

4. In case of deciding to prepare a rehabilitation plan to
propose to the company's shareholders those companies are
required to proceed
as follows:

4.1 Appoint an independent financial advisor to prepare a
rehabilitation plan to solve the causes of delisting.

4.2 Prepare a rehabilitation plan to solve the causes of
delisting according to Clause 30/4 of the Notification of
the SET regarding the Rules Governing the Delisting of
Securities. The companies must also appoint a financial
advisor to jointly prepare a rehabilitation plan and
propose to their shareholders within 4 months of the date
of notice-received or by 5 July 2000.

4.3 The companies and their advisors must report on the
progress of the companies' operations, comparing the
results of their operations to the rehabilitation plan
every 3 months to the SET, until the causes of delisting
have been eliminated.

5. Allows trading of 5 securities, which are NSM, S-VARA,
SIKRIN, BH and ROBINS under the REHABCO category from 5
April 2000 to 4 May 2000 to give shareholders a chance of
trading the company's securities beforesuspension again
until all the delisting problems have been fully resolved.

However, STECON has been preparing rehabilitation plan
under the Bankruptcy Act., therefore the SET has retained a
SP sign to prohibit securities trading in STECON further
until its creditors and the court approve the
rehabilitation plan and the company discloses detail of
such information completely and clearly to the SET.

6. Posts an SP sign to prohibit further trading of 5
securities, which are NSM,S-VARA, SIKRIN, BH and ROBINS
beginning from 8 May 2000 until the causes of delisting are
eliminated. However the companies may request the SET to
allow securities trading in REHABCO sector in the case that

- debt restructuring completed by more than 50% worth of
total debts and

- the rehabilitation plans have either been approved by
their shareholders or the bankruptcy court.

The SET would like to ask the companies shareholders and
general investors to analyze the complete set on the 6
listed companies' financial statements published in the R-
SIMS system. They should also closely follow up the
proposed rehabilitation plan prepared by the companies and
their financial advisors which will be presented to their
shareholders meetings. (Stock Exchange of Thailand  06-
March-2000)

BANK OF AYUDHYA: BBL plan drags bank stocks dowm
SIAM COMMERCIAL BANK: BBL plan drags bank stocks down
THAI MILITARY BANK: BBL plan drags bank stocks down
-----------------------------------------------------
Bangkok Bank (BBL)'s Bt20-billion recapitalisation plan
yesterday dragged banking shares down across the board,
with its share price plunging 14 per cent amid heavy
selling, traders said.

Offshore investors also went on a selling spree after the
country's largest commercial bank's surprise
recapitalisation announcement, pushing its share price on
the foreign board down 19 per cent.  The bank failed to
soothe market jitters after announcing the plan late on
Friday, with its shares tumbling Bt5.50 and Bt13 to close
at Bt34.25 and Bt53.50 on local and foreign boards,
respectively.

The sharp plunge in BBL's share price forced the banking
index down 6.13 per cent, sparked by renewed concerns that
more banks might seek to raise capital and there might be a
resurgence of non-performing loans (NPLs).

"There are concerns that more Thai banks may follow suit
due to perceptions of deteriorating asset quality," said a
dealer at foreign firm.

Analysts said there were also worries about the quality of
assets held by Thai financial institutions.  Apart from
BBL, Thai Military Bank (TMB), DBS Thai Danu Bank (DTDB)
and Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) were named by banking
analysts as possible candidates for capital increases by
the year-end.

SCB fell Bt1.25 to finish at Bt28.25 and TFB Bt0.75 to
Bt32.25, while Bank of Ayudhya and TMB dipped by Bt0.50 and
Bt0.70 to end at Bt9.30 and Bt8.90, below their Bt10 par
value.  BBL announced on Friday that it would double its
registered capital from Bt20 billion to Bt40 billion in
order to set aside 100-per-cent loan-loss provisioning and
for business expansion.

Adisak Kamnoon, a senior analyst at Phillip Securities
(Thailand) Co Ltd, criticised the heavy selling as an
overreaction that disregarded fundamentals.

"In fact BBL can wait to sell the newly issued shares when
the market rebounds past the important 400-point barrier or
later this year, not now when the market is sluggish," he
said.

