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                             A S I A   P A C I F I C

             Thursday, April 20, 2000, Vol. 3, No. 78

                                      Headlines


* A U S T R A L I A *

AMP: Fails to rebound with bigger banks
BHP: Ok Tedi 'makes little difference' if closed or not


* C H I N A  &  H O N G  K O N G *

JOYCE BOUTIQUE HLDGS.: Loss narrows on retail rebound
SIU FUNG CERAMICS: Rescue plan faces imminent collapse
UDL HOLDINGS: Rescue scheme gets go-ahead


* I N D O N E S I A *

PT ASIANA MULTIKREASI: Report to JSX on restructure
PT INDOCEMENT TUNGGAL PRAKARSA: Aims to roll over debt
PT OMETRACO CORP.: May sue IBRA to block liquidation
PT STEADY SAFE: Threatened with delisting
PT SURYA DUMAI INDUS.: Looks for rehab agreement in May


* J A P A N *

DAIKO DENSHI TSUSHIN: Posts 2.3B Yen net loss
HITACHI TRANSPORT SYSTEM: To wipe out pension gap in FY2000
JAPAN MEDICAL DYNAMIC MKTG: To cut interest-bearing debt
NIPPON EXPRESS CO.: To wipe out pension gap in FY2000
SANKYU INC.: To wipe out pension gap in FY2000
TOKYU CORP.: To take lead in group restructuring
TOSHIBA CORP.: Okamura appointed president to guide changes
YOKOGAWA ELECTRIC CORP.: To post 73B Yen special loss


* K O R E A *

DAEWOO MOTORS: Gov't pushing for early sale
DAEWOO MOTOR: Sale facing more obstacles
SAMSUNG MOTOR: Sale facing more obstacles
SAMSUNG MOTORS: Gov't pushing for early sale


* M A L A Y S I A *

PENGKALEN HEIGHTS: Served a winding up petition
PENGURUSAN DANAHARTA NASIONAL: To restructure NPLs by June
TIMBERMASTER INDUS.: Reverse takeover, restructuring ahead?


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

NATIONAL STEEL CORP.: Gets another debt reprieve
UNIWIDE GROUP: Confident casino entry to boost operations
VICTORIAS MILLING CO.: Gets another debt reprieve


* T H A I L A N D *

KRUNG THAI BANK : Cabinet okays AMC set up for bt537B NPLs
NTS STEEL GROUP: Reports on debt restructuring to SET
SUN TECH GROUP: Summary of the debt restructuring plan
SUPALAI PLC.: To finalise debt plan before picking partner
THAI PETROCHEM.INDUS.: Preliminary vote tossed out
TOTAL ACCESS COMMOS.: In talks to issue baht debentures


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

AMP: Fails to rebound with bigger banks
---------------------------------------
AMP yesterday failed to regain ground on an otherwise
strong day for financial service stocks, closing below $15
for the second day in succession.

While the banking sector index almost matched the 2.3 per
cent rise in the All Ordinaries Index, AMP shares fell by
4c to close at $14.95.  Banks have now outperformed the
rest of the market during the past two weeks as investors
move to quality stocks. Insurance stocks remain hampered by
their exposure to investment markets.

Macquarie Bank's insurance analyst, Mr Tony Jackson, said
AMP's performance reflected its exposure to investment
markets in Australia and the UK.  Reduced investment
returns this year relative to last year would affect
profits: "However, investment earnings are volatile so are
not necessarily a highly valued form of profit," he said.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia was the strongest performer
among the major banks, climbing 97› or 4 per cent to
$25.87. The bank's shares are now trading more than $1
above the level they were at before the announcement of the
Colonial merger in early March.

Support for CBA was driven by expectations that the
proposed $9 billion takeover of Colonial would provide the
merged entity with more scope for a share buyback of around
$1 billion by the end of 2001.

National Australia Bank shares rose by 52c to $23.40 while
Westpac and ANZ both rose. "There's going to be a bit of a
flight to quality," Merrill Lynch banking analyst Mr Craig
Williams said.

Several fund managers began taking overweight positions in
banks a few months ago, expecting a meltdown of "dot coms"
and other new economy stocks.  Rothschild Australia Asset
Management is bullish about the banks' prospects and has
positioned its portfolio more than 7 per cent above its
normal weighting for the sector.

Rothschild equities analyst Mr Andrew Waddington said the
fund manager was overweight on the four major banks but was
not as exposed to the regionals. "We think the banks are
offering good value at the moment and have taken an
aggressive position," he said.

The head of Australian equities at Mercantile Mutual, Mr
Peter Mouatt, said he was also overweight on the sector and
was "enthusiastic" about current valuations.  "I think the
Australian banks have a better chance to protect themselves
against emerging online competitors than counterparts in
other markets," he said.

Merrill Lynch's global securities research group is also
talking up the sector, claiming that it was likely to be a
beneficiary from sector rotation out of new economy stocks.
(Australian Financial News  19-April-2000)

BHP: Ok Tedi 'makes little difference' if closed or not
-------------------------------------------------------
There would be little difference between the environmental
impact of closing the troubled Ok Tedi copper mine
immediately or letting it operate for another 10 years, BHP
subsidiary Ok Tedi Mining said.

The Papua New Guinea mine has long been an environmental
and financial disaster for the Australian mining giant,
which holds a 52 per cent stake in the operation. Its
partners are the PNG Government and Canadian mining group
Inmet.

The mine is pouring millions of tonnes of tailings and
waste material into the Ok Tedi and Fly river systems each
year, with some PNG landowners claiming the environmental
impact has ruined their traditional lifestyle.

BHP has come under increasing pressure over the years to
improve the environmental impact of the operation. The
long-running saga recently took another turn when some
landowners launched fresh legal action against BHP. Law
firm Slater & Gordon, which lodged the writ in the
Victorian Supreme Court last week, says the landowners want
BHP to build a tailings pipeline from the mine to the
lowlands, where the waste will be stored. (Sydney Morning
Herald  19-April-2000)


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

JOYCE BOUTIQUE HLDGS.: Loss narrows on retail rebound
-----------------------------------------------------
Hong Kong's recovering retail sector helped upmarket
fashion chain Joyce Boutique Holdings trim its losses.

Joyce, which is being taken over by Internet investment
company Strategic Capital Group, yesterday reported a
HK$12.45 million net loss for the nine months to December
31.  The company, which has changed its financial year-end
to December 31 from March 31, reported a net loss of
HK$87.85 million for the 12 months to March 31 last year.

It said the business had turned around from a loss of
HK$22.1 million for the first six months of the period
under review to a profit of HK$9.6 million for the last
three months.  Profit margin had increased by 8 per cent,
the company said.

Joyce said the improvement was "a direct result of the
continuing recovery of the retail sector in Hong Kong. High
double-digit increases in turnover were seen for the first
time since the Asian economic crisis," the company said.

Turnover for the nine months was HK$563.87 million, while
loss per share was 1.6 cents.  A turnaround was also seen
in its Taiwan operation, which posted a slight profit of
HK$800,000 for the first time since it started in 1993.
Joyce's cafe and restaurant business had broken even on an
operating basis, the company said.  Net cash borrowing was
about HK$33 million, for a gearing ratio of 16 per cent.

