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                            A S I A   P A C I F I C

            Friday, August 18, 2000, Vol. 3, No. 161

                                    Headlines


* A U S T R A L I A *

COVENTRY GROUP: $4.2M exposure revealed
NATIONAL FOODS: Milk wars cream shares
SOLUTION 6: Posts $79.5M annual loss
WOOLSWORTHS GROUP: Link with CBA cuts costs after loss


* C H I N A  &  H O N G  K O N G *

DAILY COSMOS DEVELOP.LTD: Facing winding up petition
FAR EAST HOTELS AND ENTERTAIN.: Posts annual loss
RICHBOND ENGINEERS LTD: Facing winding up petition
SCANDANAVIA ARTS LTD: Facing winding up petition
SHANGHAI STEEL TUBE: Posts 1H net loss


* I N D O N E S I A *

PT KALTIM PRIMA COAL: Dealing with blockade,closure threat


* J A P A N *

SEIBU DEPT.STORES: Mortgages store to paydown debts
SNOW BRAND: Posts 11.2B yen loss


* K O R E A *

HANBO STEEL: Banks to feel losses
HYUNDAI ENGIN.& CONST.: Posts 1H loss
HYUNDAI GROUP: Companies sinking in debt


* M A L A Y S I A *

KYM INDUSTRIES: Disposes of land to repay bank debts
S&P FOOD INDUSTRIES: Plans capital reduction, rehab


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

ALL ASIACAPITAL AND TRUST: Devising rehab plan
CBK POWER CO.LTD: To sign rehab agreement
UNIWIDE HLDGS.: Rehab plan needs approval of 6 more banks


* S I N G A P O R E *

NATIONAL STEEL ELECS.: Raises capital, eyebrows


* T H A I L A N D *

ITALIAN-THAI DEVELOPMENT: Posts Bt152.76M Q2 loss
ROBINSON DEPT.STORE: Records Bt4.7B Q2 loss
SAFARI WORLD: Posts Bt98.94M Q2 loss
SAHA PATHANAPIBUL GRP: SET to meet, discuss delisting
SINO THAI ENGIN.: Finansa buys debts at discount
TELECOMASIA: Records Bt2.73B Q2 loss
THAI PETROCHEM.INDUSTRY: Posts Bt5.2B 1H loss
THAI TEL. & TEL.: Posts Bt570M Forex loss, Q2 loss
TOTAL ACCESS COMMUNICATION: Posts Forex, Q2 losses
TUNTEX (Thailand): Records Bt351 M Q2 Loss
UNITED BROADCASTING: Records Bt 869.8M Q2 loss
UNITED COMMUNICATION INDUS.: Posts Forex, Q2 losses


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

COVENTRY GROUP: $4.2M exposure revealed
---------------------------------------
Diversified industrial company Coventry Group revealed last
night it had a $4.2 million exposure to the failed Geelong-
based group that acquired the troubled Allwest Print from
Coventry in 1997.

Morley-based Coventry said it had a first ranking security
over Tynworth Pty Ltd, a company which is listed on
Australian Securities and Investments Commission records as
owning all but five of a 3.26 million shares in the
collapsed printing company Sands Print Group. News of
Coventry's exposure came after Perth associates of
Melbourne-based receiver Peter Yates took control of the
Sands Print Group's main WA operation at Bassendean.

Directors of Sands Print Group called in a Melbourne-based
insolvency accountant Gregory Shilton as administrator last
Tuesday, prompting ANZ Banking Group to put in Mr Yates to
protects its $10 million-plus exposure.  Staff from Mr
Yates' firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu briefed more than
60 Sands Print Group staff yesterday and are understood to
have organised supplies of paper that were seriously
depleted amid uncertainty last week.

Neither Mr Shilton nor Mr Yates returned calls yesterday.
Sands director John McDonald refused to comment. Coventry
sold the Allwest Print operation to Sands in February 1997
in a deal that was shrouded in secrecy. Coventry said last
night receivers had taken control of Tynworth and it
planned to get an independent value of its security.

Australian Manufacturing Workers Union assistant organiser
Ron Knox said yesterday he had been told Sands had a $5.7
million debt to the tax office in addition to its ANZ debt
and unsecured creditors.  Mr Knox said it appeared the
receivers planned to keep the operation going for the near
future but its long-term outlook was unclear. (The West
Australian 15-Aug-2000)

NATIONAL FOODS: Milk wars cream shares
--------------------------------------
Shares in listed dairy company National Foods plunged more
than 15 per cent yesterday as investors digested the
implications of a potential milk war.

A contract shake-up saw National Foods retain the
Woolworths home brand milk contract in NSW but lose the
Victorian deal and fail to pick up Queensland. Woolworths
also slashed the price of its home brand milk by up to 26
percent. That move was matched yesterday by Coles and
Franklins and other players were considering their
position, setting the stage for a series of milk wars.

The price slashing will increase the price gap between own
label and branded milk, forcing Australia's milk producers
to lower prices for brand milk.  National Foods Pura milk
brand is the biggest seller in Australia.

Based on the price move, Merrill Lynch has cut its profit
forecasts for National Foods for 2001 and 2002 by 9 per
cent and 15 per cent respectively and lowered its short-
term recommendation from accumulate to neutral. It retains
a long-term accumulate.  One analyst said the share price
dive could make NatFoods a takeover target, eyed
particularly closely by Queensland-based, Italian-owned
Parmalat.

Experts agree that until the number of dairy players is
reduced from three to two, the industry players will remain
at the mercy of the large supermarkets, particularly as
they seek to position themselves ahead of the arrival of
low-cost supermarket chain Aldi, which will focus on basic
lines such as bread and milk.

