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

                            A S I A   P A C I F I C

           Wednesday, October 4, 2000, Vol. 3, No. 193

                                    Headlines


* A U S T R A L I A *

ASTRO MINING: Write-offs swell losses
GUTNICK RESOURCES: Write-offs swell losses
JOHNSON'S WELL MINING: Write-offs swell losses
LEND LEASE CORP.: Buys property to pay debt
QUANTUM RESOURCES: Write-offs swell losses
SURF DIVE `N SKI: Loan default leads to administration


* C H I N A  &  H O N G  K O N G *

CIL HOLDINGS LTD.: Posts FY net loss


* I N D O N E S I A *

PT ARTACITRA TERPADA FEEDMILL: IBRA sues on debt
PT DHARMALA AGRINDO: IBRA sues on debt
PT MANSUR IMPORT EXPORT: IBRA sues on debt
PT MUARA ALAS PRIMA: IBRA sues on debt
PT PROBOLINGGO PELLETIZING FCTY: IBRA sues on debt
TEXMACO GROUP: IBRA takes over 70% to settle debt


* J A P A N *

LIQUID AUDIO: Hikari Tsushin sells 9% stake
ROCKET: Granted protection from creditors
SOGO CO: 7 execs dismissed, 23 quit


* K O R E A *

HANBO IRON & STEEL: Nabors officially cancels deal
SAMSUNG GROUP: Focus of FTC investigation


* M A L A Y S I A *

CHASE PERDANA: Looks to set-off losses
IDRIS HYDRAULIC: Selling stake to paydown debt
PERUSAHAAN OTOMOBIL: Shares dive on bad news
RAHMAN HYDRAULIC TIN: Signs deal for restructuring


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

ALSONS CEMENT CORP.: Eyes closure of Misamis plant
NATIONAL STEEL CORP.: 3 new investors submit bids
NATIONAL STEEL CORP.: Head receiver to oversee sale
SEMIRARA COAL CORP.: DMCI Holdings denies selling stake


* S I N G A P O R E *

BINTAN LAGOON RESORT: Misses loan principal payment
SPH ASIAONE: Posts annual net loss


* T H A I L A N D *

BANGKOK STEEL PCL: Facing delisting over audit regs.
CHRISTIANI & NIELSEN: Facing delisting over audit regs.
ITALIAN-THAI DEVELOPMENT: Debt plan hit by slow growth
NAVARAT PATTANAKARN: Plan heavily backed by creditors
NTS STEEL GROUP PCL: Facing delisting over audit regs.
RAIMON LAND PCL: Facing delisting over audit regs.
RENOWN LEATHERWEARS PCL: Facing delisting over audit regs.
THAI DURABLE TEXTILE PCL: Facing delisting over audit regs.


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

ASTRO MINING: Write-offs swell losses
GUTNICK RESOURCES: Write-offs swell losses
JOHNSON'S WELL MINING: Write-offs swell losses
QUANTUM RESOURCES: Write-offs swell losses
----------------------------------------------
Mr Joseph Gutnick's four listed exploration companies
racked up combined losses of almost $37 million in the
latest year, increasing their dependence on financial
support from his private resources. The annual reports of
Gutnick Resources, Astro Mining, Quantum Resources and
Johnson's Well Mining also reveal that all but one company
have a deficiency of shareholders' funds.

Johnson's Well, a gold explorer with tenements in Victoria
and the Northern Territory, incurred a net loss of $12.6
million in the year to June, after writing off $9.2 million
of exploration expenditure.  In 1999 it lost $5.4 million.
With $34 million of debt on its books, $9.3 million of it
owed to Mr Gutnick's private company Chevas, Johnson's Well
had a deficiency of $16.1 million in net assets.

In its report Mr Gutnick and fellow directors justified
drawing up the accounts on a going concern basis on the
grounds that Chevas had agreed not to withdraw its
financial support for at least the next year, and that a
"director related entity" had agreed to swap $4 million of
debt for equity if asked.

They also said with 27 million outstanding options, there
was the potential for further equity injections. The
options are exercisable at $2.60 while Johnson's Well's
most recent market price was 35c. Gutnick Resources lost
$11.2 million for the year, after equity accounting its 25
per cent stake in Quantum Resources, compared with $9.2
million in losses a year ago. The bulk of the loss stemmed
from writing off exploration expenditure of $7.3 million.

Its deficiency in shareholders' funds moved from $2.75
million to $12.1 million, as debt rose by $5 million to $18
million. Of that, $10 million is owed to Chevas. Directors
defended their going concern accounting by noting that
Gutnick had a prospectus out for shares and options that
could raise up to $32.7 million for the company.