"The outlook for 2000 remains optimistic," the company
said.

Joyce has been in the red since the Asian crisis, with a
loss of HK$207.2 million for the year to March 31, 1998.
Joyce shares continued to slide yesterday despite the
improved results, losing 5.35 per cent, to close at 26.5
cents.  Joyce has plunged nearly 60 per cent since
Strategic Capital Group said early this month it would buy
control for more than HK$200 million. (South China Morning
Post  19-April-2000)

SIU FUNG CERAMICS: Rescue plan faces imminent collapse
------------------------------------------------------
Hopes of saving insolvent Siu-Fung Ceramics are fading,
with a rescue plan likely to be abandoned because of
opposition from a creditor bank, according to chairman
Siegfried Lee Siu-fung.

Proceedings under a wind-up petition filed by the largest
creditor, HSBC, would be re-opened next month, Mr Lee said.
These could result in the company's liquidation.  The
proceedings were adjourned last year after a rescue plan
offered by garment tycoon Charles Yeung Chun-kam emerged.

Speaking after a shareholders' meeting yesterday, Mr Lee
said: "The plan may be called off because one of the
creditor banks - Sanwa Bank [Shenzhen branch] disagrees
with some of its conditions."

The bank had an exposure of about 1.5 per cent of the
company's HK$2.4 billion debts, he said, adding that he did
not expect Sanwa to agree to the plan - nor did he expect
Mr Yeung to alter it to accommodate the bank's requests.
A source close to Mr Yeung said he would not change his
plan because of one creditor's opposition.

"We don't want to give a wrong signal that someone will get
more if he cries out," the source said.

Mr Yeung would abandon his offer if he could not get the
green light from all creditor banks before Easter, he said.
Mr Lee said: "We have tried hard to rescue the company for
three years. Now I feel a bit tired."

If the plan is scrapped, it will be the second time a
proposed rescue has failed. The former Kumagai Gumi (Hong
Kong), withdrew its rescue bid in 1998.  Under the
restructuring plan announced last July, Siu-Fung's debt
would have been waived by the banks in return for a HK$70
million payment and a 3 per cent stake in the company.

At one stage last year, the plan won in-principle agreement
from all 17 creditor banks, including HSBC and Hang Seng
Bank, which have a combined exposure of about HK$1.8
billion.  This was despite the fact it would have seen
almost 97 per cent of Siu-Fung's debts waived.  However,
some banks continued to sell company assets to cut their
losses.

Mr Lee said his holding in the company, pledged as
collateral against part of the loans, had been sold by the
banks.  He said there was one final hope the company might
be sold to a mainland Internet company - with which talks
had been held - in return for its stock exchange listing.
(South China Morning Post  19-April-2000)

UDL HOLDINGS: Rescue scheme gets go-ahead
-----------------------------------------
The companies judge has sanctioned a scheme which will
salvage insolvent UDL Holdings and 25 subsidiaries, despite
strong objections from some creditors.

A scheme of arrangement will allow unsecured creditors to
recover an estimated 11.41 HK cents, plus 0.17 new shares,
per dollar of scheme debt.  UDL became the epitome of a
company caught in a spiral as a result of the Asian
financial crisis.

However, many in the insolvency field believed that it was
not a candidate for a protracted rescue attempt.  Up to
March last year, provisions of HK$23.7 million had already
been made for professional fees to pay for the group's debt
restructuring.

Mrs Justice Doreen Le Pichon's ruling brings to an end
nearly 18 months of court hearings involving the company
and its subsidiaries. The costs have been reserved. The
scheme incurred opposition from various ranks of creditors.
Moreover, it barely met the statutory threshold of 75 per
cent support, with 75.87 per cent voting in favour.

It had been argued by some creditors that when it came to
voting for the scheme, the classes of creditors had not
been properly constituted.  They claimed that a meeting
held to gauge support was unrepresentative, and that
creditors with vested interests sought to take advantage of
others.

"Specifically, the objection was to internal creditors
being allowed to vote in the same class as the other
unsecured creditors," Mrs Justice Le Pichon explained.

However, she threw out their claims.  "I am satisfied that
the statutory provisions have been complied with. Further,
I can discern no reason . . . as would cause the court to
withhold its sanction to the schemes," she said.

Former employees will lose out under the scheme. The
Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund board said it was
not prepared to make payments to ex-workers unless there
was a winding-up order.  Stock exchange approval must be
obtained for the scheme, and it is envisaged this will be
possible by April 30.

The scheme involves capital reduction and share
consolidation.  The unencumbered assets of scheme creditors
will be pooled to form a fund for the payment of "external
claims" of those companies, other than debts covered by
security held by secured creditors. (South China Morning
Post  19-April-2000)


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

PT ASIANA MULTIKREASI: Report to JSX on restructure
---------------------------------------------------
Appointing to Regulation No. IX.K.1, Decree Attachment of
the Chairman of Bapepam No. Kep-86/PM/1996, dated 24
January 1996 regarding Information Disclosure which Should
be Announced to the Public immediately ("Regulation
IX.K.1"), PT Asiana Multikreasi Tbk through letter No.
66/CS-AMK/Bpp/IV-00 dated 14 April 2000 reports that:

1. PT Asiana Multikreasi Tbk ("The Company") with creditor
/assignee from creditor's banks had signed the
Restructuring Agreement which effective on Friday, 14 April
2000;
2. The Agreement are as follow:
a. Informing the write-off the debt of all interest fine
and basic debt fine;
b. Cash payment a half of a debt balance; and
c. The rest of converted debt in the company (Debt-to-
Equity-Swap ) referring to the Regulation of BAPEPAM No.
Kep-44/PM/1998, dated 14 August 1998 with nominal price Rp
500 per share.
3. The Announcement of PT Asiana Multikreasi as mentioned
above will be published on 17 April 2000. (Jakarta Stock
Exchange  19-April-2000)

PT INDOCEMENT TUNGGAL PRAKARSA: Aims to roll over debt
------------------------------------------------------
PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa, a publicly listed cement
firm, says it hopes to roll over its debt of $973.6 million
for eight years. A company spokesman said talks with
creditors were in the final stages.

"We hope agreement can be reached as soon as possible," the
spokesman said without giving details. The company, one of
Indonesia's largest cement makers, is a subsidiary of the
country's biggest conglomerate, the Salim Group. (Asia
Pulse  18-April-2000)

PT OMETRACO CORP.: May sue IBRA to block liquidation
----------------------------------------------------
PT Ometraco Corp may sue the Indonesian Bank Restructuring
Agency (IBRA) for attempting to block the liquidation of
the company, Ometraco lawyer Leonard Simorangkir said.

Ometraco has been declared under liquidation by the South
Jakarta Court but is currently facing bankruptcy litigation
brought by IBRA in the Jakarta Commercial Court. IBRA
lawyers say Ometraco has failed to repay debts and interest
totalling 5.031 mln usd and 4.521 bln rupiah to banks
including PT Bank Exim and PT Bank Dagang Nasional
Indonesia and are seeking to recover those debts.

