/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRAP_Public/000328.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

             Tuesday, March 28, 2000, Vol. 3, No. 61

                                   Headlines


* A U S T R A L I A *

ESMERALDA EXPLORATION: Hungary nearing court move
PAULINE HANSON: Wins minor reprieve over debt
QUEENSLAND METAL CORP.: Ownership structure in flux
REINSURANCE AUSTRALIA CORP.: Given Inspector threat
VOXSON: Deal with Panda is extinct, drops share price


* C H I N A  &  H O N G  K O N G *

COSMOS PERFUMES & COSMETICS LTD: Facing winding up petition
FOCUS POWER LTD: Facing winding up petition
FRONTPAGE ADVERTISING LTD: Facing winding up petition
GRAND PRIX INT'L PROMOTIONS LTD: Facing winding up petition
GUANGDONG GREAT WALL DEVEL.: Facing winding up petition
GUANGDONG INT'L TRUST: Japanese creditors seek priority
HAINAN NANYANG SHIPPING: Has no capital, wider 1999 loss
LS HIGH-TECH HOLDINGS CO.: Reports annual loss to HKSE
SHERON ELECTRONICS LTD: Facing winding up petition
SMART HARBOUR INT'L LTD: Facing winding up petition
SUN KEE INDUSTRIAL LTD: Facing winding up petition


* I N D O N E S I A *

PT ASTRA INT'L: Singapore's CCL wins Astra stake
PT BAKRIE FINANCE CORP.: Creditors given due diligence
PT BUNAS FINANCE INDO.: Agrees to pay 11 percent to creds.
PT INDAH KIAT: Refinances $250M in debt


* J A P A N *

AMADA CO.: Projects 18.6B Yen in group net loss
NISSAN MOTOR CO: Cuts Tokyo Nissan Auto Sales stake
TOTO LTD.: To write off 56.5B Yen in unfunded pensions
TOTO LTD.: Targets 3,000 payroll cut by FY04


* K O R E A *

DAEWOO MOTOR: Creditors hint of intention of foreign sale
DAEWOO SECURITIES CO.: FSS asserts mismanagement
HYUNDAI GROUP: Power struggle takes new twist
SAMSUNG MOTORS: Renault offers $820m to drive Samsung
SEOUL BANK: KorAm Bank plans to take over
SEOUL INVESTMENT TRUST CO.: FSS asserts mismanagement


* M A L A Y S I A *

INTRAKOTA: Debt workout in works
KTM BHD: Debt workout in works
PARK MAY: Debt workout in works
PUTRA-LRT: Debt workout in works
RENONG BHD: Creditors opt for equity-linked deals
RNC CORPORATION BHD: Adopts new operating entity
SISTEM TRANSIT ALIRAN RINGAN: Debt workout in works
UNITED ENGINEERS: Creditors opt for equity-linked deals


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

MABUHAY PHIL.SATELLITE CORP.: Debt rehab program hits snag
NATIONAL POWER CORP.: AIG eyeing sale of PNCC and Napocor
PHILIPPINE AIRLINES: Unit transfer to Lufthansa in 2 months
PILIPINO TEL.CORP.: PLDT, NTT formalize alliance


* S I N G A P O R E *

CLOB INT'L: Effective Capital set to get Clob deal
CLOB INT'L: Brokers asked to accept more Clob papers


* T H A I L A N D *

ADVANCE PAINT & CHEM.: Renegotiating with creditors
iTV: Undecided on Merrill Lynch offer
SEACON SQUARE: Thana Chart countersues Seacon chief
SIAM CHEMICAL: Posts 3rd quarter net loss
THAI AIRWAYS INT'L: Nov. date set for partial privatisation
THAI DURABLE TEXTILE: MOU signing with major lender put off
THAI TEL.AND TEL.:Shin drops partnership bid over debt plan


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

ESMERALDA EXPLORATION: Hungary nearing court move
-------------------------------------------------
The Hungarian Government gave its clearest signal yet on 21
March 2000 that it seeks to get compensation from Esmeralda
Exploration. On 20 March 2000 Hungary gave the power of
attorney to Melbourne law firm Slater and Gordon to attend
the miner's first creditors' meeting in Perth.

The country wants to be regarded as a contingent creditor
before lodging a compensation claim for damages due to
alleged cyanide spills in February 2000 from the Romanian
mine, half owned by Esmeralda.

Hungary's decision on whether to initiate legal proceedings
against Esmeralda is believed to be contingent on
environmental reports, several of which are expected to be
released in the week starting 20 March. (ABIX  22-March-
2000)

PAULINE HANSON: Wins minor reprieve over debt
---------------------------------------------
Pauline Hanson has had a minor reprieve in her efforts to
repay a $500,000 debt to the Queensland Electoral
Commission.

Because One Nation was fraudulently registered, the
commission wants back the $500,000 in public funding it
paid to the party after the last Queensland election.
Electoral Commissioner Des O'Shea says he will take into
consideration Miss Hanson's claim that she passed most of
the money onto candidates.

"We'll act on the advice of our legal representatives, but
if there is an offset in some way to the debt that's now
owing to the crown then we'll certainly look at ways of
facilitating a settlement," he said.

Queensland's Acting Premier Jim Elder is backing Miss
Hanson's claim that MPs elected under the party banner,
should repay some of the money.

"The fact of the matter is I don't know how a few of these
guys sleep at night. It's no good getting the plush and the
cushy job and then not meeting the responsibility. The
money's there and it's got to be paid back," he said.

Meanwhile, David Oldfield, the New South Wales leader of
One Nation, says attempts are being made to raise a loan to
pay Miss Hanson's debt.  "I have been negotiating with
people with regards to a loan, but we have a great deal of
difficulty in the way we would repay that loan. So that
situation is on hold at the moment," he said. (ABC News
Online  25-March-2000)

QUEENSLAND METAL CORP.: Ownership structure in flux
---------------------------------------------------
Queensland Metal Corp shares moved into the spotlight amid
market chatter that the partners in Australian Magnesium
Corp would commit soon to the $1 billion magnesium metal
plant. QMC has 35 per cent, with Normandy holding the
balance.

Talk that an official go-ahead was imminent, together with
an expected rationalisation of the ownership structure of
the project, has given the QMC share price a nudge, hitting
a five-month high of 65c this week.  The official sign-off
on the project is expected to include news that Normandy
will reduce its 65 per cent stake in AMC to possibly as low
as 20 per cent to 25 per cent.

The selldown is expected because Normandy is facing a
serious dilemma with the project, one that has been causing
the company's new friends in the North American investment
community much angst.  And it's all about whether Normandy
is a gold or base metals company, as the magmetal project
has the potential to generate more earnings than the
company's existing gold business.

If this happens, Normandy would be forced to drop out of
the Gold index as it would no longer be viewed as a pure
gold play because the majority of its earnings would be
generated from non-gold activities.  On the one hand,
Normandy's balance sheet could well do with the expected
revenue from the magmetal project.

But, on the other hand, it could force a reweighting of
institutional investors' portfolios out of the stock at a
time when Normandy is trying to expand its presence
overseas.  Names such as Alcoa and Norsk Hydro are being
bandied about as possible takers of the bulk of any
selldown by Normandy in AMC, although it is still early
days yet.

Not to be forgotten is that the project has the backing of
Ford, and Alcoa is already a major supplier of aluminium
into the Ford group. Though, Billiton is also rumoured to
be sniffing around.  Normandy shares are struggling to
recover after falling to a 10-year low of just 85c last
month. The shares are still sitting under $1. (Sydney
Morning Herald  25-March-2000)

REINSURANCE AUSTRALIA CORP.: Given Inspector threat
---------------------------------------------------
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has written
to Reinsurance Australia Corp (ReAC) asking the struggling
company to show cause why it should not appoint an
inspector.

The move signals that the regulator believes ReAC could be
unable to pay its liabilities or has breached the Insurance
Act in some other way.  ReAC said in a statement the effect
of the notices was that APRA could appoint an inspector.

"ReAC Group is preparing its response to these notices," it
said. "In the meantime, the group continues to work in co-
operation with APRA in connection with its transition to a
managed run-off."

ReAC, which is running off its insurance book, meaning it
is not writing new business and has been cancelling
existing contracts where possible, last week confirmed a
full-year loss of $467 million and warned that it was still
exposed to further losses.  The loss reduced the company's
net assets to $53 million.

The notice was issued under section 51(1) of the Insurance
Act, which states APRA may appoint an inspector where a
company is, or is about to become, unable to meet its
liabilities or it has contravened the Act.  ReAC has about
two weeks to show cause why an inspector should not be
appointed.

