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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

            Monday, October 9, 2000, Vol. 3, No. 196

                                   Headlines


* A U S T R A L I A *

BHP: 5-day work stoppage to paralyze it
HEALTHLAND AUSTRALIA: Insolvent, placed in voluntary admin.
SURF DIVE`N SKI: FBI steps in to investigate fraud
WAKEFIELD TRINITY: Given time to repay creditors


* C H I N A  &  H O N G  K O N G *

DALIAN INT'L TRUST: To pay 60% overseas debt, then go BK
HAINAN INT'L TRUST: Misses overdue loan payment


* I N D O N E S I A *

PT BAKRIE KASEI CORP.: Sales proceeds targeted to cut debt


* J A P A N *

FUDO CREDIT UNION: Asks to be put under state control
JAPAN CHINA OIL DEV.CORP.: Files for liquidation
KOFUKO BANK: Sale to Wilbur Ross approved
SNOW BRAND MILK PRODUCTS: First consumer lawsuit filed
SOGO CO: Travel unit sold off


* K O R E A *

CHEJU BANK: Must reduce capital before fresh funds
DAEWOO MOTORS: Creditors to allow split-up bids
DAEWOO MOTORS: Borrows to pay wages
DAEWOO MOTORS: GM submit offer
HANVIT BANK: Must reduce capital before fresh funds
HYUNDAI GROUP: Sale of securities unit to aid liquidity
KOREA EXCHANGE BANK: Must reduce capital before fresh funds
KWANGJU BANK: Must reduce capital before fresh funds
SSANGYONG GROUP: To sell heavy industries stake to pay debt


* M A L A Y S I A *

MBF CAPITAL: Sells MBf Finance stake for loss
SATERAS RESOURCES (MALAYSIA): Debt revamp delayed


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

PHILIPPINE NAT.BANK: Gets P10B infusion from Tan
WESTMONT INVEST.CORP.: Investors pushing for liquidation


* S I N G A P O R E *

SEATOWN CORP.: Receives $31M to repay debts


* T H A I L A N D *

NAKORNTHAI STRIP MILL: Requests time to work out debt plan
THAI AMARIT: Rehabilitation plan approved
THAI CANE PAPER: In desperate debt negotiation


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

BHP: 5-day work stoppage to paralyze it
---------------------------------------
Today marks the start of a crippling five-day stoppage at
three BHP coal operations in Queensland.  Union members at
the Crinum and Gregory coal mines in central Queensland and
the Hay Point coal loading terminal at Mackay claim stalled
talks over a new enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA)
forced the industrial action.

A similar strike is expected in New South Wales later in
the week at Illawarra's Appin, Tower and Cordeaux
collieries.  A spokesman for the Construction, Forestry,
Mining and Energy Union, Tony Maher, said his members would
prefer to be at work.

"If we can get an agreement next week the strike will be
called off," he said.  "All I'm saying is that if it takes
more and more strikes to drive the message home, then
that's what will happen."

It will be the fourth round of industrial action at Hay
Point, with BHP saying it is too early to estimate the cost
of the five-day strike.  BHP has offered a 13 percent wage
increase but the union is pushing ahead with a 15 per cent
claim.  BHP has gone to the Industrial Relations Commission
asking for existing EBA's to be struck out. (ABC News
Online  09-Oct-2000)

HEALTHLAND AUSTRALIA: Insolvent, placed in voluntary admin.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Healthland Australia has been placed in voluntary
administration after becoming insolvent because of
financial difficulties experienced by its South African
parent company.

The administrator of Healthland Australia says most members
will not suffer financially if the health club is forced to
close because they are on monthly memberships.  Healthland
has more than 40,000 members of its 11 clubs in Sydney,
Melbourne and Perth.  Administrator Alan Topp from
Armstrong Wily, says the clubs have sufficient resources to
continue trading in the short-term.

While he acknowledges there is the risk of closure if no
buyer is found, Mr Topp is optimistic the business can be
sold within two weeks.  "I and the directors are talking to
at least five parties at the moment, and you must remember,
that the appointment only happened on Friday afternoon," he
said. "So things are happening quickly and we intend to
continue those discussions during the course of the week."
(ABC News Online  09-Oct-2000)

SURF DIVE`N SKI: FBI steps in to investigate fraud
--------------------------------------------------
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has
sought help from the U.S.'s FBI to track down flamboyant
Gold Coast businessman Mr Lakhmi Daswani, who fled the
country at the weekend as his retail and property empire
collapsed with debts of more than $50 million.