National Foods spokesman Ian Greenshields said the loss of
the Victorian contract was not a big blow as it was only 4
million to 5 million litres of milk. Only 6 per cent of the
milk that Woolworths sells in Victoria is home brand milk
compared with 40 per cent in NSW and Queensland. The
Queensland contract was won by Dairy Farmers, meaning
Parmalat lost its only Woolworths own-brand contract.
Mr Greenshields said it was too early to say what action
National Foods would take following the milk price cuts.

"We could do a number of things. We could reduce our price,
we could add extra incentives, all those initiatives to
support the brand."

While Dairy Farmers appeared to be a winner out of the
shake-up of the 12-month contracts, experts believe its
margins will be extremely thin, particularly given its
decision to pay its farmer members more this season.
NatFoods shares closed down 45c to $2.60 yesterday, the
lowest level in three months. (The Australian  17-Aug-2000)

SOLUTION 6: Posts $79.5M annual loss
------------------------------------
Accounting software provider Solution 6 has turned 1999's
$3.1 million net profit into a $79.5 million operating loss
for the year to June 30.

The result, the first since the departure of Texan
businessman and former chief executive Mr Chris Tyler, was
due to the expensing of costs associated with research and
development, acquisitions and restructuring.  That resulted
in an abnormal loss of $67.5 million, $51.8 million of
which was accrued in the first half.

Before abnormals, Solution 6 posted an operating loss of
$7.4 million, thanks mainly to Y2K-affected sales and costs
associated with integrating acquired companies. In the past
18 months, Solution 6 has made 13 acquisitions, including
software firm Emphasys, online legal outfit Lawpoint,
software and service provider FishTech, accounting business
Montgomery Baggett & Drews and Canadian practice management
software firm CMS/Data.

Of the $67.5 million in abnormals, deferred research and
development costs accounted for $27.5 million, ASP
(application service provider) and Web portal development
costs for $16.5 million and redundancy and restructuring
costs for $7.3 million. Expenses associated with the failed
takeovers of UK software house Pegasus and US firm Elite
contributed $7.2 million.

Revenue rose 142 per cent to $179.5 million, with
consulting business units accounting for 57 per cent and
provision of annual recurring software maintenance 20 per
cent. Sales to traditional customers - legal and accounting
firms - accounted for 45 per cent of revenue, while 29 per
cent came from business and 26 per cent from government.

Geographically, 52 per cent of sales came from Australia,
18 per cent from the US, 23 per cent from the UK and Europe
and the remainder from Asia and New Zealand. Despite the
large operating loss, Solution 6 is focusing on a brighter
future, with chief financial officer Mr Tom Montgomery
pointing to the second half's $2 million operating profit
as evidence the company will find its feet in 2001.

"We should have a net profit before tax or a net profit
even after tax [in 2001]," Mr Montgomery said. "In fact,
with the $2 million operating profit in the second half,
we're essentially there. As a company, we still plan to do
significant investments and acquisitions. But would I
anticipate we'd have an overall profit even after abnormals
next year? The answer is yes."

Acting chief executive Mr Lindsay Yelland forecast earnings
before interest, tax and amortisation of $40 million for
2001, on sales of $400 million.  In addition, Mr Montgomery
said with cash reserves of $113.4 million, $15 million in
securities and no bank debt, Solution 6 had the resources
for further purchases.

Earlier this week Solution 6 spent $30 million on buying NZ
software developer exo-net. Mr Montgomery also said
Solution 6 could have realised revenue of more than $300
million if the company had bought the businesses it did at
the start of the financial year.  Yesterday's results were
broadly in line with market expectations, with shares in
Solution 6 reacting only mildly, closing up 2c at $3.12.

"Revenues were a bit lower than I was expecting," said Ms
Kelly Hibbins, of UBS Warburg. (Sydney Morning Herald  17-
Aug-2000)

WOOLSWORTHS GROUP: Link with CBA cuts costs after loss
------------------------------------------------------
An alternative Woolworths-Commonwealth Bank in-store
program has given the chain access to valuable customer
information while reducing branch costs for the bank.

Woolworths ran the Ezy Banking program at an $8 million to
$10 million loss for the financial year which just ended,
said Woolworths Group chief financial officer Bill Wavish.
However, the rewards-based initiative which now has 150,000
users, would eventually help the organisation "get to know
the customers better."

"It's early days for data mining but obviously as we get
more skilled we will be able to make individual offers
effectively on various products," said Wavish. "Clearly
that loss will diminish, it should break even for financial
year 2001," he said, adding that the supermarket chain had
not made a "significant" investment in the alternative
banking system in which customers deposit, withdraw and
check account balances in-store.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia's head of Australian
financial services John Mulcahy said 40 per cent of Ezy
Banking users were new customers for the bank. The linking
of "self-service" banking to shopping had also resulted in
cost-savings at branches, he said.

"Existing customers are reducing branch visitations and
reducing the number of accounts they had," said Mulcahy.
As customers turned to "self-servicing," the branches could
enhance their sales-oriented services, he said. "It's all
about reducing transaction costs for the bank and ... it
will do that, whether it goes to the bottom line we'll
see."

The project's costs had been low for both organisations as
they had leveraged on existing infrastructure such as
EFTPOS machines.  Company research showed Ezy Banking
customers spent about 20 per cent more than regular
customers, while almost half of Ezy Banking's users chose
the debit and credit card accounts because there were no
bank charges.

After joining, 42 per cent said they appreciated the
convenience most, with 38 per cent liked the rewards
program.  It will be available in 635 Woolworths group
stores by next month. (Fairfax I.T.  17-Aug-2000)


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

DAILY COSMOS DEVELOP.LTD: Facing winding up petition
----------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Court of First Instance,
has scheduled a hearing on October 11 on the petition of
Kung Wing Lun for the winding up of Daily Cosmos
Development Limited. A notice of legal appearance must be
filed on or before October 10.

FAR EAST HOTELS AND ENTERTAIN.: Posts annual loss
-------------------------------------------------
Far East Hotels and Entertainment posted a wider annual
loss this year, recording a $10.76M loss for the year ended
March 31. That's up from the 8.84M loss recorded last year.
Total operating loss during the year amounted to $10.99M
from $7.9M on a 2% drop in turnover to $36.49M.