ReAC shares, which were $2.20 a little over a year ago,
closed unchanged at 11c.  ReAC executives, including chief
executive Mr Nick Steffey, were unavailable for comment.
Wealthy Chinese property developer Wai Hing Kwok emerged
with 19.8 per cent of the company in mid-March, but since
then much of the trading in ReAC shares has been dominated
by small investors speculating on the company's future.

ReAC has lost $515 million over the past two years due to a
series of natural disasters such as hurricanes and hail
storms.  The company was effectively forced to go into run-
off when ratings agency AM Best downgraded its credit
rating. This meant reinsurance brokers would no longer do
business with it. (Sydney Morning Herald  25-March-2000)

VOXSON: Deal with Panda is extinct, drops share price
-----------------------------------------------------
Shares in the Queensland-based mobile phone maker Voxson
plummeted almost 40 per cent yesterday after its $100
million contract in China collapsed.

Voxson has all but walked away from its first overseas
contract, telling the Australian Stock Exchange that its
partner in China, Panda Group, had publicly announced the
deal had soured.  Voxson's company secretary, Mr Murray
King, said Panda Group now denied that the $100 million
contract for the supply of 500,000 Voxson GSM Engines
phones was "properly signed by persons with authority".

Investors reacted badly to the news, sending Voxson shares
to a low of $2.70. This was a fall of 38 per cent from
Thursday's close of $4.40. The shares eventually closed 95
cents weaker at $3.45.

Voxson unveiled its contract with Panda Group last month,
announcing it would supply the 64-year-old Chinese company
with 500,000 of its patented mobile phones.  The deal was
Voxson's first since listing on the ASX in December. It
helped propel Voxson's shares from their offer price of $2
to $5.

Mr King said yesterday that Voxson would have discussions
with its joint-venture partners Multinet Technology and
Panda Group, and that the two companies would most likely
continue to show interest in Voxson's products and
technology.  But Mr King was unimpressed by Panda Group's
claim that the contract was not properly authorised.

"We were working in good faith with the Panda Group, and we
believed all the time that the people we were meeting and
negotiating with had the authority from Panda to sign the
contract," he said.

He said the company would not seek to enforce the contract
or demand compensation from Panda Group. "We don't believe
it would be in the interest of the company or shareholders
to pursue that angle."

The future still looked bright, Mr King said, tagging the
collapsed deal a "short-term blip."  Voxson recently
unveiled a loss of $951,000 for the half-year on revenue of
$2.8 million.  Voxson has engaged the publicly listed
International Contract Manufacturing to make the company's
GSM Engines phones. ICM said in a statement to the ASX
yesterday that Voxson's failed contract with Panda Group
would not affect its prospectus forecasts. Shares in ICM
fell 16 cents to $1.40. (The Age  25-March-2000)


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

COSMOS PERFUMES & COSMETICS LTD: Facing winding up petition
-----------------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Court of First Instance,
has scheduled a hearing for April 19 on the petition of
Central Building (BVI) Limited for the winding up of Cosmos
Perfumes & Cosmetics Limited.  A notice of legal appearance
must be filed on or before April 18.

FOCUS POWER LTD: Facing winding up petition
-------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Court of First Instance,
has scheduled a hearing for April 5 on the petition of
Prospect Interior Contract Limited for the winding up of
Focus Power Limited.  A notice of legal appearance must be
filed on or before April 4.

FRONTPAGE ADVERTISING LTD: Facing winding up petition
-----------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Court of First Instance,
has scheduled a hearing for April 26 on the petition of JTI
(Asia Pacific)Limited formerly known as RJR Nabisco China
Limited for the winding up of Frontpage Advertising
Limited.  A notice of legal appearance must be filed on or
before April 25.

GRAND PRIX INT'L PROMOTIONS LTD: Facing winding up petition
-----------------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Court of First Instance,
has scheduled a hearing for May 10 on the petition of The
Hong Kong and Tourist Association Board Limited for the
winding up of Grand Prix International Promotions Limited.
A notice of legal appearance must be filed on or before May
9.

GUANGDONG GREAT WALL DEVEL.: Facing winding up petition
-------------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Court of First Instance,
has scheduled a hearing for April 19 on the petition of Po
Sang Bank Limited for the winding up of Guangdong Great
Wall Development (HK) Limited. A notice of legal appearance
must be filed on or before April 18.

GUANGDONG INT'L TRUST: Japanese creditors seek priority
-------------------------------------------------------
Foreign Minister Yohei Kono on Thursday [23rd March]
reiterated Tokyo's call for the Chinese government to have
the administrator of the collapsed Guangdong International
Trust and Investment Corp (GITIC) give Japanese and other
foreign creditors priority in repaying the non-bank
institution's huge debts.

Kono, who raised the issue at the House of Councillors
committee on foreign and defence affairs, was referring to
Japanese banks' massive loans to Guangdong provincial
government-affiliated GITIC, which failed early last year.
Kono said he is considering conveying the demand to the
Chinese side "at an appropriate time."

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi sought a resolution to the
issue in a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Zhu
Rongji, held last July in Beijing.  Following the January
1999 collapse of GITIC with 38.78bn yuan in debt, the
Chinese government initially indicated it would give
priority to the repayment of external debt. But Beijing
soon changed the policy, applying the bankruptcy
law, under which domestic and foreign debts are treated
equally.

The decision drew strong criticism from Japanese banks and
other foreign concerns, adversely affecting foreign
investment in the southern Chinese province.  (Kyodo News
Service  23-March-2000)

HAINAN NANYANG SHIPPING: Has no capital, wider 1999 loss
--------------------------------------------------------
Hainan Nanyang Shipping Industrial Co Ltd said it does not
have "a single cent" in working capital and expects to
report a larger net loss in 1999 than in the previous year.

In an announcement, the company noted that its A share
price has recently seen unusual movements amid rumours it
will carry out a corporate restructuring and take part in
important investment projects.  However, the rumours have
absolutely no basis, it said.

It added that its vessels Haijiu and Nanyang No.2 were
auctioned by Haikou Maritime Court on March 22 as part of a
legal settlement of debts owed to the Hainan branch of the
Bank of China.  The Haijiu ship was sold for 2.0 mln yuan,
while the Nanyang No.2 ship was sold for 4.0 mln yuan.

However, the Haijiu was also pledged as collateral on a 4.0
mln yuan loan from the Xiuying sub-branch of the Industrial
and Commercial Bank of China, while the Nanyang No.2 was
used as collateral on a 2.0 mln yuan loan from ICBC's
Yangpu sub-branch.

Nanyang Shipping had acquired the Haijiu in 1990 for 7.1
mln yuan and bought the Nanyang No.2 in 1993 for 10.09 mln
yuan.  In an announcement yesterday, the company said its
vessels Donghai and Yangpu were also auctioned by Haikou
Maritime Court as part of a legal settlement of
debts owed to the Bank of China.   Nanyang Shipping's A
shares last closed at 6.60 yuan.  (AFX News Limited  24-
March-2000)

LS HIGH-TECH HOLDINGS CO.: Reports annual loss to HKSE
------------------------------------------------------
Leading Spirit High-Tech (Holdings) Company Limited has
reported an operating loss of HK$164,423,000 and an after-
tax loss of $154,531,000 for the year ended December 31,
1999.
The company took exceptional items of HK$142,024,000
consisting of the following: Loss on partial disposal of
investment in a subsidiary 70,569,000; Loss on deemed
disposal of investment in a subsidiary upon placement of
shares 13,187,000 and Exchange loss of 58,268,000.

The calculation of basic loss per share for the six months
ended 31 December 1999 is based on the unaudited net loss
attributable to shareholders of HK$154,531,000 (1998:
unaudited net loss of HK$15,318,000 less the convertible
preference share dividend of HK$1,482,000) and the weight
average of 10,191,362,594 (1998: 9,345,566,334) ordinary
shares in issue during the period.

The figures of diluted loss per share for the six months
ended 31
December 1999 and 31 December 1998 are not shown as the
outstanding warrants, the share options granted and the
outstanding convertible preference shares had an anti-
dilutionary effect for both current and last corresponding
periods.  (Hong Kong Stock Exchange  25-March-2000)

SHERON ELECTRONICS LTD: Facing winding up petition
--------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Court of First Instance,
has scheduled a hearing for April 19 on the petition of
Leung Kee Keung Kenneth for the winding up of Sheron
Electronics Limited.  A notice of legal appearance must be
filed on or before April 18.