Mr Daswani left Australia on Sunday - the same day as the
ANZ Bank appointed administrators to his Surf Dive 'n' Ski
chain of 15 surf wear stores in Victoria, Queensland and
Western Australia.  Since then, a provisional liquidator
and two separate administrators have been appointed to at
least 14 other companies controlled by Mr Daswani, who
flew overseas on an American passport.

Those companies control a string of retail stores in
various locations around Australia, including the La Trump
jewellery boutiques, the Bow Blue, 888, Go Bananas, Coco
Kidz and Heaven to Seven children's clothing labels
and the Ozmosis casual wear chain.

The Daswani group also has significant real estate
interests, including commercial and retail property and
penthouses in Queensland and Sydney.  One of the
administrators told The Australian Financial Review
yesterday he had arrived at the Gold Coast head office of
the Daswani companies under his control to discover that
all the books and records had been removed.

It is understood the Daswani group has an exposure of more
than $50 million to a string of banks and financiers,
including BankWest and HSBC, which petitioned for
administrators to be appointed to various group companies.
It also is understood GIO Australia, St George Bank,
National Australia Bank, Axa and Bank of Queensland are
also exposed to Mr Daswani's companies.

Mr Daswani who claims among his greatest achievements to
have sold a watch for $US1.1 million and dealt with the
likes of the Sultan of Brunei and Donald Trump was being
investigated by ASIC at least a month before he fled
overseas. ASIC is understood to have contacted the FBI and
other international authorities to help track him down. He
is suspected by some to be in Hawaii.

ASIC's director of enforcement in Queensland, Mr Michael
Burnett, confirmed yesterday that efforts were continuing
to trace Mr Daswani since he left the Gold Coast on Sunday.

"We're certainly trying to locate him," he said. "I think
everyone would want him back, given an insolvency of this
nature.  "We're investigating the circumstances of the
collapse of Mr Daswani's companies and whether any
wrongdoings were associated with that."

As part of its investigations, ASIC supported an
application from one of Mr Daswani's trade creditors on
Monday to have Brisbane accountant Mr Bob Murphy appointed
provisional liquidator of five of Mr Daswani's companies.
The administrator of the 15 Surf Dive `n' Ski stores,
Ferrier Hodgson partner Mr James Stewart, confirmed
yesterday that he had tried unsuccessfully to contact Mr
Daswani.

Mr Stewart said other details relating to the
administration would be released after a meeting of
creditors today.  Melbourne accountant Mr David Lockwood
said he was attempting to "piece the jigsaw back together"
after being appointed administrator over Mr Daswani's
Bow Blue and 888 children's clothing stores. (Australian
Financial Review  06-Oct-2000)

WAKEFIELD TRINITY: Given time to repay creditors
------------------------------------------------
Wakefield Trinity's immediate future became more stable
after their major creditors agreed to wait for the money
they are owed. With debts of around 4 million pounds, the
Trinity rugby team had sacked half its squad as a cost-
cutting measure. The unit has persuaded SCG Rovacabin,
which built a hospitality stand at Belle Vue, and the local
council to enter into a Creditors' Voluntary Agreement that
will give the team some breathing space. Club chief
executive Stuart Farrar confirms that the compromise will
enable the club to continue to operate.


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

DALIAN INT'L TRUST: To pay 60% overseas debt, then go BK
--------------------------------------------------------
Li Yongjin, acting mayor of the city of Dalian, said that
the Dalian International Trust and Investment Corp.
(DITIC), which is on the verge of bankruptcy, will pay 60
percent of the principal of its overseas debts that total
US$150 million next month, before it declares bankruptcy.

The corporation signed an agreement last August with its 18
overseas creditors from Hong Kong, Japan, Europe and the
United States, pledging to pay 60 percent of the debts
within three months. The remaining 40 percent of principal
as well as interest will be remitted.

Li said on Sept. 26 in Dalian that the municipal government
has already raised all the funds for the payment and will
pay the debts on time, the Sept. 27 Hong Kong Ming Pao
reported. When discussing the reform of state-owned
enterprises (SOEs), Li also said that Dalian is confident
that it will keep its money-losing SOEs to below 18 percent
by the end of the year.