RICHBOND ENGINEERS LTD: Facing winding up petition
--------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Court of First Instance,
has scheduled a hearing on September 20 on the petition of
Wong Yung Yink for the winding up of Richbond Engineers
Limited. A notice of legal appearance must be filed on or
before September 19.

SCANDANAVIA ARTS LTD: Facing winding up petition
------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Court of First Instance,
has scheduled a hearing on September 6 on the petition of
Leung Wun Lin for the winding up of Scandanavia Arts
Limited. A notice of legal appearance must be filed on or
before September 5.

SHANGHAI STEEL TUBE: Posts 1H net loss
--------------------------------------
For the first six months of the year ended June 30,
Shanghai Steel Tube Co Ltd posted a net loss of 31.2
million yuan, up from the 27.6 million yuan loss the year
before.

The pretax loss amount was 31.3 million yuan, once again up
from 27.8 million yuan for the same period in 1999. The
company had sales of 114.1 million yuan, down from 135
million yuan in the first half of last year. The loss per
share was 0.12 yuan compare with 0.105 for the same period
last year. No interim dividend will be paid.

The results were compiled according to current Chinese
accounting standards. Chairman Xia Bin said the company had
accounts receivable worth 285.5 million yuan as of June 30,
down from 297.4 million yuan at end-1999.


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

PT KALTIM PRIMA COAL: Dealing with blockade,closure threat
----------------------------------------------------------
PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) is waiting for the government to
end a blockade of its mine in Sanggata regency, East
Kalimantan, before issuing a final decision on whether it
will maintain its operation or pull out of the province.

The KPC representative in Jakarta, Bambang Susanto, said
the company was waiting for the government to disperse the
KPC workers blockading the mine by next Friday.

"Given the circumstances, KPC has decided to defer a
decision pending the outcome of this latest government
initiative," Bambang said after the company's shareholders
meeting on Wednesday.

The owners of KPC, Anglo-Australian mining company Rio
Tinto and British- American oil and gas company Beyond
Petroleum (BP), have discussed a number of options to cope
with the impact of the workers' blockade and the actions
which may be taken if the blockade continues, Bambang said.
KPC's operation remains closed amid faltering negotiations
with some 200 striking workers who are demanding a salary
increase.

The company has said that since the blockade began in mid-
June, it has lost over US$50 million, or the equivalent to
1.85 million metric tons of coal.  The company declared
force majeure to its customers earlier this month to avoid
paying penalties for its inability to ship coal.

Bambang said KPC might declare force majeure to the
government, which would exempt it from having to pay its
full obligation as contained in its contract.  The
government promised to end the blockade by Friday but the
Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union (SBSI), which organized
the strike, requested local police not to take any action
against the workers until Tuesday next week.

"They (SBSI) said they needed more time for discussion
among themselves," Bambang explained.  He said the local
police had yet to response to SBSI's request. "But if the
police decide to wait until Tuesday of next week, then KPC
will also have to delay its decision until then."

The director general for mining at the Ministry of Mines
and Energy, Surna Tjahja Djadjadiningrat, asked KPC to
remain patient and give the police time to deal with the
blockade.  "Everything now depends on the local police,"
Surna told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Surna said a final resolution of KPC's case was beyond his
authority and that he had called all related parties,
including the Ministry of Manpower, to help settle the
dispute.  "It is actually a matter of law enforcement, but
does the National Police chief understand the importance of
this matter?" he said.

He said there was little the government could do if KPC
declared force majeure. "But it's not the material loss I
am worried about, it's our reputation on the international
market that is at stake now."

KPC is Indonesia's largest coal exporter, with markets in
Asia, Europe and America.  SBSI chairman Muchtar Pakpahan
said he was ready to lift the blockade on KPC's mine if the
company agreed not to take disciplinary measures against
the striking workers.

He said the main issue hampering a final settlement was not
the salary increase, but the possibility that KPC might
fire the strikers over trivial matters once they went back
to work.  "I cannot allow the workers to face that threat
after they struggled so hard to increase the salary of all
KPC employees," he told the Post late on Tuesday.

He said KPC insisted on issuing warning letters to the
workers taking part in the strike.  That measure, he said,
was only a pretense to fire the workers for any minor
violations of company regulation.  Bambang said KPC was
determined to issue the warning letters, but said the
reason for this was not the strike itself.

"During the strike, the workers caused damage to several
production facilities and also physically threatened other
workers."

Bambang said the workers had a right to stage strikes as
stipulated by law. However, he charged SBSI with violating
the procedures for staging a strike, which he said made
their action illegal. (The Jakarta Post  18-Aug-2000)


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

SEIBU DEPT.STORES: Mortgages store to paydown debts
---------------------------------------------------
In an effort to reduce interest-bearing debts, Seibu
Department Stores Ltd. raised 108.1 billion yen by
mortgaging its flagship store in Tokyo's Ikebukuro.

Seibu says its signed a securitizing contract with Yasuda
Trust & Banking Co. the same day, effectively selling the
property, which the department store chain will continue to
use under a lease arrangement. The cash raised will be used
to reduce Seibu's interest-bearings debts of 440 billion
yen.

The department store operator is under major pressure to
improve its financial standing following the July collapse
of real estate developer Seiyo Corp., which belonged to the
Seibu-led Saison group. That group filed for liquidation
with the Tokyo District Court, leaving debts worth 550
billion yen.

Under the securitization plan, Seibu entrusted the
Ikebukuro store, including its land, to Yasuda Trust. The
bank then sold beneficiary rights on the entrusted property
to a special purpose company it established for the deal
and gave Seibu the rights to rent the property.

The new firm, SPC, plans to raise 78.1 billion yen by
selling corporate bonds issued against the security of the
beneficiary rights. In addition, it will borrow 30 billion
yen from the semi-governmental Development Bank of Japan.