Astro Mining, which is exploring for diamonds in Australia
and overseas, ended its year $7.8 million in the red,
improving from the previous year's $11.5 million loss. It,
too, wrote off a lump of exploration expenditure, $4.5
million, and another $1 million on its stake in two Chinese
diamond prospecting associates.  Astro was the only one of
the four companies to have a positive outcome on
shareholders' funds, with net assets of $2.5 million.

Quantum Resources lost a little under $7 million and had a
$1.6 million deficiency of shareholders' funds. Its ace in
the hole is its 43 per cent stake in Johnson's Well, which
is on the books at $1 million, in spite of its market value
of $119 million at June 30. (Sydney Morning Herald  03-Oct-
2000)

LEND LEASE CORP.: Buys property to pay debt
-------------------------------------------
Sydney-based Lend Lease Corp., Australia's biggest property
developer, completed the repurchase of 39.7 percent of its
stock, worth $1.8 billion. The firm financed the buyback,
approved by shareholders on August 18, from proceeds of the
$4.6 billion sale of its fund management arm MLC. Lend
Lease sold MLC to National Australia Bank, Australia's
largest bank, in June. Lend Lease earlier said it planned
to use the rest of the proceeds to repay debt and fund
future acquisitions.  (The Age  03-October-2000)

SURF DIVE `N SKI: Loan default leads to administration
------------------------------------------------------
Clothing and equipment retailer Surf Dive 'n Ski has been
placed in administration in Victoria, Queensland and
Western Australia after defaulting on a $12 million loan.

Joint administrators John Spark and James Stewart of the
Ferrier Hodgson insolvency firm confirmed the business was
placed in administration by ANZ Bank, which is owed $12
million on an unpaid commercial loan.

Owned by Ganesh Australia, a member of the Daswani Group,
the chain employed about 130 people. The administrators
plan to offer the business for sale as a going concern. The
arrangement did not affect the NSW Surf Dive 'n Ski
operations, it having independent ownership and being
operated separately from the other locations.


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

CIL HOLDINGS LTD.: Posts FY net loss
------------------------------------
Interior decoration company CIL Holdings Ltd. sank into the
red for the year ended June 30, recording a huge HK$607.99
million net loss for the period. That was a notable
turnaround from the net profit of HK$10 million it posted
for the prior year. Loss per share was 48.99 HK cents this
year compared with earnings per share of 1.30 HK cents the
year before.  Revenue rose 9.3 percent to HK$617.3 million.
No final dividend was proposed.


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

PT ARTACITRA TERPADA FEEDMILL: IBRA sues on debt
PT DHARMALA AGRINDO: IBRA sues on debt
PT MANSUR IMPORT EXPORT: IBRA sues on debt
PT MUARA ALAS PRIMA: IBRA sues on debt
PT PROBOLINGGO PELLETIZING FCTY: IBRA sues on debt
--------------------------------------------------
The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) continues
taking legal actions against uncooperative debtors to
achieve the target as set forth in the Letter of Intent
with IMF. The debtors sued with legal actions are: PT
Muara Alas Prima, PT Mansur Import Export, PT Dharmala
Agrindo, PT Artacitra Terpada Feedmill, and PT. Probolinggo
Pelletizing Factory.

PT Muara Alas Prima (MAP) - operates in the field of
agricultural trading. MAP has received working capital
credit facility for production and industry from Bank Exim
in the value of Rp7,000m since September 16,1998 based on
the Credit Agreement No. 35 dated April 31, 1998 which has
been mature but not yet paid back by the company.

MAP has received working capital from Bank Rakyat Indonesia
in the value of Rp2,500m since June 28, 1990 due maturity
on June 27, 1991 but has extended several times up to June
27, 1998. Besides, MAP has received Checking Account Credit
Facility from Bank Dharmala in the amount of Rp200m since
January 26, 1993 due maturity on January 26, 1994, but has
extended several times until March 26, 1996.

Portions of loans from Bank Exim, BRI and Bank Dharmala
have been transferred to IBRA as of May 31, 2000, but MAP
has not yet paid back its Bank Exim, BRI and Bank Dharmala
loans to IBRA which holds the right on the payable
accounts.

On September 22, 2000 IBRA has filed Bankruptcy Petition
against MAP with the lawsuit No. 71/Pailit/2000/PN. The
debt obligation of MAP to IBRA as of August 31, 2000 is
Rp17,729.57m.  IBRA in its capacity as the holder of the
right of PT Bank Ekspor Impor Indonesia (Persero) to demand
for the debt obligation payment from debtors PT Mansur
Import Export Company (MIE) and the guarantors consisting
of 7 persons who have given their personal guarantee and 4
(four) companies who have given the corporate guarantee has
filed agreement default petition against the debtors.