SMART HARBOUR INT'L LTD: Facing winding up petition
---------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Court of First Instance,
has scheduled a hearing for May 10 on the petition of Siu
Wai Ling for the winding up of Smart Harbour International
Limited.  A notice of legal appearance must be filed on or
before May 9.

SUN KEE INDUSTRIAL LTD: Facing winding up petition
--------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Court of First Instance,
has scheduled a hearing for April 12 on the petition of The
Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited for the
winding up of Sun Kee Industrial Limited.  A notice of
legal appearance must be filed on or before April 11.


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

PT ASTRA INT'L: Singapore's CCL wins Astra stake
------------------------------------------------
An investor consortium led by Singapore's automotive
distributor Cycle & Carriage Ltd. (CCL) finally won on
Friday the bid for the Indonesian Bank Restructuring
Agency's (IBRA) 39.5 percent stake (1.02 billion shares) in
publicly listed PT Astra International.

The winning consortium will buy all of IBRA's 1.02 billion
Astra shares at Rp 3,700 per share, providing the agency
with some US$506 million in cash, based on the Rp 7,460
rate used for the deal.

"This is a landmark transaction for Indonesia. This is also
IBRA's largest transaction (so far)," IBRA chairman Cacuk
Sudarijanto said at a news conference after announcing the
winner.  "The price was the only consideration in picking
the winner," he added.

The CCL consortium includes Batavia Investment Management
Ltd., Lazard Asia Fund, a unit of Lazard Freres, PT Bhakti
Investama and the Government of Singapore Investment Corp.
CCL will be the largest investor with an estimated 23
percent stake in Astra.

The consortium outbid the U.S. Newbridge Capital-led
consortium which included Chase Asia Equity Partners, PT
Nusantara Investment Fund, Batavia Investment Fund and PT
Saratoga Investama Sedaya, a company partly owned by Edwin
Soeryajaya, the son of Astra's founder, William Soeryajaya.

Cacuk declined to mention the price offered by the second
bidder. "They offered a price lower than Rp 3,700."

But a source said that the Newbridge consortium offered Rp
3,600 per share.  Many had earlier expected that Newbridge
would win the bid, particularly as it had offered Rp 3,750
in an attempt last December to buy Astra.  Cacuk
sidestepped a question as to why IBRA could only get Rp
3,700 for the Astra shares, saying, "To IBRA this (Rp
3,700) is already the best price."

Separately, IBRA senior vice chairman Arwin Rasyid said
that for the government the Rp 3,700 price was an "upside
value" considering that the average market value of Astra
in February was about Rp 3,600 per share.  Cacuk stressed
that the completion of the Astra transaction would send a
positive signal to foreign investors that the government
was serious about its asset disposal plans, and that
Indonesia could conduct transactions in a transparent way.

IBRA holds some Rp 600 trillion worth of assets. The agency
is targeted to raise about Rp 17 trillion in the current
budget year ending this month, and almost Rp 19 trillion in
the next April-December 2000 budget year. The proceeds will
be used to aid the state budget.  Separately, CCL managing
director Philip Eng said that the group intended to be a
long-term investor in Astra.

"Cycle & Carriage is committed to serving as a long-term
partner with Astra. We are confident of the prospects for
Astra under its current management."

Eng added that he felt "comfortable" with current Astra
president Theodore P. Rahmat, a nephew of William
Soeryajaya, who lost the company in 1993 in a bid to repay
the obligations of the family's bankrupt bank.  He asserted
that the Soeryajaya family did not participate in the CCL
consortium.

Eng declined to disclose his company's grand vision for
Astra. "This will be developed over time as we develop our
relationship with Astra and its management."

Asked why CCL decided to submit a joint bid with the Lazard
Freres-led consortium, he said, "When two bidders joined
together it definitely improved the chances of success.
That's what we did and that's what we achieved."

CCL and Lazard Freres were shortlisted last month as two
separate bidders.  CCL is a regional grouping with core
businesses in motor vehicle distribution and retail, and
property investment and development.  Since starting in
1951 with a Mercedes Benz franchise, CCL has grown to
handle many franchises in six countries.

Equity analysts generally welcomed the entry of Cycle &
Carriage into Astra.  PT SG Securities Indonesia's head of
research Lin Che Wei said that CCL would create more value
for Astra.

"The joining of Cycle & Carriage can very well be a value
creation for Astra," Che Wei said.

PT Nomura Indonesia's head of research Goei Siauw Hong was
not so enthusiastic about the synergy to be created between
CCL and Astra, pointing out that the former was merely a
car distributor company with its main operation in
Singapore, a small business area.

"In Singapore, you may have control of the market with only
two car outlets. It's not so here in Indonesia. But with
Cycle & Carriage's controlling shareholders in Astra, they
can apply stricter discipline to the management."

Goei was specifically disappointed with the price deal
received by IBRA, pointing out that the Rp 3,700 price
level was below the market price of between Rp 3,700 and Rp
3,800 before the deal was closed.  He said that a
controlling investor should offer a 25 percent premium of
the market value. (The Jakarta Post  25-March-2000)

PT BAKRIE FINANCE CORP.: Creditors given due diligence
------------------------------------------------------
PT Bakrie Finance Corp has presented the results of due
diligence produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers Financial
Advisory Services to its creditors, the company said in a
letter to the Jakarta Stock Exchange.

"None of the creditors rejected the report or the
recommendations conveyed by PwC," Bakrie said.

The creditors are now setting up a steering committee to
consider further joint action, it said.  The meeting was
attended by 24 out of the company's 46 creditors.  (afx
News Limited  24-March-2000)

PT BUNAS FINANCE INDO.: Agrees to pay 11 percent to creds.
----------------------------------------------------------
PT Bunas Finance Indonesia has agreed to repay in cash 11
pct of its principal debt to all creditors, the Jakarta
Stock Exchange reported, citing a letter from the company.

"As a concluding measure in the implementation of the debt
restructuring, the company will pay in cash 11 pct of its
principal to all creditors," Bunas said.  "For obligation
holders, the 11 pct will be deposited with a trustee
for distribution."

Bunas said 73 pct of creditors representing 80 pct of the
company's debt had agreed to its restructuring plan.
"The company will file a proposal for suspension of payment
and out-of-court settlement with the commercial court for
ratification," Bunas said.  (AFX News Limited  24-March-
2000)

PT INDAH KIAT: Refinances $250M in debt
---------------------------------------
PT Indah Kiat said it has rescheduled, or "refinanced", 250
mln usd of a total debt of 400 mln usd falling due in
April, the Jakarta Stock Exchange said, citing a letter
from the company.

"Realisation of the extension facility is expected at the
end of this month and the period of the extension is seen
at one to two years," Indah Kiat said.  "Indah Kiat has no
loans in default or in technical default," it said.  (AFX
News Limited  24-March-2000)


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

AMADA CO.: Projects 18.6B Yen in group net loss
-----------------------------------------------
Amada Co. (6113) announced Thursday that it expects its
consolidated net losses for the fiscal year ending this
month to total 18.6 billion yen, higher than its initial
estimate of 12 billion yen in losses.

Losses have ballooned because the company decided to write
off 6.9 billion yen in unfunded pension and severance
liabilities -- 5.8 billion yen on a parent-only basis and
1.1 billion yen for the consolidated subsidiaries -- ahead
of the introduction next fiscal year of new accounting
rules.

Extraordinary losses are expected to come to 22.3 billion
yen, including 1.1 billion yen in loan loss reserves for
affiliates and 6 billion yen in losses incurred from a
high-yield bond investment that failed.

The firm initially projected 3 billion yen in consolidated
pretax profit, but now it expects to break even, partly due
to early-retirement expenses. In addition, affiliates whose
earnings are consolidated under the equity method -- Amada
Metrecs Co. (6959), Amada Sonoike Co. (6107), and Amada
Wasino Co. (6108) -- are writing off unfunded pension and
severance liabilities.  As a result, non-operating profit
is expected to fall 2.4 billion yen, slashing group pretax
profit to zero. (Nikkei  24-March-2000)

NISSAN MOTOR CO: Cuts Tokyo Nissan Auto Sales stake
---------------------------------------------------
Nissan Motor Co. (7201) has sold a substantial portion of
its stake in Tokyo Nissan Auto Sales Co. (8291) to become
the car dealer's No. 7 shareholder. Nissan had been Tokyo
Nissan's top shareholder since 1982.

Nissan sold 8,995,000 shares of Tokyo Nissan, mainly to
other top shareholders. The sale price has not been
disclosed, but observers estimate it at about 2 billion
yen.  As a result, Nissan's stake has dropped from 25% to
4.6%, and Yasuda Fire & Marine Insurance Co. (8755) has
become Tokyo Nissan's top shareholder.