Seibu, which received the 108.1 billion yen from SPC, will
pay rent estimated at more than 10 billion yen a year,
which will be used to pay dividends to bond holders.
The Ikebukuro store has floor space of 63,470 sq. meters,
and had annual turnover of 276.3 billion yen in the
business year to February.

The store is one of the largest in Japan, whose
profitability made it a prime candidate for the
securitization plan. Founded in 1940, Seibu has 24 stores
in Japan and others across Asia.  Wednesday's deal was one
of Japan's largest fundraising schemes based on the
securitization of real estate.

SNOW BRAND: Posts 11.2B yen loss
--------------------------------
Japan's biggest dairy producer Snow Brand Milk Products Co
Ltd said on Wednesday it posted a parent-only net loss of
11.2 billion yen ($102.7 million) for the April-July period
due to a huge food poisoning scandal.

The red ink, which compares with a net profit of 770
million yen for the same period a year earlier, reflected a
steep fall in sales of milk and other drinks after more
than 14,500 people fell ill from drinking one of the
company's low-fat milk products in June and July.
Sales in the April-July period fell 20 percent from the
same period last year to 147.43 billion yen, as a number of
retailers pulled its products off their shelves, pushing
July sales down 76.7 percent from the same month last year,
it said.

The company also attributed the loss to special costs
related to the incident, including compensation and
inventory disposal, which topped 7.3 billion yen as of the
end of July.  Snow Brand plans to announce its earnings
forecast for the first half of the 2000/01 business year at
the end of September to include the full impact of the
poisoning, a spokesman said.

On July 12 the firm closed its 21 plants due to the
outbreak, but resumed operations at 20 this month after
they passed government hygiene inspections.  The exception
was a plant in Osaka, western Japan, from which tainted
milk originated.

As of 0542 GMT, shares in Snow Brand were down 2.75 percent
or 13 yen at 460 yen.  They fell as low as 371 yen in mid-
July after closing on June 29 -- the day before the
poisoning emerged -- at 604 yen. (Financial Times  16-Aug-
2000)


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

HANBO STEEL: Banks to feel losses
---------------------------------
The recent $480 million acquisition of Hanbo Steel by the
Nabors Consortium is causing some concern within the
banking sector, according to industry watchers yesterday.

This is because the banks are now obliged to repurchase
some 1.7 trillion won worth of Hanbo bonds from the state
run Korea Asset Management Corp. (KAMCO), which agreed to
hold on to the bonds until the troubled steel maker is
turned over to an external investor.

Under the agreement, made while the economic crisis was
still in high gear, banks were granted temporary relief by
KAMCO only as long as Hanbo remained not in private hands.
Banks thus sold the bonds at discounts ranging from 45 to
75 percent.  Now that Nabors is reportedly ready to take
over Hanbo Steel, the banks will be forced to buy back all
of the failed steelmaker's bonds by October at the same
rates they sold them to KAMCO.

Cho Hung Bank stands to lose the most, having to repurchase
the 500 billion won it loaded off to KAMCO at 225 billion
(45 percent). Korea Exchange Bank will take back debentures
worth 454.7 billion won in paper alone at 185 billion,
Korea Development Bank will buy back 490 billion won of
bonds at 368.5 billion and Hanvit will regain 81.9 billion
won worth of bad bonds at 31.7 billion.

Korea First Bank, which unloaded 1.2 trillion won of its
credits to KAMCO, will be salvaged from repurchasing its
bonds, thanks to the condition exempting KFB that New-
bridge Capital landed when agreeing to purchase a 51
percent stake of the troubled bank.
Also, Seoul Bank will also be excused of its 180 billion
won burden because it is up for sale.

Consequently, experts say that the losses stemming from
KAMCO's holdings of Hanbo bonds will translate to taxpayer
losses because the state run asset manager will more than
likely have to write them off. (Korea Herald  18-Aug-2000)

HYUNDAI ENGIN.& CONST.: Posts 1H loss
-------------------------------------
Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. posted a first-half
loss attributed to delayed bond payments by the Iraqi
government.

The South Korean company recorded a net loss of 177.9
billion won ($159.4 million) for the first half, compared
with year-earlier net profit of 40.2 billion won. It set
aside about 191 billion won in expenses for the delayed
bond payments. Revenue rose 43% to 3.892 trillion won from
2.726 trillion won as overseas construction orders climbed
to about $2.05 billion, a company spokesman said.

Hyundai Engineering's creditor banks agreed Monday to
continue rolling over the company's bonds, commercial paper
and debt until the end of September. The banks initially
agreed to roll over the company's debts in July to ease a
liquidity crunch. (The Asian Wall Street Journal  17-Aug-
2000)

HYUNDAI GROUP: Companies sinking in debt
----------------------------------------
Hyundai Group companies appear to be sinking ever deeper
into financial mess, raising fears that the debt-heavy
conglomerate may face another liquidity crisis in the near
future.

According to the Korea Stock Exchange, all of Hyundai
companies, except Hyundai Motor, had performed poorly in
the first half of this year, suffering enormous losses or
huge reductions in profits.  For instance, Hyundai
Engineering & Construction, the epicenter of Hyundai's
group-wide liquidity crisis, saw its first-half balance
swing from a surplus of 40.2 billion won ($36.2 million) in
1999 to a loss of 178 billion won this year.

The contractor's huge losses included a special asset
investment loss worth 108 billion won. More worrying, the
flagship company's profits are expected to suffer further
as its uncollected revenue from Iraq amounts to 950.1
billion won while holding a mere 190 billion won in its
allowance for bad debts.

Hyundai Engineering is already virtually bankrupt, but has
been artificially kept afloat by creditors and the
government, which are wary of any negative impact should
Hyundai collapse.  Despite the booming semiconductor
industry worldwide, Hyundai Electronic Industries recorded
a net first-half loss of 374.1 billion won, a sharp
increase from the 1999 first-half loss of 125 billion won.