Simorangkir said that IBRA recently asked the Industry and
Trade Ministry and the National Printing House to halt
Ometraco's liquidation.  The Industry and Trade Ministry
and the printing house, which comes under the Ministry of
Justice, both have administrative roles in the liquidation
process.

"IBRA's letter will disrupt the liquidation process.
Therefore, we will sue IBRA," Simorangkir said.

Benny Harman, IBRA's lawyer in the bankruptcy litigation,
confirmed that IBRA has sent letters to the Industry and
Trade Ministry and the printing house after the agency
discovered that neither had received formal applications to
enable Ometraco's liquidation.  (AFX News Limited  19-
April-2000)

PT STEADY SAFE: Threatened with delisting
-----------------------------------------
Indonesia's public transport company PT Steady Safe said
Tuesday its auditor would probably attach a disclaimer
opinion to its 1999 results, despite a Jakarta Stock
Exchange threat that this could lead to the delisting of
the company.

Steady Safe said the disclaimer stems from uncertainty --
expected to be clarified in July -- over the status of its
debts to the bankrupt investment bank, Hong Kong-based
Peregrine Fixed Income Ltd (PFIL).

"In view that the settlement agreement between Steady Safe
and PFIL cannot be completed at the time of issuance of the
audit report, the opinion of the auditors on the 1999
accounts of Steady Safe is likely to be still a
disclaimer," Steady Safe said in a corporate plan submitted
to the exchange.

It said its official 1999 results are likely to be issued
by end-April. Peregrine was put into liquidation in 1998
and PriceWaterhouseCoopers was appointed provisional
liquidator in July of that year.  The investment bank's
collapse was partly caused by exposure to Steady Safe,
whose debts to Peregrine in 1997 totalled 250 million
dollars.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange threatened to delist Steady Safe
after its auditors repeatedly placed disclaimers on its
financial reports.  In its corporate plan, Steady Safe said
it expects to reach an agreement with Peregrine's
liquidator in July.

"The negotiation with PFIL's liquidator is already in an
advanced stage," Steady Safe said.

If successful, the deal should enable Steady Safe to post
an extraordinary "restructuring gain" of 1.123 trillion
rupiah and book a net profit this year of 795.16 billion
rupiah, the company said.  This would return the company to
a positive equity position and justify the withdrawal of
the disclaimer opinion, it said.

"The disclaimer opinion of the independent auditor is due
to the uncertainty of a favourable resolution of the debt
negotiation with PFIL," Steady Safe said.

The auditor was however willing to give an unqualified
opinion once the settlement was agreed, allowing Steady
Safe to reverse the situation where liabilities exceed
assets, the company said.  Steady Safe said the settlement
involves Steady Safe exchanging assets and equity for the
full release of its outstanding debts to Peregrine.

"The quantity of the assets as well as the equity portion
are now under negotiation," Steady Safe said.

The company said in the corporate plan that its net profit
in 1999 was 495.11 billion rupiah. In February, it reported
net profit for the same period of 522.51 billion rupiah. No
reasons were given for the discrepancy.  Going forward,
Steady Safe said its operating assets will be substantially
reduced after a settlement is reached with the Peregrine
liquidator.  However, it said its future would be brighter
because the balance sheet would be almost debt free.
(Agence France Presse  18-April-2000)

PT SURYA DUMAI INDUS.: Looks for rehab agreement in May
-------------------------------------------------------
PT Surya Dumai Industries (JSX:SUDI) said it hopes to reach
an agreement with its creditors to restructure its debt of
Rp600 billion (US$ 85 million) and US$ 57 million in May.

Citra Gunawan, president of the integrated timber
enterprise, said most of its rupiah debts were in loan from
state-owned Bank Bumi Daya now merged into Bank Mandiri.
Gunawan said Surya Dumai proposed conversion of 30% of its
debt into shares and discount in interest.

He said the company also proposed rescheduling for the rest
of the debts until 2005 with a grace period of two to three
years.  He said most of his company's debt from local
creditors were in investment loans and the debts to foreign
creditors are in floating rate notes.  (Asia Pulse  17-
April-2000)


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

DAIKO DENSHI TSUSHIN: Posts 2.3B Yen net loss
---------------------------------------------
Daiko Denshi Tsushin Ltd. (8023) announced Tuesday that it
posted a net loss of 2.3 billion yen for the fiscal year
ended March 2000, a significant decline from the 115
million yen net profit recorded last fiscal year.

The special sales agent for Fujitsu Ltd. (6702) booked 3.8
billion yen in retirement allowance reserve as
extraordinary loss. Another reason for the decline was 680
million yen in operating loss. In fiscal 1998, the firm
posted 443 million yen in operating profit. The 7 yen
yearly dividend, however, will remain unchanged.

Sales dropped 2% below initial estimates of 52 billion yen
to 48.9 billion yen in fiscal 1999. The decline is
attributed to price cuts in hardware and sluggish sales of
information systems for corporations.

The firm booked 570 million yen in proceeds from equity
sales as nonoperating revenue, but pretax loss stood at 152
million yen. In fiscal 1998, the firm posted pretax profit
of 411 million yen. (Nikkei  19-April-2000)

HITACHI TRANSPORT SYSTEM: To wipe out pension gap in FY2000
NIPPON EXPRESS CO.: To wipe out pension gap in FY2000
SANKYU INC.: To wipe out pension gap in FY2000
-----------------------------------------------------------
Japan's top trucking companies are planning to eliminate
pension shortfalls during fiscal 2000.

Nippon Express Co. (9062) plans to wipe out 128 billion yen
in unfunded obligations by the March 2001 end of this
fiscal year. It will transfer stockholdings with a market
value of 64 billion yen to a trust established for this
purpose, and it plans to write off the remaining amount as
a set-aside to its retirement reserves.

Hitachi Transport System Ltd. (9086) estimates that its
unfunded pension and retirement liability was 4.5 billion
yen as of March 31. The company plans to write off the
entire amount this fiscal year.

Sankyu Inc. (9065) plans to write off 44.1 billion yen, and
as a result it expects to post a net loss of 22 billion
yen. Fukuyama Transporting Co. (9075) will write off 36.5
billion yen.

With labor costs consuming 20-40% of revenue at these
companies, many are taking this opportunity to overhaul
their compensation schemes. (Nikkei  19-April-2000)

JAPAN MEDICAL DYNAMIC MKTG: To cut interest-bearing debt
--------------------------------------------------------
Japan Medical Dynamic Marketing Inc. (7600) expects
interest-bearing liabilities to shrink 3.5 billion yen on
the year to about 7 billion yen in the fiscal term ending
May 2000, marking the first time since fiscal 1987 that
such debt has fallen below sales.

The medical equipment importer will pay off the debt with
the proceeds from its initial public offering in March, as
well as from the sale of a subsidiary this month. Interest-
bearing debt stood at 10.5 billion yen last fiscal year,
exceeding total sales of 9.4 billion yen. Inventory assets
stood at 6.4 billion yen as of the end of May 1999, or 39%
of total assets.