During the first six months of this year, 28 percent of
Dalian's 103 SOEs lost money. Li pointed out that the
industrial output value of Dalian is the highest in the
three northeastern provinces. He added that the reform of
SOEs in Dalian is mainly carried out through government
support, debt-equity transfers, structural adjustments and
the laying off of employees.

The number of SOE employees in Dalian, which used to stand
at more than 300,000 (the figure can reach 1 million when
adding those employed by SOE-affiliated schools and
hospitals), has been reduced to 170,000.According to Li,
most of the SOE-affiliated primary and middle schools and
hospitals have been taken over by the government, and some
have gone independent. The government is currently further
reducing the number of SOE employees through such means as
early retirement.

The acting mayor noted that normally laid-off workers can
get another job through employment service centers if they
do not have excessively high expectations. If they cannot
find a new job, he said, the government will provide them a
stipend guaranteeing the lowest level of livelihood.

He revealed that 14 SOEs have removed their financial
difficulties through a debt-equity transfer, which involves
4 billion renminbi (US$483.1 million). There are also quite
a few SOEs that have escaped their difficulties by
cooperating with foreign enterprises or moving to other
locations.Approximately 97 SOEs have moved from downtown to
the suburbs to reduce expenditures, the article said.
(sina.com  04-Oct-2000)

HAINAN INT'L TRUST: Misses overdue loan payment
-----------------------------------------------
Hainan International Trust & Investment Corp (Hitic),
investment unit of Hainan province, failed to make an
overdue interest payment on 14 billion yen (about HK$998
million) of bonds, according to an official at Sumitomo
Bank.

Hitic nominally has until Monday - a Japanese bank holiday
- to make the 238 million yen interest payment on the
bonds, which mature in 2004. Hitic first missed the payment
on September 25, and was given a 14-day extension to fulfil
its obligations.  It has not given a reason for the missed
payment.

Sumitomo, which handles Hitic's payments in Japan, said
funds had not been received by 5pm Tokyo time yesterday.
The setback reinforces pressure on China's central bank to
fix the country's cash-strapped investment trusts. China
has 239 trust firms owned by various provincial and city
governments, involved in a range of businesses from trading
in agricultural products to developing property.

In June, Hitic twice missed an interest payment on 14.5
billion yen of samurai bonds due next year. Samurai bonds
are yen-denominated debts sold to Japanese investors by
non-Japanese borrowers.  The default also comes before a
visit by Premier Zhu Rongji to Tokyo next week.

Japan's Government warned in a letter to Beijing that
Hitic's failure to repay debts to Japanese investors may
hurt diplomatic relations between the two countries,
Japan's Sankei newspaper yesterday reported, without citing
a source.  Hitic officials could not be reached to comment.
China's public servants have been given the week off work
as part of the government's celebration of its October 1
National Day.

Japan's Credit Rating Agency has a C rating on Hitic's two
samurai bonds. That rating is junk grade, one notch above
default.  The push to reform the investment trusts comes
about two years after China's second-biggest trust firm,
Guangdong International Trust & Investment Corp collapsed
in 1998 under about US$3 billion of debt.

Several other trust firms, including those in Dalian, Wuhan
and Luoyang, and one owned by China's education ministry,
have either been shut, or scaled back because of debt.
"How the itics will be reshaped is really one of the most
important developments in [China's] financial industry,"
said Terry Chan, a ratings director at Standard & Poor's
Financial Services.

The People's Bank of China is moving to reduce the number
of trusts to about 50. China's strategy of dealing with the
trusts, which have acted as the main sources of foreign
funding for Chinese provinces, and even government
departments, has included shutting some and merging others.
(South China Morning Post  07-Oct-2000)


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

PT BAKRIE KASEI CORP.: Sales proceeds targeted to cut debt
----------------------------------------------------------
An extraordinary shareholders meeting of publicly listed PT
Bakrie & Brothers Friday has resulted in the decision to
sell the company's entire stake in chemical producer PT
Bakrie Kasei Corporation (BKC) to Mitsubishi Chemical Corp.
for US$51.1 million.