Hyundai Electronics' deteriorating finances are largely due
to huge non-operating expenses of 1.46 trillion won,
including 591 billion won in interest payments, 398.7
billion won in investment losses linked to other Hyundai
affiliates and 470.2 billion won in asset sales losses.

"Hyundai Electronics reported 4.37 trillion won in its
first-half turnover. But 3.3 trillion won of it, or 76.1
percent, was generated from transactions with sister
companies," said a KSE analyst.

The ailing Hyundai Electronics is pushing to sell off its
chip-making plant under construction in Wales, Britain.
On the other hand, Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world's
largest shipyard, saw its first-half profit tumble 68
percent from a year-ago to 44.4 billion won, while Hyundai
Merchant Marine's profit also shrank 30.7 percent to 57.2
billion won.

As a result, Hyundai's group-wide profit in the first half
of this year fell 75 percent from last year to 68.8 billion
won, marking the sharpest fall among the nation's top-10
conglomerates. Hyundai is the No. 1 chaebol in terms of
assets and debts, but No. 2 chaebol Samsung posted a group-
wide first-half profit of 3.89 trillion won.

Government officials and economists have long expressed
deep concerns over Hyundai's finances. Hyundai announced at
the end of July that its group-wide net profit for fiscal
1999, calculated by the combined financial statement
standards, amounted to 601.6 billion won.

However, the profit figure was later found to include asset
revaluation gains, worth 1.105 trillion won, meaning that
the group had actually suffered a loss of 527.1 billion won
last year, according to MoneyToday analyst Kang Sang-kyu.
The Bank of Korea also said that six of Hyundai's
manufacturing companies are not generating enough operating
profits to cover their interest payments.

"Hyundai's crisis has been caused by fundamental problems
in its profit structures, not by temporary cash-flow
problems," said analyst Kang. "Furthermore, many Hyundai
companies are not viable, without financial subsidies from
profitable auto, heavy industries and electronics units,"
he said.

The conglomerate's deteriorating financial health
immediately raised fears that Hyundai may be put onto the
Daewoo-like path to gradual collapse.  Alarmed, a growing
number of foreign creditors are already scaling down their
interest in Hyundai. A series of foreign reports warned
that the speed of Hyundai's reforms, among others, will
have a serious impact on the Korean economy in the second
half.  (Korea Herald  18-Aug-2000)


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

KYM INDUSTRIES: Disposes of land to repay bank debts
----------------------------------------------------
KYM Holdings Bhd's wholly-owned subsidiary KYM Industries
(M) Sdn Bhd has signed an agreement with Syarikat
Perniagaan Peladang (Mada) Sdn Bhd (SPPM) to dispose of
parcels of land and a factory building for RM6mil. The sale
proceeds would allow KYM to repay existing bank borrowings
and be available for working capital.

S&P FOOD INDUSTRIES: Plans capital reduction, rehab
---------------------------------------------------
S&P Food Industries (M) Bhd (SPF) has proposed a capital
reduction exercise involving its existing paid-up share
capital of RM16.1mil comprising 16.1 million RM1 shares to
RM8mil, comprising 16.1 million shares of 50 sen each and
thereafter, consolidating into 8.05 million RM1 shares.

The reduction of 50 sen from each existing RM1 share would
give rise to a credit of RM8mil which would be used to
reduce the company's audited accumulated losses of
RM45.65mil at April 30, 2000.  The exercise also includes a
scheme of arrangement involving a new investment holding
company (newco) with an initial paid-up capital of RM2.

Thereafter, pursuant to Section 176 of the Companies Act,
1965, the existing shareholders of SPF will have their
respective consolidated SPF shares cancelled and exchanged
with new newco shares on the basis of one new share in
newco for every consolidated SPF share.

On completion of the proposed scheme of arrangement, SPF
proposed to implement a renounceable rights issue of 8.05
million new newco shares at an issue price of RM1 per share
on the basis of one new share for every newco share held.
SPF will propose a debt restructuring scheme that will
provide settlement of the group's financial obligations of
RM34.7mil due to financial institutions at Sept 30, 2000,
partly with cash of RM9.4mil and the balance with issuance
of RM25.4mil nominal value five-year 4% irredeemable
convertible unsecured loan stocks in newco.

An application will be made to delist SPF from the second
board of the KLSE upon completion of the proposed scheme of
arrangement and subsequenlty list the entire enlarged
issued and paid-up share capital of Newco on the main
board. (Star Online  17-Aug-2000)


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

ALL ASIACAPITAL AND TRUST: Devising rehab plan
----------------------------------------------
Beleaguered investment house All AsiaCapital and Trust
Corp. is coming up with a rehabilitation plan to service
its obligations and become viable again.

Industry sources said All AsiaCapital is mulling a three-
year payment schedule for clients to recover their
investments in the firm.  Based on the proposal, one-third
of the investment will be recovered every year. The funds
will earn a 4% annual interest rate, the sources said.

"Talks are going on right now. The officers are looking at
numbers and trying to put together a rehabilitation plan,"
one of the sources said.

After it finalizes a rehabilitation proposal, the sources
said All AsiaCapital will request the Securities and
Exchange Commision (SEC) to lift the cease-and-desist order
(CDO) issued last month.  The sources said All
AsiaCapital's existing shareholders are considering pouring
in additional equity to prop up the closed investment
house. The firm is also planning to invite a strategic
investor.

State-owned Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank), which
has about a 6% stake in All AsiaCapital, is also reportedly
considering a debt-to-equity arrangement with the
investment firm.

All AsiaCapital needs about 1 billion Philippine pesos
($22.27 million at PhP44.903=$1) in fresh capital to meet
its immediate liquidity requirements. Although it remains
solvent, its assets are tied up in long-term commercial
papers (LTCPs) and real estate, which are difficult to
liquidate at the prevailing market condition.