The move will have positive effects only from next fiscal
year because Japan MDM is expected to pay about the same in
interest this fiscal year as it did last year. Interest on
debt booked as nonoperating expenses last fiscal year stood
at 239 million yen, while operating profit totaled 2.38
billion yen. (Nikkei  19-April-2000)

TOKYU CORP.: To take lead in group restructuring
------------------------------------------------
Major railway company Tokyu Corp. (9005) will lead its
group's restructuring efforts through March 2003, company
President Shinobu Shimizu said Tuesday, noting that the
group is in a "critical phase" because many of its 500
companies are performing poorly.

In the past, strategies for the group have been drawn up by
an organization that consists of presidents of listed group
firms. That system is about to change. "We have had group
companies work out operations to some extent, but we could
not obtain substantial results," Shimizu said.

Tokyu will set up an internal division to formulate group
strategy, and it will also introduce new numerical
management standards to improve groupwide financial
standings. The division will be made up of Tokyu directors
and led by its president.

Under the new framework, the group will focus on two core
business sectors. The first sector consists of group
companies in railway, regional development and retail
businesses that will aim to revitalize the regions along
railways Tokyu serves, centering on Tokyo's Shibuya
district. The second sector includes real estate, hotel,
tourism and airline businesses, through which the company
will aim to improve the nationwide recognition of the Tokyu
brand.

The group will also consider divesting itself of other
businesses by selling them or merging them with other
firms. (Nikkei  19-April-2000)

TOSHIBA CORP.: Okamura appointed president to guide changes
-----------------------------------------------------------
Toshiba Corp. named an executive with experience at one of
its most complex business groups to become president as the
electronic-equipment maker tries to restructure amid heavy
losses.

In a surprise move, Senior Vice President Tadashi Okamura,
61 years old, was named to succeed Taizo Nishimuro, 64, who
has held the spot for the past four years. Mr. Nishimuro
will become Toshiba's chairman, a seat that has been vacant
since 1998. The appointments are effective in June.

Toshiba, the world's largest maker of notebook computers,
has said that the fiscal year just ended will mark its
second consecutive year of losses. It expects a group net
loss of 30 billion yen ($286.3 million) on revenue of 5.7
trillion yen in the year ended March31, 2000, compared with
a loss of 14 billion yen in the previous year.

The company embarked last month on a restructuring plan
that will focus investment on high-growth areas, including
the Internet, mobile computers and semiconductors. Toshiba
plans to strengthen weaker areas, such as power system,
through alliances.  Mr. Nishimuro set the restructuring in
motion, but it will be up to Mr. Okamura to deliver on the
changes.

A graduate of Tokyo University and the business school at
the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Mr. Okamura has
spent most of his 38 years at Toshiba out of the limelight.
He has held various marketing positions and was
instrumental in forming alliances with top U.S. computer
companies, including Sun Microsystems Inc. and Oracle Corp.

He currently oversees Toshiba's Information and Industrial
Systems and Services group, one of Toshiba's largest and
most complex in-house companies. Over the past year, he has
been credited with improving the performance of the group,
which includes everything from industrial-automation
systems to broadcasting systems and traffic-control
equipment.

Mr. Okamura's experience at the sprawling group - which
some executives call a "mini-Toshiba" - could prove useful.
The group handles system integration, or the business of
tying together various pieces of equipment and computers
into packages for customers. Toshiba wants its other
business groups to develop that skill.

"The company he runs is complex and political," said a
Toshiba executive, "So, he will be able to control the
difficult transition that has to happen over the next two
years." (The Asian Wall Street Journal  18-April-2000)

YOKOGAWA ELECTRIC CORP.: To post 73B Yen special loss
-----------------------------------------------------
Yokogawa Electric Corp. (6841) estimates it will mark a
combined total of about 73 billion yen in extraordinary
loss in fiscal years 1999 and 2000, company sources said
Tuesday.

The company recorded a loss to cover about 35.7 billion yen
in retirement and severance pay shortfalls in fiscal 1999,
in preparation for the new accounting system to be
introduced in fiscal 2000, which requires disclosure of
such obligations.

In addition, the company marked a loss of about 10 billion
yen in fiscal 1999 to liquidate Yokogawa Digital Computer
Corp., Yokogawa IMT Corp. and Yokogawa System Construction
Co. The company also marked about 1 billion yen in
appraisal loss on stockholdings.  Yokogawa Electric posted
a total of about 56 billion yen in extraordinary loss for
fiscal 1999.

In fiscal 2000, the company plans to post a total of 17
billion yen in extraordinary loss. The company expects to
mark about 10 billion yen in appraisal loss on stocks of
its holding companies in the U.S. and Europe. The company
also expects to set aside about 4 billion yen worth of
reserves to forgive loans to Yokogawa Ibiden Components
Corp. and five other firms.

Yokogawa Electric posted about 31 billion yen in
extraordinary profit in fiscal 1999 and expects to book
about 27 billion yen in extraordinary profit for fiscal
2000.  Even so, the company appears to have posted a net
loss of about 2 billion yen in fiscal 1999, marking a
parent-only net loss for the first time since it went
public in 1949.  (Nikkei  18-April-2000)


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

DAEWOO MOTORS: Gov't pushing for early sale
SAMSUNG MOTORS: Gov't pushing for early sale
--------------------------------------------
The government will prod creditors of Samsung Motors to
speed up negotiations with Renault on the sale of the
ailing carmaker, the Ministry of Finance and Economy said
yesterday. Seoul will also push for an early sale of Daewoo
Motor by making creditor banks inject funds in time to
normalize the troubled company's operations.

The government intends to select one or two bidders for
exclusive negotiations by June, after receiving their
acquisition proposals as soon as due diligence is
concluded. In a meeting of economic ministers presided over
by Finance and Economy Minister Lee Hun-jai, the government
decided to require creditor banks of Samsung Motors to wrap
up negotiations on the terms of the sale by April 21, the
day Renault's right to exclusive negotiations with the
creditors expires.

For Daewoo Motor, the government plans to select priority
bidders by June this year, hold talks for about two months
and name the successful bidder by the end of August,
ministry officials said.  (The Korean Herald  19-April-
2000)

DAEWOO MOTOR: Sale facing more obstacles
SAMSUNG MOTOR: Sale facing more obstacles
-----------------------------------------
Seoul's efforts to sell off two ailing automakers - Daewoo
Motor and Samsung Motors - are running into serious trouble
in the face of bitter disputes among interested parties.

In the aftermath of a local auto unionists' general strike
in protest of a possible foreign takeover of Daewoo Motor
and the elections of a dozen pro-labor lawmakers in last
week's parliamentary polls, the outlook for the Daewoo
bidding is turning increasingly uncertain.

Some 75,000 unionists at Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, Daewoo
Motor and Ssangyong Motor, who returned to work last Friday
after staging a one-week joint strike to show their
resistance to foreign control of Daewoo Motor, threatened
to go on another full-scale walkout on April 27, unless
their demands are met. The labor's concerns about mass
layoffs and plant closures in the wake of a foreign
takeover of Daewoo Motor are gaining support from the
public.