The petition had been filed as IBRA consider that MIE, a
subsidiary of the Dharmala Group along with its guarantors
did not cooperative and did not show commitment to settle
all obligations of MIE to IBRA. In the petition, IBRA
demands for the payment of Domestic Trade Working Capital
Credit Facility received by MIE inclusive of the interest
and penalty payment which in total amounts to Rp17,786.01m
as well as the billing cost of Rp200m.

IBRA has also requested the district court to
implement collateral seizure on assets of both fixed assets
and movable assets of MIE and its guarantors, among other,
including assets belonging to Suhargo Gondokusumo, Suyanto
Gondokusumo (as personal guarantor) and PT. Dharmala
Intiutama, PT. Brantas Pelletizing Factory (as corporate
Guarantor).

In addition, with reference to the Supreme Court Regulation
No. 1 Year 2000 about Detention Institution, IBRA has also
filed petition for detention of personal guarantors and the
directors who have given corporate guarantee. As the
authorized agency representing the government, IBRA hopes
the court to approve of the petition for detention in order
to make MIE and the guarantors cooperative and willing to
settle their obligations to IBRA. In addition, based on the
Chapter 6 of the Supreme Court Regulation No. 1, IBRA as
petitioner representing the government, considers that its
detention request be immediately administered by the Court.

On September 22, 2000 IBRA has filed Bankruptcy Petition
against PT Dharmala Agrindo (DA) because PT. DA has not
paid back its Rp174,155,41m debts to IBRA.  On September
22, 2000 The Litigation Division of IBRA sent Warning
Letter to PT Arta Citra Terpadu Feedmill (ACTF) and its
guarantors to immediately settle all of ACTF's Rp67,111.22m
to IBRA. The debt consists of Rp31,963m principal loans
from Bank Ekspor Impor Indonesia plus interests and fines.

On September 22, 2000 The Litigation Division of IBRA has
sent Warning Letter to PT Probolinggo Pelletizing Factory
(PPF) and its guarantors to immediately settle all debts of
PPF to IBRA. The outstanding debt is around Rp21,367.78m
deriving from Bank Ekspor Impor Indonesia. (Indo Exchange
News  03-Oct-2000)

TEXMACO GROUP: IBRA takes over 70% to settle debt
-------------------------------------------------
Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) confirmed it
has taken over a 70 percent stake in Texmaco Group as part
of a scheme to restructure 16.552 trln rupiah in debt.

Bisnis Indonesia quoted IBRA chairman and junior minister
for economic restructuring Cacuk Sudarijanto as saying
Texmaco founder Marimutu Sinivasan will hold 30 pct of the
group. Sudarijanto said the debt restructuring scheme has
been approved by the Financial Sector Policy Committee --
the body overseeing IBRA's loan restructuring, chaired by
the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Rizal Ramli.

The Texmaco Group debts, taken over by IBRA from local
commercial banks, involve liabilities of 17 group companies
including PT Polysindo Eka Perkasa, PT Texmaco Jaya, PT
Texmaco Perkasa Engineering and PT Multikarsa Investama.
Sudarijanto said IBRA plans to form a holding company and
divest each of these companies to third parties.
(AsiaGateway News  03-Oct-2000)


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

LIQUID AUDIO: Hikari Tsushin sells 9% stake
-------------------------------------------
Cash-strapped Hikari Tsushin will sell its 9 percent stake
in troubled Liquid Audio Japan for about $14 million,
having paid only about $2.2 million for the shares in
August 1998.

Liquid Audio Japan was the first company to list on the
Tokyo Stock Exchange's Mothers market for high-growth
stocks, which opened in December. Liquid Audio has since
been plagued by allegations that it has ties to Japanese
gangsters, its president recently resigning due to the
controversy.

ROCKET: Granted protection from creditors
-----------------------------------------
Protection from creditors was granted to Rocket, a
household appliance retailer, by the Tokyo District Court
under the Civil Rehabilitation Law.

Rocket's debts total some 41.3 billion yen (US$ 383
million) according to one credit research firm. Rocket
recorded 20.2 billion yen in sales for the fiscal year
ended March 2000, compared with 35.6 billion yen in peak
sales in the year ended March 1991.

Rocket was established in 1946, focusing on sales of PCs
and PC software in the first half of the 1990s. Rival firms
such as Laox Co. and Sofmap Co. successfully lured
customers away by expanding sales floors and product
lineups, weakening's Rocket's position.  The company's
financial base eroded in large part due to intensification
of competition between personal computer and household
appliance retailers.

SOGO CO: 7 execs dismissed, 23 quit
-----------------------------------
Failed department store operator Sogo Co. has confirmed its
21 affiliates have dismissed seven executives while another
23 executives have stepped down voluntarily in a display of
personal responsibility for the company's financial
failure.