The sources said, however, shareholders will only decide if
they want to sink additional capital after a thorough audit
on the company.  Aside from Landbank, All AsiaCapital's
shareholders include International Finance Corp., the World
Bank's private investment arm with 7%; Lombard Asian
Private Investment Co., 17%; Chemical Industries of the
Philippines (Chemphil); the Manila Bay Group of Companies;
Cagayan Electric Power and Light Co; Alcantara and Sons;
and the Armed Forces of the Philippines Retirement and
Separation Benefits System.

All AsiaCapital was forced to temporarily close shop after
the SEC issued the CDO.  An audit conducted by the SEC
brokers and exchanges department (BED) on All AsiaCapital
showed the investment house violated provisions of the
Bangko Sentral's (central bank) implementing guidelines on
the "prescribed capital adequacy ratios for investment
houses" under Presidential Decree 129.

Based on the SEC's audit, All AsiaCapital's receivables
from affiliate, All AsiaTrust Co. Financing, exceeded more
than 25% of its net worth.  All AsiaCapital was also found
to have violated the single borrower's limit (SBL) of the
Bangko Sentral.

Documents showed that liabilities of the investment firm's
commercial paper issuers, Reynolds Philippine Corp., which
is also majority-owned by the family of one of the
shareholders and Mondragon International Philippines, were
held for more than 180 days and exceeded 5% of its net
worth beyond the normal applicable SBL.

All AsiaCapital also allegedly issued short term promissory
notes and sourced funds of over PhP5 million ($.11 million)
from various corporate entities without prior approval of
the commission for the issuance of such commercial papers.
(Business World  18-Aug-2000)

CBK POWER CO.LTD: To sign rehab agreement
-----------------------------------------
CBK Power Co. Ltd., a joint venture between IMPSA of
Argentina and Edison Mission Energy of the US, will sign
with its creditor-banks today a $340-million loan financing
deal for the rehabilitation and expansion of the Caliraya-
Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) hydroelectric power complex in
Laguna and Quezon.

The four major international financial institutions are
Societe Generale, Banque Nationale de Paris, Dai-Ichi
Kangyo Bank and Industrial Bank of Japan. The
rehabilitation and expansion of the CBK power complex
requires a total investment of $460 million.

IMPSA and Edison Mission will pour in equity amounting to
$140 million to complete the required financing of the
project.  IMPSA and Edison Mission each has 50-percent
equity share in the project, which will run for the next 25
years under a build-rehabilitate-operate-transfer (BROT)
agreement with the state-owned National Power Corp.
(Napocor).

In a statement, IMPDA Asia, Ltd. president Francisco Ruben
Valenti said the loans from the four banks would be insured
under a private risk insurance program.  According to
Valenti, the loans and equity will cover the cost
associated with the rehabilitation and expansion of the
power project. Once disbursed, this financing will also
fund a special loan of $70.8 million from CBK to Napocor.
This amount would serve as a security deposit.

CBK Power and Napocor are in the process of complying with
the remaining conditions in the BROT contract. Napocor has
technically cancelled the contract of CBK for failure to
meet the June 30 deadline set by the power firm to settle
some of the contract's requirements. A mechanism provided
in the contract, however, allows the two parties to
negotiate any dispute.

CBK Power has already completed the rehabilitation and
upgrading of Unit 2 of the Kalayaan power plant to 172-
megawatt (MW) or 25 percent of the plant's total capacity.
By March 2001, IMPSA shall have completed the
rehabilitation of another 172-MW for Kalayaan Unit 1.
Between July and October 2001, the IMPSA will complete 55-
MW for the Caliraya and Botocan plants.  (Manila Times 18-
Aug-2000)

UNIWIDE HLDGS.: Rehab plan needs approval of 6 more banks
---------------------------------------------------------
Uniwide Holdings Inc. is still negotiating for the approval
by its other creditor-banks, namely Land Bank, Philippine
National Bank, Allied Bank, East West Bank, and ING Bank,
of its rehabilitation plan.

In an interview with the INQUIRER, a banking source said
only five creditors have agreed with the proposed
rehabilitation plan of the Securities and Exchange
Commission for Uniwide. These were United Coconut Planters
Bank, Global Bank, International Exchange Bank, Bank of the
Philippine Islands, and East Asia Capital Corp.

The creditor-banks are meeting again tomorrow to discuss
details of the proposed rehabilitation plan, which includes
the conversion of the Uniwide Metromall in Las Pi¤as City
into a condominium project under a special purpose
corporation.  The shares of the corporation will then be
distributed to the creditors as payment for the outstanding
debt.

The value of the Uniwide Warehouse Club area within the
Uniwide Metromall will be carved out of the total value of
Metromall and the balance will be given by way of dacion en
pago or payment-in-kind arrangement to PNB and Allied Bank.
The plan also intended to fold into the Metromall
collateral the Coastal Mall syndicate composed of BPI,
RCBC, Asian Bank and East West Bank reportedly to enhance
the latter's collateral into a more solid one against the
leasehold rights they currently hold.

"The PNB and Allied Bank as mortgagee banks of Uniwide
Metromall are concerned over the implementation of the
rehabilitation plan. The coastal mall will continue to
operate as a warehouse with the French casino group taking
over it. The Metromall in Las Pi¤as was converted into a
condominium with four units. One unit will be transferred
to the new realty firm of Uniwide. The three other units
will be transferred to another property holding company
likewise held by Uniwide," the source said.

Six banks--PNB, Allied, East West Bank, BPI, RCBC, UCPB and
East West Capital--will have shares in the property holding
firm of Uniwide.  A signing of an escrow agreement would
follow the MOAs by all the creditors of Uniwide with
Citibank as escrow agent, paving the way for the complete
takeover by Casino Guichard Perrachon.