Moreover, the opposition Grand National Party, basically
opposed to selling key industrial infrastructures such as
Daewoo Motor to foreign companies, defeated President Kim
Dae-jung's ruling party to control the parliamentary
plurality, forecasting much turbulence in upcoming bidding
procedures.

Adding to the confusion, the Daewoo Group Corporate
Restructuring Committee, responsible for the sale of the
automaker, said last week that the selection of one or two
concerns for exclusive negotiations, originally slated for
May 23, will be delayed by more than a month "for reasons
of extra documentation."

In a related development, Minister of Finance and Economy
Lee Hun-jai set out additional conditions on the sale of
Daewoo Motor, declaring that the government is strongly
committed to maintaining the current output and manpower
levels at Daewoo's passenger car plant in Pupyong, west of
Seoul, and its parts suppliers, even after the conclusion
of the sale.

Warning against adverse effects from the government's extra
conditions and tough labor actions, however, analysts
raised fears that the international bidding for Daewoo may
be in danger of being canceled.

"Amid a worldwide supply glut, aspiring foreign buyers may
give up their bids for Daewoo if a labor resistance to a
foreign takeover continues," said a creditor bank official.
"In the worst-case scenario, the Daewoo bidding can be
canceled."

Against this backdrop, the rumored alliance between
DaimlerChrysler and Hyundai Motor is drawing keen interest.
According to German weekly Der Spiegel, DaimlerChrysler is
considering two approaches: either its new partner
Mitsubishi, which already holds 5 percent of Hyundai's
capital, could increase its stake, or the German-U.S. group
could directly buy shares in the Korean company.

The possible alliance between DaimlerChrysler and Hyundai
Motor, two of the five bidders for ailing Daewoo Motor, if
materialized, will likely pose a strong challenge to GM and
Ford, bringing about drastic changes in the automaker's
bids.

In recent weeks, Minister of Finance and Economy Lee Hun-
jai, Jeon Yun-churl, chairman of the powerful Fair Trade
Commission, Daewoo Group Corporate Restructuring Committee
Chairman Oh Ho-geun and Daewoo Motor president Chung Ju-ho
have hinted their opposition to Hyundai's takeover of
Daewoo Motor for reasons of monopoly and competitiveness.

Also, creditors indirectly expressed intent to sell Daewoo
Motor Co. to foreigners, with a state-commissioned study
concluding the firm's overseas sell-off as the best
solution. But Hyundai's possible tie-up with the German-
U.S. auto giant may help weaken opposition to a domestic
takeover of Daewoo Motor, analysts forecast.

In the meantime, sale of Samsung Motors to Renault is
expected to be long delayed, amid intensifying loss-sharing
disputes between creditors and the Samsung Group. Creditors
for Samsung Motors, now put under court receivership, and
the Samsung Group have held a series of talks since early
this month to discuss how to settle the automaker's
newfound contingent liability worth about 291.2 billion won
($260 million) owed to Samsung Corp., a Samsung company.

However, the talks fell through, as both sides turned down
the court's mediation calling for payment of about 200
billion won to Samsung Corp., on condition that Renault
would buy 70 percent of Samsung Motors for 600 billion won.
Creditors said that they will not pay more than 97 billion
won in light of the contingent debt's portion in the
automaker's total liabilities, whereas Samsung Corp. is
demanding full redemption.

For its part, the embarrassed court threatened to launch
liquidation procedures for Samsung Motors unless the
creditors and Samsung Group accept its final mediation by
the end of May.

The complicated contingent-debt problem was regarded as the
biggest cause behind the collapse of the third round of
negotiations between creditors and Renault in Seoul on
April 3 and 4. In their two previous talks in Paris, the
two parties had succeeded in ironing out the pricing gap
and other key differences, except the contingent debt
issue. The sale price was reportedly settled at around 600
billion won. Earlier, creditors extended the deadline for
exclusive negotiations with Renault, originally set at
March 31, to April 29.

"Talks on the sale of Samsung Motors to Renault are in
danger of collapsing, due to the escalating creditor-
Samsung Corp. dispute," said an analyst.

The hidden debt load came to light as Samsung Corp., a
flagship of Samsung Group, recently asked the creditor
banks for an immediate repayment of the 291.2 billion won.
In its filing with the court, Samsung Corp. insisted that
Samsung Motors bought Samsung Corp.'s real estate assets
for use in building its after-sales and marketing
facilities in June of 1998, but has since failed to settle
the account, except for the initial contract deposit of 6
billion won. Notably, the liabilities to Samsung Corp. are
classified as top priority "public debt," as the ownership
of the concerned real-estate assets has not been legally
transferred to Samsung Motors.

Economists at home and abroad are warning that a possible
abortion of the sales of Daewoo Motor and Samsung Motors
will have immense negative effects over foreign investments
in other industries.

"In the face of strong resistance from labor circles and
widespread public sentiment against foreign control of
Daewoo, it is questionable that the government and
creditors will implement the sale in a fair and transparent
manner," said a Federation of Korean Industries official.
(The Korea Herald  19-April-2000)


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

PENGKALEN HEIGHTS: Served a winding up petition
-----------------------------------------------
Pengkalen Heights Sdn Bhd, a 70%-owned company of Pan
Malaysian Holdings Bhd (PM Holdings), has been served a
winding up petition by Pilecon Geotechnics Sdn Bhd on March
3, 2000.

In an announcement to the KLSE on Monday, PM Holdings said
that the amount claimed for under the petition was
RM598,912.20 with respect to substructure works done by
Pilecon Geotechnics for the project known as "Proposed
Hotel and Service Apartment" in Lorong Ceylon, Kuala
Lumpur. (The Star  19-April-2000)

PENGURUSAN DANAHARTA NASIONAL: To restructure NPLs by June
----------------------------------------------------------
Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Bhd, which has about
RM45.5bil worth of non-performing loans (NPLs) in its
portfolio, has set itself the goal of restructuring RM30bil
of NPLs and assets by June said its managing director,
Datuk Azman Yahya.

This would mean resolving an additional RM12.4bil of NPLs
and assets as the national asset management company had
already restructured or disposed of RM17.6bil of NPLs and
assets as at end-December 1999.  Azman said that the
disposal of the 9 stockbroking companies remaining out of
11 under special administrators should be completed by end-
June.

"The tender closes before June and we have written to all
the stockbroking companies," he said of the sale which
would be "a purely cash sale."

Referring to the recent sale by tender of Halim Securities
Sdn Bhd's business to JF Apex Securities Bhd for RM100mil,
plus RM8.52mil in unabsorbed tax losses, Azman said that
while it was not necessarily the highest bid, it was the
highest approved by the Securities Commission.

Danaharta has appointed special administrators for 55
companies, and in addition to its sale by tender of the two
remaining stockbroking firms, it is currently also offering
for sale by tender 100-odd properties and nine wood-based
companies.