Bakrie agreed to sell all of its 378,637 shares, or 25.54
percent of BKC, to repay part of the company's debt, that
totals $1.052 billion.  "However, the $51.1 million in
proceeds can only cover about five percent of Bakrie's
total debt," Bakrie's chief commissioner Aburizal Bakrie
told reporters.

With the sales, Mitsubishi's shares in BKC will increase
from the current 57.37 percent to 82.91 percent.  BKC was
founded in 1991 to produce purified terephthalic acid. It
has assets valued at $477 million.  Its net sales as of
June this year, reached $167.6 million with operating
profits of $12.9 million.

To appraise Bakrie's share of BKC, Bakrie appointed
independent consultant Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.
Aburizal said that Mitsubishi was willing to pay more for
BKC's 25.52 percent stake, which according Deloitte was
worth only between $31 million and $48 million.  Using what
it called the cash flow approach, Deloitte valued BKC's
total stake at between $121 million and $188 million.

"Mitsubishi was willing to pay more, as a sign of
appreciation for our good working relations," Bakrie's
spokesman Lalu Mara Satriawangsa later told The Jakarta
Post.

With the deal, Bakrie's total debt would drop from $1.052
billion to about $1 billion, he said.  Mara said that of
the $1 billion in debt, 90 percent was owed to foreign
creditors and 10 percent was owed to the Indonesian Bank
Restructuring Agency (IBRA).

He said that because all of the creditors had agreed to
settle the debt through a debt for equity swap, the
proceeds from the BKC divestment would be kept in an escrow
account until another agreement is made.  Aside from
Mitsubishi, BKC is also owned by Japan Asia Investment Co.
Ltd, and Japan Asia Venture Fund.

Bakrie was founded in 1951, and is the majority shareholder
of eight subsidiaries in diverse business fields. Its
wholly owned subsidiaries include cast iron producer PT
Bakrie Tosanjaya, corrugated steel sheet manufacturer PT
Bakrie Corrugated Metal, asbestos and cement pipes producer
PT Bakrie Building Corporations, welding steel pipe company
PT Bakrie Pipe Industries, power transmission & energy
provider PT Bakrie Power Corporation, telecommunication
firm PT Bakrie Communications Corporation, plantation firm
PT Bakrie Sumatra Plantations and profile iron producer PT
Trans Bakrie. (Jakarta Post  07-Oct-2000)


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

FUDO CREDIT UNION: Asks to be put under state control
-----------------------------------------------------
Fudo Credit Union in Ishikawa Prefecture has asked to be
put under state control after falling into a negative
25.09% net worth.

On receipt of the request, the government's Financial
Reconstruction Commission (FRC) declared Fudo insolvent. It
will appoint two administrators in accordance with the
financial system revitalization law, commission officials
have confirmed.

The administrators will be tasked with trying to find
financial institutions to take over Fudo's operations,
which interimly will continue normally, the credit union's
deposits fully guaranteed.

Fudo's nonperforming assets were on the rise, particularly
bad loans extended to construction companies and real
estate firms during a prolonged economic slump.
Established in 1952, the credit union has its main office
and three branches in Kanazawa. Deposits totaled 8.8
billion yen as of August, with outstanding loans totaling
5.7 billion yen.

JAPAN CHINA OIL DEV.CORP.: Files for liquidation
------------------------------------------------
Japan China Oil Development Corp. has filed for
liquidation, a private credit research agency confirms.

The Tokyo-based oil developer filed Oct. 5 for approval by
Tokyo District Court to start special liquidation
procedures, according to Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd. Its
liabilities are an estimated 124.1 billion yen.

Japan China Oil Development, which includes Japan National
Oil Corp., a government affiliate, and private oil firms as
investors, has developed oil and natural gas resources in
China. It had revenue in 1999 of 2.342 million yen. Japan's
Ministry of International Trade and Industry had decided
to liquidate ailing JNOC-affiliated oil developers.

KOFUKO BANK: Sale to Wilbur Ross approved
-----------------------------------------
The government's Financial Reconstruction Commission has
approved the sale of failed Kofuku Bank to the Asian
Recovery Fund (ARF), an investment fund led by U.S.
financier Wilbur Ross. Immediately after the approval,
administrators for Kofuku Bank and Ross signed a contract
for the sale.