That brings to 60 percent the number of executives at Sogo
affiliates that have left posts with no retirement
benefits. It follows the resignation in August of six board
members, including Kyoichi Yamada, then president of the
parent Sogo.


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

HANBO IRON & STEEL: Nabors officially cancels deal
--------------------------------------------------
Creditor banks of Hanbo Steel announced Tuesday that the US
consortium of Nabors officially notified it had cancelled
the deal to purchase the troubled company.

A source at the banks said Nabors claimed that creditors
had failed to meet its three conditions, legal permission
of new liquidation plan, market price discounting of W236
billion tax bond and exclusive right for Tangjin wharf, by
the deadline of September 30.

Hanbo creditors said it would ask Woobang Law Firm to study
legal actions to claim damages for the cancellation of the
deal as they had respected all of the conditions Nabors
demanded. The U.S. consortium had agreed with creditors to
buy Hanbo Steel at US$480 million by the end of September
back in March 1999.  (Digital Chosun  04-Oct-2000)

SAMSUNG GROUP: Focus of FTC investigation
-----------------------------------------
The Samsung Group is taking the spotlight in the Fair Trade
Commission's (FTC) ongoing investigation of chaebol intra-
group deals, with the investigation focusing on Lee Jae-
yong, son of Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee, and his suspected
unlawful support of his venture companies.

In addition, officials said yesterday that the lack of
cooperation from the conglomerates in submitting required
documents may lengthen the antitrust watchdog's ongoing
probe of the top four chaebol.

"Amid mounting suspicion that Lee Jae-yong's venture
companies are being inappropriately used for graft, the FTC
will soon embark on a full-scale probe of those related
companies," an FTC official said.

Consequently, aside from e-Samsung and e-Samsung
International, which had been included in the original list
of 36 companies the FTC announced it would probe back on
Aug. 16, officials said the would probe seven additional
Internet-related venture companies controlled by the
younger Lee.

"Some of the required material to investigate some of Lee
Jae-yong's venture companies has already been collected,"
the official said, adding that a separate probe into these
firms might be launched during the latter half of the
month.

Also, Samsung Card's lack of cooperation may result in
pushing back the Oct. 14 deadline for the investigations,
the official said.  If found guilty of misappropriated
funds, the younger Lee will face stiff fines from the
government and will also undergo an audit from the National
Tax Service, he said.

The FTC is currently undergoing its fourth audit of the
Hyundai, Samsung, LG and SK groups and 36 of their
affiliates for violations of intragroup deal regulations
that began August 16. The watchdog has already slapped
170.8 billion won in fines on the top four conglomerates
for conducting unlawful intragroup transactions of 17.85
trillion won, of which it is estimated 358 billion won in
unfair support has gone to subsidiaries.

In response, the chaebol filed suits to nullify the
watchdog's actions claiming they were flagrant and ill-
conceived.  (Korea Herald  04-Oct-2000)


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

CHASE PERDANA: Looks to set-off losses
--------------------------------------
Chase Perdana Bhd is proposing to reduce up to RM159.54
million of its entire share premium account against the
accumulated losses of RM216.33 million as at Dec 31, 1999.

In announcing to the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, Bumiputra
Merchant Bankers Bhd, on behalf of Chase Perdana said the
application to the Securities Commission for the proposal
would be made within one month.  Chase Perdana said the
proposed share premium reduction would set off the losses
to reflect a better financial position.

It added that the move would not have any material impact
on its earnings for the current financial year ending Dec
31, 2000, and neither would it have any impact on the share
capital of the group. (The Edge  03-Oct-2000)

IDRIS HYDRAULIC: Selling stake to paydown debt
----------------------------------------------
Idris Hydraulic Bhd., a Malaysian timber, property and
insurance company, will sell its 30 percent stake in
sewerage company Prime Utilities Bhd. to closely held
Utusan Jutabina Sdn. for 110 million ringgit ($29 million),
the Star newspaper reported, citing unidentified sources.
The sale comes after Prime sold its national sewerage
treatment project to the Malaysian government for 192.5
million ringgit, the report said.

In August, Idris, struggling with 1.2 billion ringgit debt,
unveiled a repayment plan which included selling assets
such as its stake in Prime. (Bloomberg 04-Oct-2000)

PERUSAHAAN OTOMOBIL: Shares dive on bad news
--------------------------------------------
Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional (Proton) shares suffered their
biggest one-day fall in almost three years after a report
that the country's biggest car-maker may be buying a stake
in unprofitable Rover Group.

Investors were also worried about the impact of a stronger
yen and increased costs resulting from recalls of about 100
of its newest model, analysts said. Proton shares fell as
much as 54 cents, or 13 per cent, to M$3.62. That was the
biggest one-day decline since January 1998.