At a briefing yesterday on the sale of the businesses of
the nine wood-based companies, Danaharta said the
businesses had assets totalling RM206mil and were
generating an estimated turnover of RM241mil annually.
The businesses/assets of the companies are still viable,
and a total of 57 bids have been received so far.

"Potential investors can use this opportunity to gain a
larger market share and explore vertical and horizontal
integration with their existing businesses," said Azman.

The sale by tender of the nine companies was launched on
April 3 and will close on May 12. Danaharta said it would
need about two to three weeks to evaluate the bids and
would advise the successful bidders in early June.  On
KLSE-listed Timbermaster Industries Bhd, Azman said the
shares of the company would probably only be requoted at
the year-end when its businesses had been successfully
resolved concurrently with the company's own restructuring.

He said seven potential "white knights" interested in
Timbermaster's listing status had made approaches to rescue
the firm.  (The Star  19-April-2000)

TIMBERMASTER INDUS.: Reverse takeover, restructuring ahead?
-----------------------------------------------------------
Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Bhd is looking into
Timbermaster Industries Bhd's reverse takeover exercise, a
task that it hopes to finalise in the next three months.

"The restructuring of the listed company is being assessed
in a separate workout and we hope to see a reverse takeover
completed within the next three months. Existing
shareholders of Timbermaster can look forward to seeing the
shares re-quoted after the restructure exercise which we
hope to complete by year-end," says Danaharta's Managing
Director Datuk Azman Yahya at a conference today.

Azman says the workout proposal have to be completed by the
special administrators, who were assigned the task last
December, before any agreement is executed with the
takeover party.  Timbermaster's shares were last traded at
57.5 sen before the Second Board counter was suspended from
trading on June 17, 1998.

PricewaterhouseCoopers' Faizan Rahan, who is one of the
special administrators, says: "After the workout is
completed, Timbermaster can enter into a conditional
takeover agreement with another party. But the proposal
will still need to get clearance from an independent
advisor who will evaluate the deal. After the independent
advisor approves it, the proposal will then be submitted to
relevant authorities including the Securities Commission
for approval."

The timber operations of Timbermaster Industries Bhd were
among the nine wood-based companies placed on sale by
tender by Danaharta in an auction exercise, which will
close on May 12.

"Timbermaster is one of the nine wood-based companies which
we are trying to develop workouts for. These companies got
themselves into trouble because they had over-geared their
operations and diversified into non-core activities like
property. When the economic crisis set in, they were hit by
high interest rates and at a time when banks were also not
lending," says Azman. (The Edge  18-April-2000)


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

NATIONAL STEEL CORP.: Gets another debt reprieve
VICTORIAS MILLING CO.: Gets another debt reprieve
-------------------------------------------------
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has extended
the suspension of debt payments of debt-strapped National
Steel Corp. (NSC) and sugar milling firm Victorias Milling
Corp. (VMC) for another month.  The SEC gave the steel firm
until May 17 to submit its revised rehabilitation plan
while VMC will have until May 15 to submit its
rehabilitation plan.

VMC said it needed the extension to come up with a revised
rehabilitation plan following the failed bidding for about
53 percent of the company's stake last month.  The
extension of debt reprieve will keep NSC's creditors at bay
for almost a month while allowing it to fine tune its
amended rehabilitation plan that will detail its strategies
to reverse the financial losses of the company.

The interim receivers for NSC led by Monico V. Jacob, Guido
Alfredo Delgado and Antonio Arizabal, asked for the
extension since they are still negotiating with creditor
banks on how to resuscitate the company, the inputs of
which will be reflected in the amended rehabilitation plan.
The receivers met the steering committee of creditor banks,
including representatives of the Philippine National Bank,
Land Bank of the Philippines, Global Bank and Credit
Agricole.

The banks agreed to rehabilitate the company and to
immediately preserve its assets to keep these from
deteriorating. The banks also agreed to appoint a
comptroller. The receivers also met with the management of
NSC to express the creditor banks' concern about
maintaining the assets and equipment of the company.
(Philippine Star  19-April-2000)

UNIWIDE GROUP: Confident casino entry to boost operations
---------------------------------------------------------
The management of debt-stricken Uniwide Group of Companies
is confident it will be able to regain its footing in the
retail industry this year given the recent approval of its
rehabilitation plan that intends to pave the way for the
entry of new investors.

During Monday's stockholders' meeting, Jimmy N. Gow,
Uniwide chairman and chief executive officer, said the
approval of Uniwide's rehabilitation plan is essential in
the entry of French retailer Casino Guichard-Perrachon. The
group has committed to infuse 3.57 billion Philippine pesos
(US$85 million at PhP41.189:US$1) in fresh capital on the
condition that Uniwide will be debt-free.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently
approved Uniwide Group's petition for a debt relief after
the retail and property firm failed to meet some PhP11.1
billion ($270 million) in financial obligations. Uniwide is
convinced that the entry of the Casino group will
facilitate in its recovery as the said capital will be used
to pay off remaining debts to ensure the continuance of its
retail operations.

"We are more confident to look forward to the
implementation of the (rehabilitation) plan and the
eventual rehabilitation of the company," he told
stockholders.

In line with the imminent entry of the Casino group,
Uniwide stockholders' recently approved the increase in the
company's authorized capital stock from PhP5 billion
($121.4 million) to PhP10 billion ($242.8 million) and the
addition of two additional seats in its board.

For his part, Uniwide receivership committee chairman
Monico Jacob, said the Casino Group will eventually bring
in more capital aside from its initial proposed input this
year as the company intends to build five new stores within
the next two years.

"Casino will probably bring in additional money. Our
estimate is that Casino will bring in PhP1 billion ($24.3
million) more in order to stock up on the inventory in the
stores and possibly another billion pesos more in order to
refurnish the stores to their standards," Mr. Jacob added.

Jacob Nocom, analyst from Asiasec Equities Research, said
the rehabilitation plan intends to settle Uniwide's debt
obligations by a combination of debt-for-asset swap
arrangements and discounted cash payments. Its creditor
banks will be given a 20% discount and a range of between
40% to 50% discount for its trade suppliers and
contractors.

Of the company's total debt, 63% or PhP6.95 billion is owed
to 13 creditor banks with the remainder from its trade
suppliers and contractors. He rated Uniwide's stock with a
"speculative buy" on short term expectations as the market
may respond favorably to the implementation of its
rehabilitation plan.

On the medium- to long-term basis, Mr. Nocom said Uniwide
is seen to secure benefits from the Casino group "through
operational synergies from the French retailer's resources
and management expertise in retailing."

Mr. Gow assured stakeholders that the company will benefit
from the retail giant's retail expertise, with it being the
fifth-largest retailer in the world, and "would infuse a
level of efficiency in (Uniwide's) operations and would
place the company in league of other global retail
organizations."