Last February, Casino Guichard Perrachon entered into a
memorandum of understanding with the Uniwide group to
infuse P3.57 billion for an 80-percent stake in the firm,
which controls the chain of Uniwide convenience and
warehouse stores nationwide.  The funds to be raised from
the French group would be used to pay the P10 billion in
loans owed by Uniwide to its creditor-banks that were not
settled by dacion en pago arrangements.

Casino Guichard's investment, however, would only be made
upon the successful implementation of the debt
restructuring. (Philippine Daily Inquirer  17-Aug-2000)


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

NATIONAL STEEL ELECS.: Raises capital, eyebrows
-----------------------------------------------
NatSteel Electronics Ltd., the world's sixth largest
contract manufacturer, Wednesday raised S$200
(US$1=S$1.7189) million to cut its debt, but the new
investors' identity has also raised some eyebrows.

The contract manufacturer sold 10.5 million shares at
S$4.78 per share and S$150 million worth of zero-coupon
convertible bonds to Temasek Capital Pte. Ltd., the direct
investment arm of the Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd.

Temasek Holdings is the Ministry of Finance's investment
arm that holds more than S$70 billion worth of shares in
listed companies and is also a substantial shareholder in
NatSteel Ltd., which owns 34% of the electronics company.

"It looks like a little bit of a government bailout," said
one analyst who declined to be named. "The market would not
have given this kind of valuation."

The analyst speculated that this could be the start of a
larger and more active role by Temasek in the company
especially if NatSteel Ltd. decides to sell its stake in
the contract manufacturer.  Financial markets had expected
a capital injection as NatSteel was stretched to fund its
acquisition drive. NatSteel Electronics shares were up 3.3%
to S$5.00 on heavy volume of 5.9 million shares at midday.

The injection "does alleviate fear on the balance sheet,"
said Marc Tan, a fund manager at Singapore-based Optimix
Fund Management, which holds a "small" stake in the
company.  In the six months ended June 30, NatSteel
Electronics' net profit dropped 44% to S$25.2 million,
largely because interest expenses jumped to S$20.5 million
from S$3.3 million.

The capital injection, which according to analysts will not
be the last, raises the company's net tangible asset value
to S$0.808 per share from S$0.712 per share, but it cuts
earnings per share by 9.6%, the company said.  Excluding
Wednesday's announcement, NatSteel has S$237 million in
bank borrowing and S$441 million in bonds on its books.

After the latest deal, its debt to equity ratio will drop
to 0.9 times from 1.2 times, estimates Gregory Yap, an
analyst at OCBC Investment Research in Singapore. But he
adds NatSteel would need to raise another S$100 million
this year to meet its working capital requirements.

The need for additional capital may hasten NatSteel's plans
to seek a secondary listing on the Nasdaq, Yap said.
NatSteel Electronics needs between US$1.5 billion to US$2
billion in investment in the next few years to achieve its
target of raising revenue to S$10 billion, said Daiwa
Institute of Research analyst Pranab Kumar Sarmah who
upgraded the stock to hold from sell.

Temasek will hold 9.6% of NatSteel Electronics after the
placement and all bonds are converted, a company
spokeswoman told Dow Jones Newswires.  Analysts said
Temasek Capital was the easiest avenue for funds because of
NatSteel Electronics' high debt.

"It's probably easier to go to Temasek than going to the
market," said Tan.

A Temasek spokeswoman said Temasek Capital took the stake
because NatSteel is a good investment and that the industry
has good growth prospects.  This the NatSteel's second bond
issue. Last year it issued US$250 million in convertible
bonds and took an additional US$200 million in new lines of
credit.

That borrowing frenzy has been a result of NatSteel
Electronics' desire to maintain its status as a top
contract manufacturer.  In the past 18 months NatSteel
Electronics has invested some S$500 million in new
facilities. It has also bought NEC Corp.'s (NIPNY)
operations in the U.S. and the rU.S. Robotics modem
business from 3Com Corp.(COMS). (Asiagateway, Dow Jones
News Wires  17-Aug-2000)


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

ITALIAN-THAI DEVELOPMENT: Posts Bt152.76M Q2 loss
-------------------------------------------------
Italian-Thai Development posted a net loss of Bt152.76
million for the second quarter of this year, a turnaround
from the Bt341.52 million net profit for the same period
last year. Its revenues fell to Bt3.82 billion in the
second quarter, a decline from the Bt5.23 billion posted
last year. Fewer construction projects were attributed for
the drop, as well as a weaker baht, which resulted in
foreign exchange losses of Bt132.95 million in the second
quarter. The company suffered no foreign exchange losses in
the same quarter last year.

ROBINSON DEPT.STORE: Records Bt4.7B Q2 loss
-------------------------------------------
Robinson Department Store recorded a net loss of Bt4.7
billion for the second quarter of this year.
That was substantially greatern that the net loss of Bt32.8
million for the same period last year. For the first half
of this year, Robinson posted a Bt4.7 billion net loss,
against substantially up from the net loss of Bt558 million
posted for the same period last year.

SAFARI WORLD: Posts Bt98.94M Q2 loss
------------------------------------
Safari World posted a net loss of Bt98.94 million for the
second quarter of this year. By comparison, the company
posted a wider net loss of Bt271 million for the same
period last year.

SAHA PATHANAPIBUL GRP: SET to meet, discuss delisting
-----------------------------------------------------
Although there was already an indication that it did not
want to be delisted, the SET would soon meet the management
of Saha Pathanapibul Group to see if there were any
assistance measures the SET could extend to the group.

Supakit Jirapraditkul, director of the SET's listed
companies department, noted that in view of the fact that
many listed companies were adversely affected by the
economic crisis, the SET had eased many rules imposed on
them. For those companies delisted, they could still apply
for listing again, said Mr Supakit.

SINO THAI ENGIN.: Finansa buys debts at discount
------------------------------------------------
Finansa Thai has paid Bt900 million to purchase debts from
foreign bank creditors of Sino-Thai Engineering &
Construction Plc (Stecon) at a 60-per-cent discount of a
face value of Bt2.25 billion, creditor sources said.