"With Proton, there is more and more bad news coming out,"
said Vincent Khoo, an analyst at SG Research.
"They cannot raise selling prices even though the yen has
strengthened."

Rover's chairman, John Towers, was reported as saying that
Proton was in talks to buy Rover. The purchase would help
raise money to keep open Rover's plant in England. Proton
officials said yesterday the company was looking at an
alliance not a stake purchase in Rover.

For Proton, a tie-up with a foreign car company would help
it to expand to overseas markets. While Proton cars account
for more than six out of 10 new passenger cars sold in
Malaysia, it needs to increase sales, especially to bigger
markets, if it is to reduce the cost of developing its own
cars. (South China Morning Post, Bloomberg  03-Oct-2000)

RAHMAN HYDRAULIC TIN: Signs deal for restructuring
--------------------------------------------------
Malaysia's Rahman Hydraulic Tin Bhd has signed an agreement
with privately-owned Speed Operations Sdn to a
restructuring plan that is expected to lead to new
shareholders taking over the company.

Speed Operations is the agent for the sellers of a group of
companies that will be injected into Rahman Hydraulic, a
tin-mining and rubber production company.  In a statement
late Monday, Rahman Hydraulic's special administrators said
the agreement is to "regulate and record their basic
understanding of a comprehensive restructuring" of Rahman
Hydraulic.

The plan will result in the white-knight companies' sellers
becoming the substantial shareholders of Rahman Hydraulic.
The identity of the sellers has not been revealed.  The
sellers propose to inject Metronic Engineering Sdn.,
Skymech Automation Bhd., Metro Health Sdn. Bhd., MH Medic
Sdn. and the Esquetech Group of Companies into Rahman
Hydraulic.

The agreement is subject to due diligence by the special
administrators and approvals from the authorities. The
special administrators are presently drawing up a detailed
proposal together with Speed Operations. (AsiaGateway 03-
Oct-2000)


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

ALSONS CEMENT CORP.: Eyes closure of Misamis plant
--------------------------------------------------
Alsons Cement Corp., largest cement producer in Mindanao,
plans to close down one of its plants in Lugait, Misamis
Oriental, due to heavy losses resulting from the economic
crisis, and the unabated dumping of cheap imported cement.

Some 400 employees have already been retrenched and
hundreds, if not, thousands more are facing dismissal
before the year ends if Alsons pushes through with the
plan, according to Misamis Oriental Governor Antonio
Calingin.  Calingin said the local cement industry was
losing billions of pesos due to the importation of cheap
cement from Taiwan and Japan.

Quoting Alsons manager Tom Clough, Calingin said the
company lost some P1.6 billion in 1999. At that time,
imported cement represented only three percent of the
market share.  But the demand for imported cement has since
grown and is now eating up 20 percent of the country's 25
million bag average monthly demand, according to Calingin.

Alsons officials predicted the local industry would
continue to suffer from an oversupply of cement within the
next five years unless the government acted on the problem.
"Unless something drastic is done to solve this problem,
expect more plants to close down and more people to lose
their jobs," said Calingin.

Calingin urged Trade and Industry Secretary Mar Roxas II to
order the strict enforcement of government regulations on
the importation of cement as he cited complaints about
"shortcuts" in the testing of these foreign products. He
also called for an investigation into complaints about
gross violations of provisions in the law on cement
importation.

Under the law, Calingin said "shortcuts" to product testing
are only allowed if there is shortage in the supply of
cement. "There is however an oversupply of cement and yet
we have been receiving reports that the government is
allowing shortcuts."

Based on "conservative" estimates, the provincial
government stands to lose P50 million in tax revenues if
Alsons closes shop.  The figure does not yet cover the real
estate taxes Alsons is paying the local government of
Lugait.  The bulk of Alson's taxes, according to Calingin,
goes to allowances and hazard pay of Misamis Oriental
government employees and public school teachers. (Manila
Times  03-Oct-2000)

NATIONAL STEEL CORP.: 3 new investors submit bids
-------------------------------------------------
Just when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was
getting ready to liquidate debt-saddled National Steel
Corp. (NSC), three potential white knights threw last-
minute bids to save what used to be the country's largest
steel maker, leaving the corporate regulator in a dilemma
over the steel maker's fate.

"We are looking at all the possibilities...the potential
investors came in very late but they seem very interested.
We were already decided on liquidating NSC but with the
last minute entry of potential investors, it would be a
waste if we liquidate now...we will study our options," SEC
chairperson Lilia R. Bautista told reporters yesterday.

Among the three potential investors is the group being
tapped by NSC majority shareholder Hottick Investments,
Ltd.  Ms. Bautista, however, did not disclose the
identities of the two other foreign investors that
approached the Department of Finance and the SEC separately
last Friday. The three groups sought an extension of the
NSC debt moratorium, which lapsed last Saturday.