He admitted that the company had experienced "further
deterioration" last year owing to significant interest
payments for its obligations and a drop in sales. Uniwide's
net loss ballooned to PhP2.67 billion ($65 million) last
year from PhP667.2 million ($16.2 million) a year ago.
(Business World  19-April-2000)


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

KRUNG THAI BANK : Cabinet okays AMC set up for bt537B NPLs
----------------------------------------------------------
The cabinet yesterday gave Krung Thai Bank the go-ahead to
set up an asset management company to handle 537 billion in
non-performing loans (NPL).

Under the plan, drawn up by the Finance Ministry, Krung
Thai Bank will transfer 537 billion baht worth of loans to
the asset management company (AMC), Deputy Finance Minister
Pisit Lee-artham said.

"After transferring the bad assets, Krung Thai Bank's non-
performing loans will fall to 16.5 percent of total loans
and its tier-1 capital will be 9.56 percent," he said.

The AMC will be wholly owned by the Bank of Thailand's
Financial Institutions Development Fund.  AMCs are one of
several devices used by the government to deal with the
mountainous number of non-performing loans in the banking
sector, the legacy of the financial crisis of 1997.
Non-performing loans at one stage reached more than 45
percent of total lending, choking the source of funds
deemed vital to sustaining the economic recovery.

The situation has been improving as the recovery gathers
pace, but the banks are nevertheless expected to unveil
huge losses in their first quarter balance sheets in the
coming days.  Pisit said the move to establish an AMC would
enable KTB to have loan- loss reserves at 100 percent by
the end of June.

"The chosen method of dealing with Krung Thai Bank's
problems entails the least cost to the bank as well as the
government. The bank will be secure, and it will have the
ability to manage bad loans effectively," he said. "After
loan-loss reserves reach 100 percent, Krung Thai will
recover and be able to lend again."

Analysts said, however, that KTB's recovery would depend on
much more that just removing NPLs from its loan portfolio.
At the root of KTB's difficulties lies a long-standing
problem of operational inefficiencies and managerial
shortcomings. Unless these problems are dealt with, the bad
loans will return, they said.

Pisit said the cabinet wanted to know why KTB's capital was
not written down prior to receiving assistance from the
central bank. He said the BOT responded that KTB was not in
a condition to take care of itself, nor could it survive
having negative equity.

Documents presented to the cabinet show that the
establishment of the AMC entailed a transfer of more than
half of the amount of the bad loans of First Bangkok City
Bank (FBCB) with payments in arrears by over 12 months. The
amount, however, does not include smaller loans of under
five million baht.

The transfer of 537 billion baht in NPLs will result in
excess loan-loss reserves, which will be treated as income
and will help reduce accumulated losses of 108 billion
baht.  At the same time, there will be a repayment to the
FIDF in an amount equal to the transfer of excess reserves.
(Business Day  19-April-2000)

NTS STEEL GROUP: Reports on debt restructuring to SET
-----------------------------------------------------
Reference is made to the debt restructuring process of
N.T.S. Steel Group Public Company Limited (the Company)
under the process of CDRAC. The Company, through Ms Pattama
Horrungruang, director and deputy managing director, hereby
informs the Stock Exchange of Thailand on the progress of
the said process.

On April 12, 2000, there was a vote on the Companys debt
restructuring plan (the Plan) at the Bank of Thailand. The
Plan was passed by a vote from the CDRAC creditors in
the amount of 85.66% of the total debt of the Company owed
to CDRAC creditors. Accordingly, all CDRAC creditors are
bound by the Plan.  The plan provides that:

1. Debts under the Plan -- Debts under the Plan were debts
of the Company owed to the Thai and foreign financial
institutions, noteholders and bondholders and trade credit
owed to Nakornthai Strip Mill Public Company Limited (NSM).
The total debts under the Plan is US$ 482 million or
approximately Baht 18,316 million (calculated as at
December 31, 1998).

2. Debts Restructuring -- The debts Restructurings may be
classified into 3 parts: (1) The debts to be remained with
the Company are US$ 102 million or approximately Baht 3,876
million due to the financial creditors who are secured
creditors. The repayment period will be by quarterly
installments in 14 years commencing from the closing date
of the restructurings. The first 4 years will be grace
period for repayment.
(2) The settlement of debts owed to the relevant secured
creditors by NSM shares and units in Kamrai Permpoon Fund
at the price of Baht 4.5 per share. The amount of such
settlement is US$25 million or approximately Baht 950
million. The Company (or if the Company decides not to do
so, its current management) has the option to buy those
share back.

However, the amount for buy back is allowed:
(1) during the first year of the restructured period : 100%
(2) during the second year of the restructured period : 75%
(3) during the third year of the restructured period : 50%.

(3) Debt-to-equity conversion in the outstanding debt
amount US$ 272 million or Baht 10,336 million. The
conversion price is Baht 1.88 per share for secured
creditors and Baht 5.39 per share for unsecured creditors.
The relevant creditors grant an option for the Companys
current management to buy back those shares within 3 years
from the closing date. The exercise price shall be the
respective debt-to-equity conversion price plus premium
plus carrying cost at MLR. In the conversion of debts
into equity, the creditors would become holders of 92 % of
total shares of the Company whereby existing shareholders
shareholding would be diluted to 8 %.

3. Interest -- The Company agreed to pay interest:

3.1 For the remaining debt to be restructured (US$ 102
million), the interest will be at the rate of MLR and will
be paid on a monthly basis. However, if the Company is
unable to pay interest more than 9% per annum, it shall not
constitute an event of default. The Company shall pay
interest at 0.5% in year 1 and year 2 and at 1.0% in year 3
after the closing date. Accrued and unpaid interests (the
differences between interest at MLR and such 0.5%, 1.0% or
9.0%, as the case may be, will be deferred and shall be
paid upon the principle repayment has been made.

3.2 In the event of default by the Company, the default
rate shall be 6% above the non-default interest.

3.3 Interests accrued through to the closing date shall be
forgiven except for 6 month accrued interest calculated at
non-default rate of secured debts will be deferred. If the
company has complied with the payment of debt obligations
of the restructured debts, then such deferred interests
will be forgiven.

4. Issuance of warrants to existing shareholders -- In
order to provide the opportunity to existing shareholders
whose shareholding were diluted to be only 8% at the
closing date to be able to increase their shareholding in
the future, the Company will issue warrants to existing
shareholders. The terms of warrants shall be 10 years from
the issue date, with the subscription price of 5 satang per
unit, exercise price to be equal to Baht 2.112 and Baht
6.149 per share for the conversion price of the debts at
Baht 1.88 and Baht 5.39, respectively. If all of the
warrants are exercised, the shares issued upon such
exercise will be approximately 30% of the total issued
shares of the Company.

5. Share transfer restriction -- Certain financial
creditors who converted their debts into equity shall be
restricted with the rights to transfer shares derived from
such conversion. They would be able to transfer shares in
the amount of 50% in the first year, 70% in the second year
and in the third year and after the third year, those
shares may be sold at 100% unless there is an exercise of
the buy-back option in full under Section 2.3 above. The
Companys current management are also subject to the share
transfer restriction for a period of 3 years after the
closing date.

6. The entering into the rehabilitation process -- The
Company shall use its best efforts to seek protection under
the rehabilitation proceedings from the bankruptcy court
within 60 days from the date the Plan has been approved
under CDRAC procedures (i.e., from April 12, 2000).