BBL's new shares will be sold in a range of Bt20 to Bt24
per unit, based on expectations that its book value for
2000, excluding the capital increase, will stand at Bt24
and the fact that the TFB shares issued recently sold at
Bt20 apiece.  If BBL newly issued shares sold at Bt22, it
would obtain about Bt37 billion from the sale, raising the
bank's capital-adequacy ratio to 14 per cent of risk
assets, far above that of TFB's 9.3 per cent.

"Compared with TFB, whose book value at the end of this
year is expected to be Bt13.20 but whose share price at
this time is about three times higher, BBL's share price
should be Bt66," he said.  " think BBL's share price has
already reached the bottom and it is an opportunity for
investors to buy the shares," he said.

Concerns over a possible capital increase by several banks
is groundless, Adisak said, adding that there were only two
banks, TMB and DBS Thai Danu Bank, that needed fresh
capital.

"Sentiment on the Thai banking sector will deteriorate,"
said Arparporn Sawaengpak, vice president at Nava Vickers
Ballas Securities Co Ltd.  "The market will infer that
Bangkok Bank's decision was prompted by the delayed TPI
[Thai Petrochemical Industry Plc] case. But I think the
bank's move is unavoidable if it wants to compete with
rivals like Thai Farmers Bank," she said.

Arparporn said TFB was rated the strongest among Thai banks
after its successful capital-raising last October.  She
said the TPI case had raised concerns about the efficiency
of Thai bankruptcy laws while BBL's move pointed to the
deteriorating asset quality of Thai financial institutions.
"Some banks have over-assessed their assets, and I think
several other financial institutions will have to raise
capital soon," she said. (The Nation  07-March-2000)

KIATNAKIN FINANCE: On credit alert
----------------------------------
The rating of Kiatnakin Finance Plc (KK) has been placed on
credit alert with "developing" implications, meaning the
rating may be changed, according to the Thai Rating
Information Service Co Ltd (TRIS).

The placement follows KK's announcement that it won the bid
from the Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF) to
buy a 99.99 per cent stake in Ratanatun Finance Plc
(49,999,985 shares) with a bidding value of Bt1.4 billion
on March 3. KK's senior debt is presently rated at BBB.
Furthermore, on Feb 28, KK issued Bt1.4 billion worth of
unsecured deben ures, which were not rated by the TRIS. The
rating service will monitor the development of the
transaction and determine how this affects KK's risk
profile. (The Nation  07-March-2000)

THAI CENTRAL CHEMICAL: To borrow money to re-fi debts
------------------------------------------------------
Thai Central Chemical Plc's board of directors has approved
a plan to borrow Y494.25 million from Japan-based Nissho
Iwai Corporation to refinance the company's debts.
Drawdown date for the one-year term loan will be made
within March 2000. (The Nation  07-March-2000)

THAI PETRO.INDUSTRY: Prachai Tries to Evade Creditors
-----------------------------------------------------
By accusing Bangkok Bank (BBL), leading a consortium of
creditors looking to get paid for lending the bankrupt TPI
group about US$3.5 billion, of trying to takeover the
company instead of focusing on restructuring its debt, TPI
chief Prachai Leopairat is trying to weaken the resolve of
TPI creditors, Krungthep Turakij reported, quoting an
unnamed source at BBL.

The source reaffirmed that the problem stems from TPI's
repeatedly increasing demands for "haircuts" or reduction
in principle on its massive debts from US$900 million to
$400 million, which creditors have refused to accept. The
source also said BBL has never issued letters to creditors,
telling them to cut credit lines to TPI, as charged by
Prachai. (Business Day  06-March-2000)

THAI TEL.& TEL.: Creditors may approach court
---------------------------------------------
An appeal to the bankruptcy court is under consideration by
some of the minor creditors of provincial fixed-line
carrier Thai Telephone & Telecommunication Plc who are
unhappy with the company's recently approved debt-
restructuring plan, which they view as favouring TT&T's
existing shareholders at their expense.

A supplier creditor source said although TT&T garnered
votes from 90 per cent of its creditors for its Bt44
billion debt-restructuring plan last week, at least two
telecom equipment suppliers who voted to reject the plan
are considering filing a court appeal.

Alcatel and Ericsson are among TT&T's minor creditors that
voted to reject the debt-restructuring plan last week. TT&T
owes both companies a total of Bt5 billion.