This represents 45 per cent of total debts of Bt5 billion
which Stecon owes to more than 100 foreign and Thai banks,
including HSBC, Indosuez Credit Agricole, Sanwa Bank,
BankThai, and Bangkok Bank.  Sources said Finansa has been
buying debts from Stecon's creditors over the past two
months before it proposed a new debt-restructuring plan
last week.

Under the plan, creditors must convert their debts into the
company's equity.  Finansa, as Stecon's major creditor,
proposed that the restructuring would be via a debt-to-
equity conversion of Bt3.5 billion or 83.3 per cent of
total debt, according to creditor sources.

Stecon president Anutin Charnvirakul welcomed the move,
saying that Finansa's participation would be beneficial for
the company as a whole, although the Charnvirakul family
will see its stake in the company diluted from 80 to 23.3
per cent.  Also, Stecon's total debts would shrink to just
Bt600 million so the debt-to-equity ratio would be less
than 1 times, he added.

However, Anutin was not confident that company's bank
creditors would accept Finansa's debt restructuring
proposal given that they are unlikely to benefit from it.
Under the existing restructuring plan, Thai bank creditors
would have around 30-40 per cent of debts repaid in cash
with the remainder collected from asset sales.

While under the new restructuring plan, Thai bank creditors
would be repaid about 10 per cent in cash and the remainder
would be in equity, which come from debt-to-equity. Finansa
offered ratio for the debt-to-equity conversion was Bt70
per share, much higher than the market price of Bt10.50.

Stecon's shares have been suspended since March 17 this
year, the sources said. They said Finansa decided to invest
in Stecon, as its future business prospects remain bright.
The company is currently building a total of 8 state
projects that should generate handsome returns in the near
future.

Anutin said that Stecon's creditors are to meet on August
23 to vote on the new debt-restructuring plan. If Finansa's
proposal is shot down, Stecon would immediately be declared
insolvent and would then go under bankruptcy court
procedure. (The Nation  17-Aug-2000)

TELECOMASIA: Records Bt2.73B Q2 loss
------------------------------------
TelecomAsia reports that it suffered a Bt2.73 billion net
loss, or Bt1.23 per share, in the second quarter of this
year.

By comparison, the loss was much wider than the net loss of
Bt525.7 million, or Bt0.24 per share, for the same period
last year.  The company said its foreign exchange losses
totaled Bt1.57 billion, a substantial difference from its
foreign exchange gains of Bt971.65 million in the second
quarter 1999.

Total revenues rose to Bt4.79 billion in the second
quarter, up from Bt3.53 billion last year. The company's
operating profit, however, declined to Bt483.6 million,
down from Bt523.39 a year ago. The company attributed the
decline to higher operating expenses.

For the year's first half, TelecomAsia's losses totalled
Bt133.83 million, down substantially from Bt 2.27 billion
for the first half of 1999.

THAI PETROCHEM.INDUSTRY: Posts Bt5.2B 1H loss
---------------------------------------------
Thai Petrochemical Industry posted a Bt5.2 billion net loss
for the first half of this year, up markedly from a net
loss of Bt1.5 billion for the same period last year. For
the second quarter only, the firm's net losses rose to
Bt4.4 billion, up from Bt1.9 billion in the same period
last year.

THAI TEL. & TEL.: Posts Bt570M Forex loss, Q2 loss
--------------------------------------------------
Provincial fixed-line operator Thai Telephone and
Telecommunication plc (TTNT) recorded a Bt570 million Forex
loss from its foreign debts of US$434 million.

The company said it used a reference exchange rate of 39.28
baht per dollar in the second quarter of 2000, compared to
37.96 baht in the first quarter. Overall, TTNT posted a net
loss of 913 million baht in the quarter, compared to a net
loss of 14 million baht in the same period of 1999. But it
recorded an operating profit of 328 million baht, up 0.9
per cent from the same period in 1999.

TTNT's subscriber base rose to 1.18 million at the end of
the second quarter from 1.13 million in the same period in
1999. Business Times, Reuters 17-Aug-2000)

TOTAL ACCESS COMMUNICATION: Posts Forex, Q2 losses
UNITED COMMUNICATION INDUS.: Posts Forex, Q2 losses
---------------------------------------------------
United Communication Industry (Ucom), a major shareholder
of Thailand's second largest cellular phone operator Total
Access Communication (TAC), suffered Forex and operating
losses in the second quarter of the year.

Hit by a 941 million baht forex loss, TAC posted a net loss
of 269 million baht for the April-June period, although its
operating revenues rose more than 50 per cent to 5.03
billion baht.

Ucom reported an unrealised loss on foreign exchange of 1.5
billion baht, and a modest increase in its revenues.
The company said it posted a 5 per cent gain in its
consolidated revenue to 7.5 billion baht due to 11 per cent
growth in operating revenue and a 742 million baht gain
from divestments. Ucom posted a net loss of 1.18 billion
baht in the second quarter, compared to a 709 million baht
loss in the same period last year. (Business Times, Reuters
17-Aug-2000)

TUNTEX (Thailand): Records Bt351 M Q2 Loss
------------------------------------------
Tuntex (Thailand) recorded a Bt351 million net loss in the
second quarter of this year. By comparison, the company
posted a net loss of Bt210.8 million in the same period
last year. For the first half of this year, the company
posted a Bt472.3 million net loss, down from a Bt779.7
million net loss last year.

UNITED BROADCASTING: Records Bt 869.8M Q2 loss
-----------------------------------------------
United Broadcasting Corporation has reported a Bt869.8
million net loss for the first half of this year. By
comparison, the company recorded a wider net loss of
Bt1.326 billion in the same period last year.


S U B S C R I P T I O N  I N F O R M A T I O N

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Copyright 2000.  All rights reserved.  ISSN: 1520-9482.

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