7. Conditions precedent to the debt restructuring -- The
debt restructuring shall be subject to the following
conditions precedent:

7.1 debts other than those under this Plan (including
contingent liabilities) shall be dealt with by the Company
separately with the approval of the majority creditors;

7.2 the Company shall have received a commitment from one
or more sources to provide working capital facilities for
sufficient funding for its projected needs;

7.3 the Plan has been supported from creditors who hold a
majority of debts under the rehabilitation proceedings.
(Stock Exchange of Thailand  18-April-2000)

SUN TECH GROUP: Summary of the debt restructuring plan
------------------------------------------------------
The Company's debt restructuring plan was approved by the
banks under CDRAC on 23 March 2000, reported Dr.Chaiyaphon
Horrungruang, president to the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
The Plan provides that:

1. Debts under the Plan were debt of the Company owed to
the banks, financial institutions and convertible
debentures.

2. Debt to equity conversion of creditors

   2.1 Clean debt will be converted to 279 million of
common shares.

   2.2 Accrued interest, which will be calculated from
default date through 31 December 1999, will be converted to
373 million of common shares.

   2.3 A number of secured debt will be converted to 833
million of preferred shares.

3. The rest of secured debt still remains as a long-term
debt which being set principal repayments of Bt80 million
per year, first due at year 4. The creditors have rights to
convert 30% of debt to preferred shares within 8 years and
preferred shareholders have rights to convert to common
shares in this period.

4. The Company agrees to issue 1,333 million of warrants to
existing shareholders. The term of warrants shall be 8
years.  The Company shall enter into the debt restructuring
agreement and then seek protection under Thai bankruptcy
and rehabilitation proceeding from the bankruptcy court.
(Stock Exchange of Thailand  18-April-2000)

SUPALAI PLC.: To finalise debt plan before picking partner
----------------------------------------------------------
Supalai Plc's strategic partner would be chosen after all
creditors had participated in the debtrestructuring
agreement, due to be completed by May, said Atip Bijanonda,
deputy managing director of the property development
company.

The strategic partner would acquire a stake of 2549 per
cent in the company through a new share subscription, he
said. Bringing in a new partner has been the most commonly
used method of survival for local property developers in
this slumping real estate market.

"We are negotiating with two to three foreign institutional
investors," Atip said.

Apart from teaming up with a strategic partner, the ailing
company has planned to seek partners on a projectbyproject
basis. Currently, it has nine projects contributing to its
income. With regard to its Bt6.09billion debt revamp plan,
Atip said all 20 creditors would be able to sign the
contract by May.

The plan involves the conversion of a Bt395million debt
into 15 per cent equity, the writeoff of debts amounting to
Bt768.36 million and a rollover repayment period. Of the
creditors, half are with the Corporate Debt Restructuring
Advisory Committee (CDRAC), having lent 77 per cent of
Supalai's total debt amount, and the other half are non-
CDRAC creditors, having lent 23 per cent of the total debt.

According to the debtrestructuring plan, debts totalling
Bt2.75 billion, owed to creditors who support the company's
active projects, will be restructured by rescheduling
repayment to five to eight years, with the interest rate
not exceeding the minimum lending rate. This group is made
up of three CDRAC creditors.

Settlement of debts from three CDRAC creditors and one
nonCDRAC creditor totalling Bt740.01 million will be
extended two to 10 years. The company stated to seek
financial support from other lenders to refinance debts of
the one nonCDRAC creditor. Debts valued Bt1.93 billion in
principal hold by three CDRAC creditors and a nonCDRAC
creditor who financed completed or ceased projects will be
restructured via disposal of some assets worth Bt1.02
billion and conversion of Bt122.27 million debts into
equity at a price of Bt20.95 apiece.

Bt466.16 million and Bt333.05 million debts will be
conversed to zero-coupon unsecured bond matured no later
than eight years and 10 years respectively. All bonds carry
yield of 2.5 per cent per annum. Accrued interest worth
Bt506.96 million incurred from the 1.9 billion principal
will be written off.

The last batch of debts worth Bt 669.51 million in
principal will be restructured through conversion of
Bt232.67 million debts into equity and 397.35 million debts
shall be converted to zerocoupon unsecured bonds matured no
later than 8 years at yield of 2.5 per cent per annum.
The accrued interest obligation of Bt 261.40 million
incurred from the last lot of debts shall be written off.
(The Nation  19-April-2000)

THAI PETROCHEM.INDUS.: Preliminary vote tossed out
--------------------------------------------------
An early preliminary vote by Thai Petrochemical Industry
Plc creditors on a planner for the company's restructuring
-- the Ernst and Young-managed TPI Planner or the creditor
committee's Effective Planner -- has been ruled out, a
legal official connected with the proceedings said.

It had been anticipated that the creditors would vote and
register individual debts outstanding to secure a weighted
preliminary vote, but this has now been ruled out, the
official said.

"More than 20 creditor objections have been filed against
some of the claims registered today," the official said.

He said an official result of the vote is still expected to
be announced later today.

"The Bankruptcy Court will then receive the result of votes
today and the court will legally endorse the vote tomorrow
at approximately 1.30 pm," he said.  (AFX News Limited  19-
April-2000)

TOTAL ACCESS COMMOS.: In talks to issue baht debentures
-------------------------------------------------------
Total Access Communication Plc (TAC) is negotiating with
its bank creditors for the issuance of bahtdenominated
debentures worth US$550 million (Bt20.9 billion) to
refinance the US$250million portion of its debt which is
due in the middle of next year.

The company has already presented the refinancing plan to
its bank creditors, said TAC managing director and chairman
Boonchai Bencharongkul. Creditors are expected to grant
approval to TAC by the end of April.

"After that we will begin the refinancing process, which is
expected to be completed within 90 days," Boonchai said.

TAC has a total debt burden of US$980 million. "The
proceeds from the debenture will help us retire this
US$250million debt as well as the US$300 million we owe to
the bank creditors," Boonchai said.

The maturity rate of the baht bond will be between five and
seven years, he said.  TAC is in serious talks with a
potential foreign strategic partner, which Boonchai
declined to name. The partner is rumoured to be Telstra,
the largest Australian telecom company.

"Negotiations for the partnership deal are coming to the
final stages. I cannot reveal any details, or it may affect
the deal. I have been warned several times to keep the
details secret," Boonchai said.

He added that after clinching the deal, TAC would spend
more than Bt1 billion quarterly on enhancing the network
capacity of its PCN 1800 mobilephone service.  TAC's
creditors have limited the company's spending to Bt1billion
yearly to prevent it from amassing more debt.

"In addition we will invest in the intelligent telecom
network and wireless application protocol, which is the
latest technology for mobile phones," Boonchai said.

Earlier Advance Info Service, the largest mobilephone
operator, made a public offering of Bt8billion in baht
bonds with a three-year maturity rate and 6.5percent
interest rate. The bonds were sold out in one hour.  (The
Nation  19-April-2000)


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