SEC officials privy to the NSC case said the government
agency will decide this week whether to grant the extension
of the debt reprieve or move for liquidation, as proposed
by the steel maker's interim receivership committee (IRC).
Unable to meet last Friday's deadline for filing an
alternative rehab plan, Hottick -- whose 2.02 million NSC
shares are held by Malaysian government agency Danaharta
Pengurusan Berhad -- is asking for more time to finalize a
working rehab plan for the steel maker.

"Our discussion with the potential investor parties are
still on-going. Issues on valuation, working partners and
environment and current state of the plant and machinery
and their restarting costs are still being discussed," NSC
president and Hottick representative Ibrahim Bin Bidin said
in a letter to the SEC.

For its part, the IRC filed last Friday, the liquidation
plan for NSC following the objection of Hottick to the
rehabilitation plan it earlier prepared by the IRC. IRC
chairman Monico V. Jacob proposed to adapt the Commission's
rules of procedure on corporate recovery, for the creation
of a subsidiary to hold the firm's assets and continue
operations. The shares of the said subsidiary will then be
sold in order to pay off the firm's creditors.

Under the SEC rules, in certain cases, a liquidator can
"make a legal transfer of the property of the debtor into a
newly-created, wholly owned subsidiary, for purposes of
continuing operations...and selling shares of the
subsidiary to pay off creditors."

According to Mr. Jacob, the traditional form of liquidation
-- sale of assets -- will not work for NSC since "the
assets of NSC have no benefit to anybody if they are not
operating. We are looking at putting up a subsidiary to
hold NSC's assets...the liquidators will become the
trustees of the subsidiary and will also be in charge of
selling the shares to potential investors," Mr. Jacob said.

NSC filed its petition to be declared in a state of
suspension of payment and rehabilitation last December 28
after it failed to meet obligations of over 16.18 billion
Philippine pesos ($349.87 million at PhP46.246=$1). The
firm suspended its operations in November last year due to
financial problems highlighted by its failure to repay
debts to 14 creditor banks. (Business Times  03-Oct-2000)

NATIONAL STEEL CORP.: Head receiver to oversee sale
---------------------------------------------------
Ordering the liquidation of the company, the Securities and
Exchange Commission designated the head of its receivership
committee, Monico Jacob, to oversee the sale of National
Steel Corp's assets.

SEC chairwoman Lilia Bautista confirmed that the
commission's hearing panel had approved the liquidation of
National Steel, which went into receivership after it
failed to service its 16.5 billion peso debt. The order was
issued by the commission despite a request for an extension
of National Steel's debt payments suspension by its
majority holder, Malaysian company Hottick Investments.

SEMIRARA COAL CORP.: DMCI Holdings denies selling stake
--------------------------
DMCI Holdings, Inc. is clarifying facts that appeared in a
news article published in the 29 September 2000 issue of
the Business World that reported that it would delist its
subsidiary Semirara Coal Corporation (SCC) as it prepares
its sale to prospective buyers.

In a letter to the Exchange dated 29 September 2000, DMCI
clarified that it did plan to the spin off Semirara Coal
Corporation's operating business, which will involve the
transfer of all assets and liabilities estimated to be
PhP181 million to a wholly owned subsidiary of the company.
It is not delisting Semirara Coal Corporation in the
process, however.


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

BINTAN LAGOON RESORT: Misses loan principal payment
---------------------------------------------------
Bintan Lagoon Resort, which borrowed money from bond-
holders to develop a 416-room resort and two golf courses,
failed to repay the $53 million principal upon maturity
last week, which is unusual for a GLC-backed company.
Billed as "the first Singapore dollar-denominated bond
issue for a resort company" when it was launched in
September 1995, the five-year bond issue matured last
Tuesday.

But as of yesterday, institutional investors who subscribed
to the issue had not received the full $53 million owed to
them yet.  This has raised some eyebrows, given the strong
backing of the group.

Bintan Lagoon Resort, which developed Hotel Sedona Bintan
Lagoon, is owned by a consortium comprising SembCorp
Industries' (SCI's) Safe Enterprises (44 per cent), Keppel
Land (10 per cent) and Temasek Holdings' wholly owned
subsidiary Seletar Investments (10 per cent).  The Kintetsu
Group of Japan owns 26 per cent, while the remainder is
held by an Indonesian group.

Responding to queries from The Straits Times, Bintan Lagoon
Resort -- known formerly as Safe Bintan Resort -- confirmed
that it was "working with a financial adviser to come up
with an alternative package for our bond-holders. Bintan
Lagoon has turned around and is now generating positive
gross operating profit sufficient to meet its operating
needs and interest payments. It is actually able to repay
some, but not all, of the principal sum."