SNOW BRAND MILK PRODUCTS: First consumer lawsuit filed
------------------------------------------------------
The first lawsuit by a consumer has been filed against Snow
Brand Milk Products Co. arising from a widespread outbreak
of food poisoning last June involving the company's milk.

A 30-year-old woman in Osaka Prefecture has requested the
Osaka Summary Court for mediation of her demand that Snow
Brand Milk Products Co. pay about 400,000 yen in
compensation and medical costs she incurred after allegedly
suffered acute enteritis from drinking the company's toxin-
tainted skim milk.

In the woman's suit, she alleges that after drinking skim
milk produced at the company's Osaka plant, she vomited
repeatedly and was diagnosed with acute enteritis. She was
hospitalized for four days and visited the hospital twice
as an outpatient, according to sources.

Enterotoxin A, a toxin that can be produced by
staphylococcus aureus bacteria, has been detected in
samples taken of the skim milk.  Reportedly, the company
offered her about 100,000 yen in compensation in addition
to her medical costs. That not being accepted, the lawsuit
was brought. The first mediation hearing is scheduled for
mid-October.

SOGO CO: Travel unit sold off
-----------------------------
A travel service unit of failed department store operator
Sogo Co. has sold its retail franchise to Pacific Tour
Systems Corp., an affiliate of the Saison retail group.
The move is part of Sogo's restructuring, part of its
court-guided rehabilitation. The restructuring is under the
leadership of Shigeaki Wada, former chairman of Seibu
Department Stores Ltd.


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

CHEJU BANK: Must reduce capital before fresh funds
HANVIT BANK: Must reduce capital before fresh funds
KOREA EXCHANGE BANK: Must reduce capital before fresh funds
KWANGJU BANK: Must reduce capital before fresh funds
-----------------------------------------------------------
The Korean government plans to order banks that cannot
recapitalize on their own and need injections of public
funds to reduce their capital first, according to a high-
ranking official.

The banks expected to be told to reduce capital are Korea
Exchange, Hanvit, Cheju and Kwangju.  Korea Exchange will
reduce capital before issuing preferred stock for
recapitalization or issue common stock at the going price,
which is lower than its face value, thus distributing
losses to shareholders, an official said.

Other banks will be required to reduce capital first before
taking public funds, he added. The specific amount of
capital to be reduced by each bank will depend on how much
it will get in public funds.

The government decision puts an end to a thorny issue that
arose with the need for a new round of bank restructuring.
Former Finance and Economy Minister Lee Hun-jai opposed the
idea to reduce capital of banks which were recapitalized
with public funds, arguing that it destroys the value of
taxpayers' money.

But the government cannot inject public funds into banks
without first reducing their capital, since the relevant
law stipulates that public funds should be used for
institutions which had their capital eroded. (Korea Herald
06-Oct-2000)

DAEWOO MOTORS: Creditors to allow split-up bids
-----------------------------------------------
Daewoo Motor's creditors will revise their auction
guidelines to permit separate sales of the main car-making
unit's assets.

The creditors hope that the revision will make it easier to
lure buyers for Daewoo Motor, Korea's debt-laden second-
largest automaker. The rules revision decision came during
a meeting of the heads of Korea Development Bank and three
other lenders to review the progress of the near insolvent
automaker.  The creditors have not as issued new bid
invitations, nor have they received hints of interest from
any possible buyers.

Creditors have a self imposed deadline of October 20 to
sell Daewoo Motor, established after Ford pulled out from
the US$7 billion bid following two months of exclusive
negotiations. Daewoo lenders also have decided to transfer
responsibilities of the restructuring committee of the
Daewoo companies to the main lenders of each of the Daewoo
units.

DAEWOO MOTORS: Borrows to pay wages
-----------------------------------
Daewoo Motor Co., failed South Korean carmaker, had to
borrow 1.5 million pounds from one of its associate
companies to pay wages at its research and development arm
in Worthing, West Sussex, in England.

The company held a meeting with creditors Friday at which
it tried to secure funds to pay back the loan, which was
made by one of its European car dealership firms. The funds
also would be used to pay wages for October.  Some 500
employees at Worthing waited a week for their September
salaries.

DAEWOO MOTORS: GM submits offer
-------------------------------
General Motors (GM), the world's largest car-maker, has
offered to buy all of South Korea's ailing Daewoo Motor.