The automaker said it was planning to sell most of its
equity holdings in 1,394 companies as part of the revival
plan it unveiled last fall. (Nikkei  23-March-2000)

TOTO LTD.: To write off 56.5B Yen in unfunded pensions
------------------------------------------------------
Toto Ltd. (5332), Japan's leading manufacturer of bathroom
equipment, will write off all its 56.5 billion yen in
unfunded retirement benefits in the year ending March 31,
company officials said Thursday.

As a result, the company expects a net loss of 35 billion
yen in fiscal 1999 against earlier predictions of 2 billion
yen in net profit. A switch to deferred tax accounting also
contributed to the red ink.  Toto suffered a net loss of 21
billion yen in fiscal 1998.

The company will continue to pay a 9 yen dividend,
including 4.5 yen in the second half. Sales are expected to
grow slightly. Revenue from bathroom equipment and tiles
based on new optical catalyst technology are growing, but
sales of sanitary earthenware and faucets are likely to
fall 2% due to a fall in prices. Sales of Washlet toilet
equipment will fall 2%.

The early retirement of 800 workers in fiscal 1998 reduced
personnel expenses by 6 billion yen. Although a change in
accounting regarding retirement benefits will increase
operating expenses by 2.2 billion yen, the company still
expects operating profit of 2.3 billion yen against a 1.7
billion yen operating loss the previous year.

In addition to retirement benefit underfunding, the company
will include a 6.2 billion yen allowance for investment
losses at foreign and domestic affiliates and 1.2 billion
yen in corporate restructuring expenses in an extraordinary
loss of 63.6 billion yen.  The retirement benefit
liabilities are calculated using a discount rate of 3.5%.
(Nikkei  23-March-2000)

TOTO LTD.: Targets 3,000 payroll cut by FY04
--------------------------------------------
Toto Ltd. (5332) will reduce its work force by 30%, or
3,000, over five years through March 2005, the company said
in a midterm management plan announced Thursday.

Natural attrition, early retirement and transfers to
affiliates will each account for 1,000 of the job losses.
It will reduce its payroll by 2,000 between fiscal 2000 and
2002, cutting personnel expenses by 20%, with the remaining
job reductions to follow in fiscal 2003-2004.

The streamlining efforts come amid a poor earnings outlook
due to sluggish demand for its mainstay sanitary
earthenware, company officials said.  The plan calls on the
company to stimulate replacement demand for sanitary
earthenware and strengthen such new businesses as ceramic
products.

The company targets consolidated pretax profit of 40
billion yen in fiscal 2004, on estimated group sales of 500
billion yen. For the current fiscal year, it projects group
pretax profit of 1.5 billion yen and sales of 388 billion
yen.  (Nikkei  23-March-2000)


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

DAEWOO MOTOR: Creditors hint of intention of foreign sale
---------------------------------------------------------
The Korean government has hinted its intention to sell
Daewoo Motor Co. to foreigners, snubbing Hyundai Motor's
bid for the No. 2 Korean automaker.

State-run Korea Development Bank, the lead creditor for
Daewoo Motor, said yesterday that a reliable outside study
team concluded that the sale of the carmaker to an overseas
firm was the best solution.

"At the request of the KDB, a group of international
economic scholars, led by Prof. Kim Kwang-doo of Sogang
University, conducted an in-depth study on Daewoo Motor.
They concluded that an overseas sale is a better solution
than independent survival or nationalization," said a bank
spokesman.

The study, noting Daewoo Motor's capitalization balance was
in deficit to the tune of 6 trillion won ($5.4 billion) as
of last June, said it was impossible to expect the company
to turn itself around independently.  The scholars also
warned against nationalizing the Daewoo unit due to a host
of adverse effects, such as managerial inefficiency, heavy
taxpayer burdens, trade conflicts and downgrading in
sovereign credit standing.

As to the qualifications for the buyer, the study made
clear its opposition to the automaker's sale to domestic
companies. "In the event of a domestic takeover of Daewoo
Motor, synergies will be minimal, due to overlapping
models, deepened monopoly and enormous acquisition costs,"
said the study.

Apparently referring to Hyundai Motor's bid, it said that
acquisition of the carmaker would not improve the global
competitiveness of existing Korean carmakers. Hyundai
Motor's reported move to tie up with a foreign firm for a
joint takeover of the Daewoo carmaker, also drew a negative
response from the scholars, who forecast that managerial
normalization would be delayed by domestic-foreign disputes
over management rights and a slow decision-making process.

The study called for a swift overseas sale through a
limited competitive bidding process, saying that the
highest sales price and the smallest costs imposed upon the
national economy are factors to be considered. It
recommended that commitments to technology transfers be
fully reflected in selecting the successful bidder.

The scholars also asked creditors to retain their 30
percent stake in Daewoo Motor for separate sale at a later
date in order to better make up their investment losses.
(The Korea Herald  25-March-2000)

DAEWOO SECURITIES CO.: FSS asserts mismanagement
SEOUL INVESTMENT TRUST CO.: FSS asserts mismanagement
-----------------------------------------------------
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) yesterday accused
top managers of Seoul Investment Trust Co. and Daewoo
Securities Co. of using customer deposits to provide
financial supports to affiliates of the troubled Daewoo
Group.

In addition, the FSS reprimanded 24 executives and
employees of the two companies, which had been money-
spinning financial arms of the distressed conglomerate
until recently.  The watchdog conducted an investigation
into Seoul Investment Trust in December of last year,
discovering that the financial institution provided a total
of 7.59 trillion won in financial support to Daewoo units
from April to September of last year.

Seoul Investment Trust illegally purchased commercial paper
and bonds issued by Daewoo Corp. and 15 other Daewoo units
even though its investment in the affiliated firms had
already exceeded the legal ceiling.  The investment trust
company also lent a total of 89.12 trillion won in loans to
Daewoo affiliates from November 1998 to June 1999 in such a
way that bypasses laws limiting cross-unit financial
transactions, the FSS said.

Daewoo Securities, once the Daewoo Group's cash-cow
financial arm, provided up to 979.6 billion won in
financial support for Daewoo subsidiaries. Between July and
August of last year when the Daewoo Group nearly went bust,
the brokerage house funneled an average 867.7 billion won
per day to its cash-strapped affiliates via Daewoo Capital
Co.

According to the FSS, the securities firm, which is now
independent from the failed conglomerate, still has yet to
recover 974.4 billion won.  Separately, the FSS issued
warnings to Shinhan Bank Vice Chairman Ra Eung-chan,
President Lee In-ho and Senior Executive Vice President Han
Dong-woo for poor credit control.

A total of 21 former and incumbent senior executives of
Shinhan received reprimands for incurring losses of 113.7
billion won by extending loans to weak companies. (The
Korea Herald  25-March-2000)

HYUNDAI GROUP: Power struggle takes new twist
---------------------------------------------
Lee Ik-chi, the controversial chairman of Hyundai
Securities, defied the Hyundai Group's orders to move to
affiliated Korea Industrial Development Co., fueling
speculation about power struggles among group founder Chung
Ju-yung's sons.

Lee, who returned from a week-long trip to China on
Thursday, showed up at the Hyundai Securities chairman's
office in downtown Seoul yesterday morning, saying that he
has not been informed of any order about his reshuffle.

"I have never been told to leave Hyundai Securities. I will
do so if group founder Chung issue such an order," said
Lee. "I'm a professional manager. My reshuffle is supposed
to be announced by the group's Corporate Restructuring
Committee," he said, dismissing last week's reshuffle as a
"provisional measure."

He then said he will soon meet with the group founder.
On March 14, the Hyundai Group said that Lee transferred to
the chairman post of affiliated Korea Industrial
Development, a construction unit, with Hyundai Capital vice
president Roh Jong-ik being promoted to CEO of Hyundai
Securities.

Lee's sudden replacement drew particularly strong
attention, as he belongs to the innermost circles of Chung
Mong-hun, the fifth son of elder Chung and the chairman of
Hyundai Electronics Ind. and Hyundai Engineering &
Construction.

Interestingly, his successor Roh is regarded as a
confidante of Hyundai Motor-Kia Motors Chairman Chung Mong-
koo, the eldest son of the founder. This prompted analysts
to raise the possibility of a family feud surrounding the
control of the highly coveted financial businesses, in the
run-up to the group's split into five independent small
groups, which also include auto, heavy industry,
construction and electronics, by the year 2003.