The coupon was 5.875 per cent and sources said it had not
missed any of the interest payments to date.  Industry
players said there were several options open to the
company. These included taking out a loan to repay
bondholders and seeking an extension of the repayment date
-- usually possible if the issuer threw in a "sweetener" in
the form of higher interest payments.

But whichever solution is decided on, market-watchers said
some damage may have been done already.  "The main
aftershock from this is that investors will realise the
risk is with the entity itself and not the shareholder,"
said a fund manager. "It used to be the case that if the
parent was Government-linked, the expectation was that they
would bail out a company. After this, investors would
probably be more circumspect and see if the company can
generate the cashflow to service the interest and
eventually the principal."

The $53 million bond issue was a source of funds raised by
Bintan Lagoon in 1995 towards the construction of the first
phase of the Bintan Lagoon Resort project.  The entire $220
million project consisted of the 416-room Hotel Sedona
Bintan Lagoon, two 18-hole golf courses designed by Jack
Nicklaus and Ian-Baker Finch, a leisure centre and 57
villas.

To fund this, a $70 million offshore loan had also been
taken that year.  Bintan Lagoon yesterday declined to
comment on the state of its financial health, but a check
with the Registry of Companies and Businesses showed that
for the financial year ended 1998, it turned around with an
after-tax profit of $37,850 from an after-tax loss of
$12.06 million the previous year.

But a whopping extraordinary loss of $52.91 million in 1998
resulted in a bottom-line loss of $52.87 million. Market-
watchers said it was possible the resort found itself in a
tight cashflow position because of ""unforeseen
circumstances," including the regional economic crisis and
malaria outbreaks in 1998.

Early this year, tourism was also hit when mob violence
broke out there.  Even in ordinary times, bankers said,
resorts are a hard-sell to bond investors.

"The cashflow is volatile, it's seasonal and tourism is
very dependent on country politics," said DBS vice-
president (capital markets) Eric Pascal.  Societe-Generale
Singapore Merchant Bank, the sole arranger and underwriter
for the issue, declined comment while SCI and Keppel Land
declined to say more beyond the statement issued by Bintan
Lagoon Resort.  (Straits Times  04-Oct-2000)

SPH ASIAONE: Posts annual net loss
----------------------------------
SPH AsiaOne, listed Internet subsidiary of media group
Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), reported a full-year net
loss of $15 million as it continues to invest in branding
and infrastructure.

This compares to a loss of just $538,000 a year ago.
Included in the $15 million was an exceptional item of $2.5
million.  This arose from AsiaOne's accounting policy of
amortising in two years the goodwill from the $6.4 million
acquisition of a 20 per cent stake in Asian Bourses
Corporation -- a financial infrastructure company.

The financial figures covered the period between July 23
last year and Aug 31 this year. This was because AsiaOne
was incorporated as a separate company on July 23.
Turnover grew 34 per cent to $5.5 million.  This was driven
mainly by advertising revenue, which rose 56 per cent to
$1.7 million, with stronger performance seen in the second
half of the year.

AsiaOne chief executive officer Low Huan Ping attributed
the growth in online advertising to the ""stickiness" of
the AsiaOne website, on which surfers spend about 22
minutes a time. He said that the website had about 750,000
users, of which 280,000 were registered visitors.
Revenue from voice services, such as Web voice -- where
people receive information over the phone -- increased 34
per cent to $1.7 million while sales from e-commerce
transactions was up 21 per cent to $2.1 million.

Mr Low stuck to the company's original forecast of breaking
even in two to three years.  He said the company had
reduced its "burn rate," or expenses, from $2.2 million a
month in the last financial year to $1.5 million a month
this year; and it has holding power in the form of cash
reserves of $105 million.

Despite the loss and weakness in the share price -- which
has halved from the issue price of 60 cents -- he remained
confident of the future.

"At the end of the day, we believe we will be a survivor.
We have the money and the backing of SPH to survive. About
95 per cent of Internet companies will fade away but the
big get bigger. We believe if we survive, we will prosper.
And if we prosper, we will grow bigger."  (Straits Times
04-Oct-2000)


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

BANGKOK STEEL PCL: Facing delisting over audit regs.
CHRISTIANI & NIELSEN: Facing delisting over audit regs.
NTS STEEL GROUP PCL: Facing delisting over audit regs.
RAIMON LAND PCL: Facing delisting over audit regs.
RENOWN LEATHERWEARS PCL: Facing delisting over audit regs.
THAI DURABLE TEXTILE PCL: Facing delisting over audit regs.
-----------------------------------------------------------
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) will delist the
securities of six companies if they fail to establish their
own audit committees by the end of the year.