"Some creditors view the debt-restructuring plan as paving
the way for TT&T's major shareholders led by Jasmine
International Plc to retain ultimate power," the source
said.

However, the source did not rule out the possibility that
the supplier creditors and TT&T would settle their
differences out of court with a minor change in the terms
and conditions of the debt-restructuring agreement. A TT&T
officer said the company would take about five months to
officially complete the debt-clearing deal, including
resolving the dispute with minority creditors.

The TT&T debt revamp includes conversion of Bt6.8 billion
in debt to equity at Bt10 per share, a Bt5 billion
recapitalisation and debt-rollover periods varying between
12 to 14 years according to the type of credit.  It is the
group of unsecured loan creditors, including suppliers to
TT&T, that will have to extend the longest, 14-years' grace
period to TT&T.

After the debt-to-equity conversion, Jasmine, a
subordinated creditor, will end up with a 25 per cent stake
in TT&T, up from its 20 per cent now. The total stake of
TT&T's existing shareholders will increase to 60 per cent
from 46 per cent.  Furthermore, the suppliers are uneasy
about being the last group to be repaid by TT&T, added the
source.

Meanwhile, the banking analyst said the debt plan would not
ease TT&T's financial problems in the least.

"Even after converting debt to equity, TT&T will still have
about Bt37.5 billion in huge debts to take care of. The
terms of the debt plan are unlikely to give TT&T a fresh
start," the analyst said.

Out of the expected Bt7 billion annual earnings from
operations, 43 per cent will be taken off the top to pay
the concession fee to the Telephone Organisation of
Thailand, leaving only Bt4 billion.

"In addition, some of the amount will be used to make Bt3.5
billion in interest payments. As a result, the company has
almost nothing remaining to put back into its business,"
the analyst said.

The analyst said in his opinion TT&T should have won about
Bt2.5 billion in debt reduction from the creditors and
should recapitalise by at least Bt10 billion in order to
finance its operations.

"However, nobody's willing to sacrifice. Recapitalising too
much will dilute current shareholders' control, while
including a hair cut will cause the creditors to suffer,"
the source said.

The source said if a strategic partner wants to control
TT&T, it needs to own a minimum of 50 per cent of the
telecom's outstanding shares by acquiring between 20 to 25
per cent from current shareholders and injecting fresh
funds of more than Bt5 billion.

Jasmine is taking a leading role in the search for a
partner for TT&T. Yesterday Adisai Bhodaramik, chairman of
Jasmine, claimed that Shin Corporations Plc and the Charoen
Pokphand Group each have already submitted a letter of
interest to buy a stake in TT&T.

However, Boonklee Plangsiri, chairman of Shin Corps, denied
his company has sent any letter showing interest in TT&T
since last August.

"I've just discussed about TT&T with one of the investment
banks and need more information on its debt-restructuring
progress before making any decision. As we're a listed
company, we have to be more careful with any information
that's released. Otherwise, we'll be accused of stock
manipulation," Boonklee said.

Shin Corps and Jasmine were both under investigation by the
Stock Exchange of Thailand last year on charges of stock
manipulation during talks on a TT&T deal. But the
commission found no corroborating evidence.  TT&T shares
closed at Bt10.25 yesterday, falling Bt0.25.  (The Nation  
07-March-2000)

WONGPAITOON GROUP: New loans reported to SET
--------------------------------------------
Wongpaitoon Group Plc informed the Stock Exchange of
Thailand (SET) that three of its four major creditors have
already agreed to provide new loans worth US$12 million to
refinance debts owed to Daiwa Finance Corporation.

Those three banks are Siam Commercial Bank, Bank of Ayudhya
and Siam Commercial Bank.  Bangkok Bank, which is also a
major creditor of the company has confirmed that it is now
in the process of proposing its request to the bank's board
for US$3 million in new loans to Wongpaitoon Group Plc, in
addition US$12 million loans. The approval is expected from
the bank's board soon.

With regard to WFC's debt restructuring plan, which
proceeded under the Bank of Thailand's Corporation Debt
Restructuring Advisory Committee (CDRAC), the company said
it would hold the first meeting to vote on the plan on Mar
14, 2000. (The Nation  07-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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Copyright 2000.  All rights reserved.  ISSN: 1520-9482.

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