Meanwhile, in a related development, Chung Mong-hun
returned to Seoul yesterday from his weeks-long overseas
trip. Confronted with reporters at the airport, the grim-
faced Mong-hun refused to comment on the Lee scandal. The
largest 16.7-percent shareholdings in Hyundai Securities
are owned by Hyundai Merchant Marine, in which Mong-hun
holds a 13.4 percent stake. On the other hand, the elder
Chung has not clarified his position on his sons' alleged
dispute. (The Korea Herald  25-March-2000)

SAMSUNG MOTORS: Renault offers $820m to drive Samsung
-----------------------------------------------------
South Korea's bankrupt Samsung Motors welcomed plans by
France's Renault to invest $US500 million ($A820 million)
if it takes over the failed car maker.

Samsung Motors spokesman Seong Kun-je said on 21 March 2000
that the company welcomed the investment plan but what
really mattered was that Renault and Samsung creditors have
not yet reached agreement on the takeover deal.

The comments came after Renault revealed it would invest
$US500 million in Samsung over four years if it was
successful in its bid to acquire a 70% stake. But local
creditors of Samsung said the deal had all but collapsed
over Renault's alleged failure to compromise on the selling
price of the company. (ABIX  23-March-2000)

SEOUL BANK: KorAm Bank plans to take over
-----------------------------------------
KorAm Bank's final plan after drawing in foreign capital
from the U.S. Carlyle Group is to take over the ailing
Seoul Bank.

According to a foreign banking source closely involved with
the deal, KorAm's goal is to acquire Seoul Bank to secure
it survives the second phase financial sector
restructuring.

"KorAm has considered various options to stay away from the
second round banking reform by increasing its asset size.
Yet the planned capital gain of another 500 billion won
($450 million) will not make it a major commercial bank in
terms of asset size," the source told The Korea Times
yesterday.  "After the Carlyle deal, if successful, KorAm
will attempt a hostile merger of Seoul Bank. It is the only
way to ensure KorAm's survival," he said, requesting
anonymity.

In the end, it will be a four way deal among KorAm,
Carlyle, Seoul Bank and Deutsche Bank, assuming the U.S.
investor becomes the majority shareholder of KorAm and
Seoul Bank outsources its management to Deutsche Bank, the
source said.  A senior KorAm official, however, said it was
only one of the possible scenarios.

"It is something that can be considered much later. At the
moment we are only working on the issue of global
depositary receipts worth 500 billion won to a foreign
investor," he said.

Observers point out that KorAm needs to overcome various
challenges before achieving its target.  The key challenge
is the approval of the financial authorities on KorAm's new
stake sales to the U.S. equity investor.  Despite the
confirmation of details by KorAm and Carlyle, the
government's approval is on hold because the U.S.
investor's legitimacy to undertake such a deal in Korea
remains in question.

The Korean regulation stipulates foreign institutions
seeking ownership of bank shares in excess of 10 percent be
either a bank in nature or represented by bank holding
companies.  Carlyle, by nature, can not easily be
considered as a bank or financial holding company. If
permission is guaranteed in the end, the government is
likely to face criticism as it rejected a similar case a
few months ago.

In November last year, when H&Q Asia Fund, based in Hong
Kong, applied for the purchase of the Bank of America
shares in KorAm, the Korean government flatly ruled out the
request, saying the Chinese company was not a bank but
merely a private fund.

Carlyle's intention for KorAm, though it will inject fresh
capital instead of taking over existing shares, is similar
to that of H&Q.  Another issue is Deutsche Bank's planned
management of Seoul Bank.  A government official said
Wednesday evening Seoul Bank would outsource its management
to the German bank, signing a contract within the month.

Once Seoul Bank recovers from the financial hardship,
assisted by the German experts, KorAm's intention of taking
over a bank bigger than itself will not be that simple.
Seoul Bank, a nationalized commercial bank, posted 3.5
trillion won in capital at the end of 1999, whereas that of
KorAm stood only at 1.3 trillion won.

A Seoul Bank official said, "There will never be a case of
KorAm taking over our bank. Instead, after the recovery of
the bank, Seoul Bank will consider buying KorAm."  (Korea
Times  23-March-2000)


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

INTRAKOTA: Debt workout in works
KTM BHD: Debt workout in works
PARK MAY: Debt workout in works
PUTRA-LRT: Debt workout in works
SISTEM TRANSIT ALIRAN RINGAN: Debt workout in works
---------------------------------------------------
Plans to restructure debts amounting to some RM10 billion
belonging to the country's transport sector is still being
worked out by the Corporate Debt Restructuring Committee
(CDRC) and Treasury.

The public transport market in Kuala Lumpur consists of
five main operators, Sistem Transit Aliran Ringan (STAR-
LRT), Putra-LRT, bus operators IntraKota and Park May and
KTM Bhd commuter service. While the amount of debts
involved is rather hefty many of which are still
confidential, Buchanan said, in general the combined debts
of the five operators amount to RM10 billion which includes
commercial loans, government support loans and equity.
He noted that while public transport has benefitted from
huge investments in recent years, two major problems have
emerged.

According to the consultants commissioned by CDRC to study
the restructuring of the city's public transport sector
after the details have been finalised, then only will the
banks and te respective operators commence negotiations.The
debt restructuring will basically involve injecting public
money, said Halcrow Consultants Sdn Bhd regional director
C. Paul Buchanan in his paper "Restructuring the Transport
Sector" at the conference on Corporate Debt Restructuring
in Malaysia: A Mid-Term Assessment.

"All the operators are effectively bankrupt and none can
meet their existing and future debt obligations," he said,
adding that apart from this, operational problems also
exist.

Public transport operators, he said, do not stand a chance
to repay their debts unless there are some massive changes
in government policies or fare structure, infrastructure
and car use. "Even with such changes, the operators would
be able to repay a tiny proportion of the outstanding
liabilities. "With regards to implementation of the
restructuring, he said it will not be straightforward.

"From a legal point of view we have to take four private
sector companies into public ownership," he said adding
that the debts of these companies will then have to be
simultaneously restructured.

Subsequently, franchise agreements will need to be
designed, passing responsibility for operating and
maintaining assets to predetermined standards back to the
private sector.

"In order to enable the private sector to bid to undertake
these functions there would need to be an interim period
during which existing companies were restructured into the
selected market structure," he said. "Published accounts
showing company performance post-restructuring would be
needed to produce realistic bids," he added, saying that
this entire process is expected to take at least three
years.

The Government will then need to market the franchises to
encourage private companies to bid for them. "The more bids
submitted the better the likely outcome for the
Government," he said.  (Business Times (Malaysia)  22-
March-2000)

RENONG BHD: Creditors opt for equity-linked deals
UNITED ENGINEERS: Creditors opt for equity-linked deals
-------------------------------------------------------
With the quick turnaround in the economy and the stock
market, many creditors have opted for equity-linked
instruments that allow them to participate in the upside
potential of restructured companies, Corporate Debt
Restructuring Committee Datuk C. Rajandram said.

In his keynote address at the MEA-RAM Conference on
"Corporate Debt Restructuring in Malaysia: A Mid-Term
Assessment" in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, Rajandram said
besides the conversion of debts into redeemable and
convertible bonds, the other restructuring methods that
have been employed include the rescheduling of debt
repayment, debt write-off, equity injection and capital
reduction.

In a recent study, he said, it was observed that conversion
of loans to bonds accounted for 87.3 per cent of the total
restructured debts of RM13.3 billion.The remaining amount
was accounted for by debt-equity swap (5.0 per cent), debt
rescheduling (2.1 per cent), capital reduction (1.4 per
cent) and conversion into term loans (1.4 per cent), equity
injection (0.8 per cent) and debt write-off (0.5 per cent).

Rajandram pointed out that the predominance of bond issues
is largely due to the restructuring of the Renong Bhd and
United Engineers (Malaysia) Bhd where RM16 billion nominal
value of zero coupon bonds were issued under the
restructuring programme. Excluding Renong and UEM, he said,
the restructuring shows a more balanced mix.

Conversion into bonds dropped to 64.5 per cent of total
debts, while the proportion accounted for by debt-equity
swaps rose to 13.8 per cent. Rescheduled debts rose to 5.8
per cent while equity injection and debt write-off rose to
2.3 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively. He said the
type of bonds issued can be further disaggregated into
redeemable, convertible and reedemable & convertible bonds.
About half of the total value of bonds issued are
convertible, he said.

This, he said, provides bondholders, who are mainly the
existing creditors, with the option to convert the debt
into equity should the companies face difficulties in
redeeming the bonds. From the debtor companies'
perspective, he said the convertibility feature provides
them, with the financial flexibility for undertaking
projects in which the gestation period is longer than the
tenure of the bonds.