The six companies are Christiani & Nielsen (Thai) PCL
(H.CTN), Thai Durable Textile PCL (H.TDT), NTS Steel Group
PCL, Raimon Land PCL, Bangkok Steel PCL and Renown
Leatherwears PCL. The half-dozen firms had been scheduled
to set up their audit committees by the end of September,
but were unable to do so.

Share trading in all six companies was suspended earlier
this year. The shares have been included in the bourse's
rehabilitation sector, which mainly consists of suspended
stocks in companies that are undergoing restructuring.

ITALIAN-THAI DEVELOPMENT: Debt plan hit by slow growth
------------------------------------------------------
Construction firm Italian-Thai Development said yesterday
its plans to restructure more than seven billion baht in
debt had been hit by slower-than-expected economic growth.

Chatichai Chutima, vice-president in charge of finance,
said his company would hold talks with creditors to adjust
its debt rescheduling plan, expected to be concluded in
November.

"Previously, we thought that we were able to pay because we
expected the country's economy to improve much more than
this," Chatichai said in an interview.  "But when it turned
out not to be what we expected, we had to seek to adjust
the plan with creditors."

According to the current debt plan agreed by creditors in
late-1999, the repayment period for $200 million of loans
would be extended for another five years, pushing most to
2004.  The loans would carry interest rates of 2.25 percent
over the London interbank offered rate for foreign loans
and at the average Thai minimum lending rate for baht-
denominated borrowing.

Chatichai said the company's debt obligations were now at
7.5 billion baht, excluding 3.3 billion baht debentures due
in 2005.  He said Ital-Thai might not be able to pay about
200 million baht interest to debenture holders on October
10.

"We are discussing with debenture holders and we have
already informed trustees that we may not be able to pay
interest on the debenture," he said.

Chatichai said a review of the debt plan was needed to keep
the company's operations going in the longer term amid
uncertainty over the country's economic outlook.
"To prevent any impact on our operations, we have to talk
with creditors. We are discussing a more conservative plan.
We want to pay interest at the amount which is in line with
the economic situation," he said.

Chatichai said the delay in interest payments would not
affect the company operations as creditors in its project
financing group continued their support for the company.
"So far our creditors understand what happened. It's not
anyone's fault. The economy did not grow as much as
everyone expected. Back to 1998, everyone though that the
Thai economy would be good in 2000 but today there is a lot
of negative news on the Thai economy," he said.

Chatichai said Ital-Thai fundamentals were still good with
a gross profit margin before depreciation at 17 percent in
the second quarter of 2000.  "So far our profitability is
better � gross profit margin after depreciation was at 10
percent in the second quarter compared with 1 percent in
1999," he said.

But in the first six month of this year, the company posted
a net loss of 390 million baht compared with a 689 million
baht profit in the same period of 1999.  Chatichai said the
company's earnings were slow this year although it was
awarded new construction contracts with work in hand worth
of 45 billion baht this year compared with 20 billion baht
in 1999 and 1998.  Ital-Thai shares closed at 13.25 baht
yesterday. (Business Day, Reuters  03-Oct-2000)

NAVARAT PATTANAKARN: Plan heavily backed by creditors
-----------------------------------------------------
Some 88% of Navarat Pattanakarn Co's creditors have agreed
to accept a restructuring plan which would give lenders a
64% stake in the construction firm through a debt-for-
equity swap.

Mana Kannasut, managing director of Navarat, was named
planner for the rehabilitation process. Creditors holding
3.2 billion baht in debt, or around 88% of the total,
agreed to accept the rehabilitation plan, which will now go
to the Central Bankruptcy Court for final approval.

The plan calls for 90% of outstanding debt to be converted
to equity, giving creditors a 64% stake in the company and
controlling 116 million shares out of a total 181.25
million outstanding. The remaining 10% of debt will be
repaid in monthly instalments from the firm's cashflow over
the next two years.

Some assets for the firm will be transferred to the
Industrial Finance Corporation of Thailand to help settle a
debt of 183 million baht. Navarat Pattanakarn has the right
to repurchase the assets at a price of 104 million baht.
Major creditors of the company include Siam Commercial
Bank, BankThai, National Finance and the IFCT. Mr Mana said
the debt-for-equity swap would help boost the company's
position significantly.

One issue remaining was whether creditors were willing to
offer further financial support for the firm, such as
construction guarantees for state contracts. Mr Mana said
this issue was not directly addressed in the rehabilitation
plan. He expressed hope that lenders would offer further
support for the firm, which has work contracts worth six
billion baht. (Bangkok Post  03-Oct-2000)


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

Troubled Company Reporter -- Asia Pacific is a daily
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Copyright 2000.  All rights reserved.  ISSN: 1520-9482.

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