Creditors, on the other hand, can participate in the upside
potential of the company when its improved performance is
reflected in higher share prices, he added. (Business Times
(Malaysia)  23-March-2000)

RNC CORPORATION BHD: Adopts new operating entity
------------------------------------------------
RNC Corporation Bhd, a plastic-based manufacturing company,
will now adopt a new entity as a water treatment and
construction and waterworks group following its proposed
corporate and debt restructuring scheme.

The scheme involved its capital reconstruction via a newly
incorporated company, Equity Promenade Sdn Bhd.Upon the
completion of the proposed debt restructuring scheme, RNC
listing status will be transferred to EPSB. Following that,
RNC will be delisted from the Main Board of the Kuala
Lumpur Stock Exchange.

In a statement on behalf of the company, Perwira Affin
Merchant Bank Bhd said EPSB would acquire Southern Water
Corporation Sdn Bhd, a company involved in water
treatment.Other water-related acquisitions connection
include a 49 per cent equity interest and 39.2 million
cumulative preference shares of RM1 each in Equiventures
Sdn Bhd and 30 per cent equity interest in Strategi Tegas
(M) Sdn Bhd.

Southern Water Corporation was awarded a concession
contract by Syarikat Air Johor Sdn Bhd in May 1994 to take
over, operate and maintain 14 water treatment plants in
Muar, Batu Pahat, Segamat and  Kluang in Johor for a 20-
year period from July 1, 1994 to June 30, 2014.

In June 1992, ESB was awarded a concession for the supply
of potable water for the Johor Baru district on a build,
operate and transfer basis. The concession is for a period
of 10 years.It includes a total capital investment of RM750
million over three stages of construction work for the new
water facilities. STSB is the concession operator for ESB
and is principally responsible for the operation,
rehabilitation and management of the water treatment
plants.

Perwira Affin said the proposed scheme among others
included a  reduction of RNC's existing issued and paid-up
capital of RM45.32 million or 45.32 million shares of RM1
each to RM2.27 million comprising 45.32 million shares of
five sen each.It also involved a consolidation of the 45.32
million shares of five sen each into 2.27 million new
shares of RM1 each on the basis of 20 shares of five sen to
one new share of RM1.

It also involved a swap of the resultant 2.27 new shares of
RM1 each in RNC with 2.27 million new shares of RM1 each in
new incorporated company, on a one RNC share for one EPSB
share. The scheme also included a proposed group
reorganisation involving consolidation of the existing
plastic business undertakings, disposal and liquidation of
RNC and its subsidiary companies.

The proposal also involved a settlement of debts not less
than RM326.41 million through the issue of RM25.83 million
nominal value of redeemable convertible secured loan stocks
of RM1 each and RM12.04 nominal value of redeemable
convertible unsecured loan stocks of RM1 each. The approved
scheme also included a proposed rights issue of not less
than 22.66 million new shares of RM1 each in EPSB at par on
the basis of 10-for-one.

This includes the right to receive management fees for a
total purchase consideration of RM271.513 million to be
satisfied by the issue of not less than 223.78 million new
shares in EPSB at par and RM47.73 million nominal value of
RCULS of RM1 each to be credited as fully paid. (The New
Straits Times  24-March-2000)


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

MABUHAY PHIL.SATELLITE CORP.: Debt rehab program hits snag
----------------------------------------------------------
The P6-billion debt restructuring program which Mabuhay
Philippines Satellite Corp. is working out with its
creditor banks again hit a snag as both parties failed to
agree on details of the transactions.

Mabuhay president Gabriel Pimentel said yesterday that the
main source of conflict lies in the interest rates on the
firm's unpaid obligation. He did not provide specific
figures.

"There are still a number of issues being discussed.
Primarily, we cannot agree on the interest rates . . . they
want it higher, we want it lower," he said.

He pointed out that while the banks are willing to enter
into such a restructuring program, their respective boards
of directors have yet to approve Mabuhay's proposal.
Although Pimentel is confident that the discussions will
yield a positive result this year, he admitted that they
could no longer predict when it would happen.

"We hope the creditors would approve our proposal within
the second quarter of this year, but we cannot say for
sure. I do not want to make predictions anymore," he said.

Mabuhay is negotiating with a syndicate of seven local
banks since last year for a restructuring agreement on
other terms of the loan, except for the principal repayment
term which has already been amended.

Under an Omnibus Credit and Security Agreement entered into
by Mabuhay to obtain credit facilities, the banks will
issue standby letters of credit with an aggregate stated
value not exceeding $115 million (P4.5 billion) in favor of
the US Export-Import Bank as security and a term loan to
Mabuhay in the aggregate amount of $65 million (P2.5
billion).

Mabuhay has an existing credit agreement with EximBank
wherein the latter established credit facilities of up to
$107 million (P4 billion) to finance a portion of the costs
of purchasing Agila II satellite.  Mabuhay entered into a
restructuring agreement with EximBank on Jan. 8, 1999 for
an amended payment terms of the loans.

Meanwhile, Pimentel expressed apprehensions that the good
showing of Mabuhay this year might affect the banks'
response to the restructuring terms being proposed by the
company.  According to him, the banks might have a mistaken
notion that Mabuhay could already pay its debts once it
makes profits or at least breaks even.

Manuel Pangilinan, president and chief executive officer of
the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) which
owns 61 percent of Mabuhay, already announced that with the
growing demand for data, there are now companies requiring
satellite services.  Such surge in demand, Pangilinan said,
augurs well for Mabuhay which has now rented out
practically all of its transponder space unlike in the past
when there were hardly any takers. (The Philippine Star
27-March-2000)

NATIONAL POWER CORP.: AIG eyeing sale of PNCC and Napocor
---------------------------------------------------------
American Insurance Group (AIG), which has $3 billion in an
infrastructure fund, has expressed interest to further
increase its exposure in local infrastructure financing
through the privatization of the Philippine National
Construction Corp. (PNCC) and the National Power Corp.

Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel A. Roxas II said an AIG
team led by Cesar Zalamea was exploring for possible
investment opportunities from the sale of the two public
utility firms.

"They are considering the many investment opportunities in
the privatization of PNCC and Napocor," Roxas said.

According to Roxas, the AIG through the AIG Infrastructure
Fund has $200 million investments in various exposure in
infrastructure projects here.  These include the Metro
Manila Skyway. The AIG also owns the Philippine American
Insurance Life.

Several firms have already expressed interest in the PNCC
privatization including the Wellex Group of William
Gatchalian.  PNCC is a government controlled corporation
and the exclusive owner of a franchise undertaking tollways
operations in the country.

The Asset Privatization Trust (APT) is preparing for a debt
to equity conversion scheme to clean-up the books of PNCC
in anticipation for an auction this year.  When the PNCC
account was transferred to the APT for disposition, it has
a transfer debt of P13 billion from various government
financial institutions (GFIs).

The government through the APT has a 52.4 percent in PNCC
from four GFIs: the Philippine Export and Finance Loan
Guarantee Corp. with 18.8 percent; Development Bank of the
Philippines with 13.5 percent; Philippine National Bank
with 12.75 percent; and the National Development Co. with
7.35 percent. (Manila Bulletin  26-March-2000)

PHILIPPINE AIRLINES: Unit transfer to Lufthansa in 2 months
-----------------------------------------------------------
Local flag carrier Philippine Airlines, Inc. (PAL) will
divest its maintenance and engineering operations to
Lufthansa Techniks Philippines within the next two months
to improve operations and hold down costs, the airline's
president Avelino L. Zapanta told BusinessWorld in a
telephone interview yesterday.

Mr. Zapanta said the downsizing of the airline last year
due to the economic crisis and employees' strikes led to
overcapacity and underutilization of the airline's
facilities. Less than 50% of PAL's resources is currently
used for operations, he noted.

"The quick-fix solution to this is for us to divest the
maintenance and engineering operation of Philippine
Airlines. In divesting, we sell the facilities. We are able
immediately to do away with the excess facilities and
excess manpower. The overcapacity and underutilization
aspects of these facilities and manpower are immediately
resolved," he said.

PAL presently has more than enough hangars and manpower for
its planes which were reduced in number to 24 from 54, he
said. He added that the airline's quality level of
maintenance went down after some of its employees
transferred to other companies when PAL temporarily closed
shop last year.

PAL has to invest $200 million if it opts to upgrade and
maintain its facilities and train and hire more people for
maintenance and engineering itself, he said. He noted that
the airline's creditors are not likely to approve the
investment of $200 million for maintenance and engineering
operations.

Mr. Zapanta likewise said PAL aims to get out of
receivership within the next five years. He said that if
the company profits in at least three years and the
price of company shares increases, then PAL "can go into
initial public offering." He said the prices of company
shares usually multiply by up to four times its initial
amount once a company goes into initial public offering.

He also said PAL is likely to break even with its operating
costs at the end of fiscal year 1999-2000 (April 1999 to
March 2000). The company posted profits of P240.4 million
last December and P98.3 million last January. He said the
company is hopeful that March will increase the company's
profits and augment the February earnings, adding that the
company usually earns less in February because the month
has either only 28 or 29 days. The company earns P70
million to P75 million each day, he said. (Business World
23-March-2000)

PILIPINO TEL.CORP.: PLDT, NTT formalize alliance
------------------------------------------------
Telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone
Co. (PLDT) will sign today the formal acquisition of
cellular firm Smart Communications, Inc. and conclusion of
a strategic alliance with subsidiary of Japanese
counterpart Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT), NTT
Communications Corp.

The signing of the deal will proceed despite the fact that
another cellular subsidiary, Pilipino Telephone Corp.
(Piltel), was not able to conclude debt talks with creditor
banks. Piltel's agreement with its lenders for its P34.9-
billion debt was one of the major conditions on the closing
of the deal. NTT was said to be particularly sensitive on
the financial condition of Piltel.

PLDT president and chief executive officer Manuel V.
Pangilinan - together with senior officials of NTT and NTT
Communications - will be signing the deal that will close
the plan that has been on telecom giant's drafting table
for more than a year now.

President Estrada will grace the signing ceremony as guest
of honor at the Ceremonial Hall of the Malacanan Palace at
5 p.m. NTT president Junichiro Miyazu is reportedly flying
in to witness the event.

The Smart acquisition and NTT partnership have been
identified as PLDT's foremost strategic initiatives for the
year, alongside its move toward the convergence trend. It
has been approved by the company's board of directors in
September 28 last year, and likewise, its stockholders also
gave thumbs-up on the plan on December 10.

Telecom industry analysts paint a rosy picture for the
telephone giant, having two telecom "biggies" - Smart and
NTT - as part of its management. Aside from $365 million in
fresh capital that will be infused to the company with the
entry of NTT, analysts stress the operational and financial
benefits that will come with the deal. A telecom analyst
said the money coming from NTT will help PLDT finance its
plans, particularly in integrating its operations with that
of Smart and Piltel.

"A chunk of its capex (capital expenditures) budget will go
to the integration of Smart, Piltel and PLDT by the fourth
quarter of the year - thus the infusion will give them the
much-needed funds," the analyst said.

On the technology side, assistant vice-president and deputy
head for research Richard R. Tan of ATR-Kim Eng Securities,
Inc. said NTT can provide the expertise on mobile and
landline services.NTT cellular arm NTT Docomo is likewise
expected to be of help to the PLDT group especially on the
Internet-over-mobile phone. NTT Docomo has one of the
successful moves on providing mobile phones of Internet
access through its I-Mode. service. Smart, for its part,
has started introducing Internet-based mobile phone service
with the wireless application protocol.

"The signing will definitely be a psychological boost to
PLDT's strategic initiatives," Mr. Tan said.PLDT had
acquired all the outstanding shares of Smart after the
First Pacific group agreed to swap its 56.4% interest in
Smart for a larger stake in PLDT. The Hong Kong-based
conglomerate increased its stake to 22.8% from 17.5%.

Also, NTT's 37.2% shareholdings were exchanged for PLDT
shares. NTT further subscribed to more PLDT shares to close
a 15% stake in the company, thus making the Japan telecom
giant its strategic foreign partner. (Business World  24-
March-2000)


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

CLOB INT'L: Effective Capital set to get Clob deal
--------------------------------------------------
The acceptance rate for Effective Capital's offer to
migrate Clob investors' frozen Malaysian securities is
pushing towards the 90 per cent mark.

And brokers in Singapore heaved a sigh of relief yesterday
as the widely-feared last-minute rush by investors to send
in their acceptances did not materialise. Contrary to
earlier expectations that broking houses would be swamped,
the number of clients queuing up to hand in acceptances
yesterday was manageable despite it being the last day for
submission through brokers.

Roger Yeo, senior vice-president at Vickers Ballas, said
his broking house processed about 150 applications
yesterday.

"It was quite calm today, and we've had a steady flow," he
said.  "Based on the $200,000 in transfer fees that Vickers
Ballas and GK Goh Holdings have absorbed, I reckon we have
processed almost 50,000 Clob acceptances to date, which is
almost 100 per cent of all our Clob shareholding clients."

But sources at the PricewaterhouseCoopers facilitation
centres set up on Cross Street had a much more busy day.
Several thousand Clob shareholders who had been turned away
by their broking houses, some of which had set their
deadlines as early as last Sunday, made a beeline there.

Sources at PricewaterhouseCoopers, which has been appointed
by Effective Capital to help with its Clob offer, said the
centres would continue processing Clob acceptances until
Sunday evening, March 26. The CDP will stop accepting
applications for the migration of Clob shares after March
27, a few days ahead of Effective Capital's March 31
closing deadline, so as to give itself time to do the
necessary paperwork.

By yesterday evening, about 142,000 of the total of 172,000
Clob account holders had submitted their documents
accepting Effective Capital's offer to migrate their shares
for trading on the Malaysian exchange. (Business Day  24-
March-2000)

CLOB INT'L: Brokers asked to accept more Clob papers
----------------------------------------------------
Singapore's Central Depository has asked brokers in the
island state to continue accepting investors' applications
to transfer shares in Malaysian companies that were
previously traded on the now-frozen Central Limit Order
Book of Singapore to Malaysian accounts, according to a
partner in the firm that is acting as Malaysia's agent in
the deal.

The US$4 billion in Malaysian CLOB shares were traded over
the counter in Singapore until the Kuala Lumpur government
imposed capital controls on Sept. 1, 1998, and have been a
point of contention ever since. The bulk of the 172,000
investors in the shares are from Singapore, and the two
countries' stock exchanges last month made a deal to
repatriate the stocks and make them accessible again to
their owners. A Malaysian company, Effectively Capital, is
handling the transfer.

The Singapore Depository set a March 27 dealine for share
owners to apply, but many Singapore brokers stopped
accepting applications for the CLOB offer on Wednesday to
give them enough time to process the paperwork, leaving
thousands of CLOB owners without recourse.

But Ho Long Gee, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, which
is Effective Capital's agent in Singapore, said brokers can
continue to accept applications until March 27 because the
depository has cut down on the required paperwork.

As of Wednesday, 144,000 investors, or 84% of the CLOB
investors, had submitted their documents, Mr. Ho said. Of
the applications submitted, 54,300 are still unprocessed,
but they should be done by the March 27 closing date, he
said. Effective Capital's offer closing date, he said.
Effective Capital's offer close March 31, but Singapore's
Central Depository had set an earlier deadline because it
too needed time to process applications.

These figures exclude investors who didn't submit their
forms through local brokers but went directly to
Singapore's Central Depository or to three centers set up
by PricewaterhouseCoopers in Singapore, Johor Bahru and
Kuala Lumpur.

The offer by Effective Capital is one of two options the
Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange and the Singapore Exchange
presented to CLOB investors for the release of their shares
into Malaysia's stock exchange.

Under the effective Capital proposal, the shares will be
released gradually into the Malaysian market over 13 months
after a three-month waiting period. Shareholders will pay
to Effective Capital a fee of 1.5% of what the shares'
value was on Feb. 15.

Under the second option, shares would be withheld from the
Malaysian market for 33 months after the close of Effective
Capital's March 31 deadline. Investors who take this option
will pay a fee of just 1% of the value of their shares to
the Central Depository and its Malaysian counterpart Scans.
(The Asian Wall Street Journal  24-March-2000)


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

ADVANCE PAINT & CHEM.: Renegotiating with creditors
---------------------------------------------------
Advance Paint & Chemical (Thailand) is renegotiating with
its creditors one-by-one after most of them rejected the
company's restructuring plan.

The company reported in a filing to the Stock Exchange of
Thailand that renegotiations were now under way after its
creditors voted against the plan for the second time late
last year. (The Nation  25-March-2000)

iTV: Undecided on Merrill Lynch offer
-------------------------------------
The board of directors of Independent Television (iTV)
yesterday discussed a partnership proposal from US
investment bank Merrill Lynch as part of its restructuring
plan but fell short of making a final decision.

Merrill Lynch's offer is among four known proposals which
are under consideration by Siam Commercial Bank Group, a
major shareholder and creditor of iTV.  Nopporn Pongvej,
president and CEO of iTV, said: "We have not made any
finalisation on the debt restructuring plan. But even if
there is going to be any change to the ownership or
management structure, iTV will continue to be a
newsoriented station."

iTV is operating under severe financial constraint with a
Bt4 billion debt owed to the SCB. As of Dec 1999, it had a
negative net worth of Bt130 million or a book value of
minus Bt2 a share. Moreover, iTV will need to set aside
Bt800 million to settle the concession fee to the
government within May this year.

The other three restructuring proposals came from The
Nation Multimedia Group, publisher of The Nation; station
management who are former staff of SCB, and telecom tycoon
Thaksin Shinawatra.

Nopporn quashed recent news reports that iTV is walking
away from its original charter as a news station. He said
the terms of reference requires iTV to allocate at least 70
per cent of its air time to news programme and presently,
the station's news programme stands at 77 per cent. He
expected the station's debt restructuring plan to be
completed in April this year.

As for a news report that Thepchai Yong, its news director,
is pondering resignation in protest against its news
programme policy, Nopporn said there is no resignation yet
from Thepchai.

"If he is to resign, we'll sit down and talk. But iTV is a
professional organisation and the resignation of any
individual should not have any impact on its operation," he
said.

According to Merrill Lynch's proposal, the firm would
inject Bt1.3 billion into iTV, making it a 45percent
shareholder, followed by SCB 48 per cent and other
shareholders holding a combined seven per cent. iTV's
equity would also be subject to a write down to Bt250
million, or 25 million shares.

Merrill proposed to buy 65 million new shares at US$20 or
Bt760 each, plus an equivalent 65 million warrants at US$4
(Bt152) each.  But the American firm has covered itself in
the investment by proposing that if iTV is not able to list
shares in the Stock Exchange of Thailand by June 4, 2004,
SCB would have to buy back the shares and warrants.
The deal would also be governed by the State of New York
law. (The Nation  25-March-2000)

SEACON SQUARE: Thana Chart countersues Seacon chief
---------------------------------------------------
Thana Chart, the finance firm with banking ambitions, is
countersuing Seacon Square chief Krirkchai Sosothikul,
Matichon Daily reported.

Krirkchai failed to honor debts with Thana Chart, so the
finance firm sold his holdings in Seacon used as
collateral.  Manager Daily earlier reported that the
auctioning of the shares was handled so badly by Thana
Chart that it must have been fraudulent, because Krirkchai
didn't get a fair deal.

This latest twist in the tale sees Thana Chart suing
Krirkchai for wrongful action. The act is that Krirkchai
sued Thana Chart for fraud. (Business Day  24-March-2000)

SIAM CHEMICAL: Posts 3rd quarter net loss
----------------------------------------
Siam Chemical reported a net loss of Bt309.46 million for
last year's third quarter ending Sept 30. This compares
with a loss of Bt41.17 million in the same period of the
previous year.

Its net loss rose to Bt1.22 billion in the first nine
months of 1999, compared with Bt478.44 million in the same
period the previous year. (The Nation  25-March-2000)

THAI AIRWAYS INT'L: Nov. date set for partial privatisation
-----------------------------------------------------------
A Thai Airways executive expects partial privatisation of
the national carrier to be completed by November with a
foreign strategic partner holding a 10 per cent stake.

"We are 80 per cent-90 per cent sure that it should be
completed by October or November. We have set a target to
privatise the stake at the latest by November," said Thai
Airways president Thamnoon Wanglee.

The government owns about 93 per cent of the airline but
this is to be reduced to about 70 per cent in the first
stage of a privatisation programme. Mr Thamnoon said the
sale of an initial stake of 10 per cent to a strategic
partner may be raised later.

Cabinet approved earlier this month a plan for Thai Airways
later this year to sell 400 million shares - 100 million
new shares and 300 million held by the finance ministry -
some to be sold to the public and the rest to a strategic
partner.  The government will reduce its stake in the
carrier to 49 per cent but it has not disclosed when this
plan might be completed.

Singapore Airlines is one of several carriers that have
expressed an interest in taking a stake in Thai Airways.
Others that have shown interest are Air France, Lufthansa,
United Airlines, Delta Airlines, American Airlines, Swiss
Air, British Airways and Qantas Airways.

"The latest to talk to the government were Air France and
Lufthansa," Mr Thamnoon said when asked which airlines had
shown interest. "The sale of shares to the strategic
partner would be done three-to-four months after the public
offering is completed."

He said Thai Airways' financial advisers had proposed a
price for shares to be sold that were lower than his
targeted level.

"They have suggested 55 baht [about HK$11.26] a share which
was the price we had put up according to market conditions
at that time. It may be premature to comment at this time
but we want more than 55 baht a share for the new shares,"
he said. (South China Morning Post  24-March-2000)

THAI DURABLE TEXTILE: MOU signing with major lender put off
-----------------------------------------------------------
Thai Durable Textile said it has put off the signing of a
memorandum of understanding with its major lender, Bangkok
Bank, because it and new investors have spent longer
negotiating with the bank than earlier anticipated.

Earlier, the cash-strapped firm expected to sign the
memorandum in March.  As debt restructuring has been
delayed, the rehabilitation plan, including projections,
business plans and related documents, is set to be finished
by April. It is expected that a Commercial Term Sheet will
be signed by 31st March 2000, So Denduangrudee, Chief
Executive Officer reported to the Stock Exchange of
Thailand.

Once the MOU is signed, it is planned that the
Rehabilitation Plan, including the Projections, Business
Plans and related documents be finished by April 2000 and
that the company will hold a Board Meeting in April 2000 to
approve the restructuring. A formal Definitive
Restructuring Agreement is to be signed with BBL after
that.

The company also will call an Extraordinary Shareholders
Meeting, to be held in May 2000.  (Stock Exchange of
Thailand  24-March-2000,  The Nation  25-March-2000)

THAI TEL.AND TEL.:Shin drops partnership bid over debt plan
-----------------------------------------------------------
Shin Corporations has abandoned its attempt to form a
business alliance with Thai Telephone and Telecommunication
Plc after determining that TT&T's 38-billion-baht debt
restructuring plan would not be effective.

A Shin executive said the company had been interested in a
merger through an equity holding in TT&T, but gave up when
a study showed that the debt restructuring plan would not
benefit TT&T.

"The good part of the plan was the fact that the debt was
rescheduled. The plan did not state clearly how TT&T would
move its business forward and make a profit. It was just a
plan to resolve the problem superficially," said the
executive, noting that it allowed TT&T not to pay debt in
the short term.

TT&T still has a high financial burden, since it has to pay
43.1% of its revenues to the state under its concession to
operate 1.5 million fixed phone lines in the provinces.
"Therefore we decided to give up our plan."

Another source said that a supplier creditor of TT&T,
Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp, wanted Shin to come to
the rescue of TT&T as it had confidence in Shin's
potential, but Thai shareholders in TT&T tried to block the
plan. "This is another reason why Shin gave up its idea to
negotiate with TT&T," the source said.

The source also believed that if certain Thai shareholders
continued to stick to their positions, "it would be
difficult for TT&T to find new funds and partners to carry
on".

Major shareholders of TT&T include Jasmine International
(23.07%), Loxley (12.75%) and Italian Thai Development
(10.63%).  TT&T is now in the process of looking for new
partners and funds of 5-6 billion baht to write off some of
its 38 billion baht in debts as stipulated in the
restructuring plan.

Jasmine International chief executive Songrit Kusomrosanana
dismissed charges that certain Thai shareholders wanted to
block Shin's deal. "In fact we would be delighted to have a
healthy partner. However any deal must be based on the
ultimate benefit to TT&T," he said.

He said TT&T was ready to talk business, as anything that
benefited TT&T would eventually benefit shareholders.
TT&T vice-president Witit Sujjapong said TT&T would
continue to look for new partners and did not believe that
interested parties would pull out because of the
restructuring plan.

Asked to comment on Shin's assessment of the plan, Mr Witit
said that anyone could voice his view, "but for us, all
creditors view the plan as good and TT&T is ready to move
forward as a profitable telecom operator."

Another telecom industry source said that the Charoen
Pokphand Group remained the only group showing keen
interest in negotiating with TT&T. However, CP was waiting
for a clearer direction after the signing of the debt
restructuring plan, he said. (Bangkok Post  24-March-2000)


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