"GM sent a letter of intent to buy Daewoo Motor and its
affiliated units as a single package to Oh Hogen,
[chairman] of the [Korean] Corporate Restructuring
Committee of Daewoo Companies," Yonhap news agency quoted
Lee Keun-young, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC)
chief, as saying.

Yonhap also said GM and Daewoo Motor creditors agreed to
hold further talks over the sale of the troubled Korean
car-maker.  "We cannot say clearly whether GM has submitted
it or not," an FSC spokesman said.

A FSC statement said Mr Lee's remarks had been misinterpre-
ted. "He only told reporters negotiations with GM were
under way and any deal would be announced through Korea
Development Bank [the main creditor bank]," the FSC said.

Creditors on Friday said they were trying to sell the car-
maker and its affiliates in one package, but would also
consider selling them separately to different buyers.
Daewoo Motor's assets include manufacturing operations in
eastern Europe and South Korea.

An analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston said: "The
concession simply shows creditors have lost all their
bargaining chips. It will be fortunate if Daewoo Motor and
related firms are sold at three trillion won [about HK$20.9
billion]."

Recent efforts to sell Daewoo Motor collapsed after United
States car giant Ford, which was given the exclusive rights
to negotiate the purchase in June, abruptly withdrew its
US$6.9 billion bid for the ailing company in mid-September.
Ford had been chosen as the sole bidder over non-binding
bids from a GM-Fiat consortium and a DaimlerChrysler-
Hyundai Motor alliance.

GM's proposal came as Mr Oh, who oversaw the sale of the
Korean car-maker, offered to resign as Daewoo Motor's chief
of directors and creditors committee chairman to take
responsibility for the failure to sew up the sale to Ford.
GM, which had a 15-year alliance with Daewoo until 1992,
seemed to have the inside track in the first round of
bidding before losing out to Ford.  (South China Morning
Post  09-Oct-2000)

HYUNDAI GROUP: Sale of securities unit to aid liquidity
-------------------------------------------------------
Hyundai Group and U.S. financial-services company American
International Group (AIG) are planning to sign a formal
contract on the sale of Hyundai Securities and its
investment trust affiliates for $1 billion (1.1 trillion
won) Oct. 20, group officials said yesterday.

According to a Hyundai Securities executive, a draft of the
formal investment contract is now being drawn up and the
signing ceremony will take place in New York Oct. 20.
The final terms and sums for the investment contract will
not be changed from the second memorandum of understanding
initialed Aug. 28 in New York, the executive said.

Under the new MOU, the AIG-led consortium agreed to invest
1.1 trillion won to take a controlling stake in Hyundai
Securities, Hyundai Investment Trust Management (HITM) and
Hyundai Investment Trust & Securities (HITS). According to
the MOU, the AIG consortium will invest 500 billion won in
Hyundai Securities to buy its convertible subordinated
bonds. Should these bonds be converted into equity shares,
the consortium would have the largest share of 23.7 percent
in Hyundai Securities, while Hyundai Group has less than 20
percent, the officials said. Convertible bonds can be
traded for equity shares a year after they are sold.

The consortium will also invest 300 billion won to acquire
a 50-percent controlling share of HITM and put in another
300 billion won to become the largest shareholder in HITS.
Sales of the financial units are expected to greatly help
ease Hyundai's group-wide liquidity crisis stemming from
the seriously troubled HITS with bad debts worth 1.2
trillion won, analysts say. (Korea Herald  07-Oct-2000)

SSANGYONG GROUP: To sell heavy industries stake to pay debt
-----------------------------------------------------------
South Korea's Ssangyong Group confirmed it had agreed to
sell a controlling stake in its heavy industries to a
consortium led by Hannuri Investment Securities in order to
raise capital with which to pay down debt.

Similar to Daewoo Motors and Hanbo Steel, Ssangyong Group
needs to secure fresh capital to repay debts incurred
during the 1997 Asian currency crisis. South Korea's tenth
largest business group, Ssangyong is also in talks with
three foreign investors to sell a 76 percent stake in its
cement unit and Kosdaq-listed Ssangyong Information and
Communication for some US$450 million.


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

MBF CAPITAL: Sells MBf Finance stake for loss
---------------------------------------------
MBf Capital Bhd has disposed of its remaining 22% equity
interest in MBf Finance Bhd, representing 608.25 million
shares, to Danamodal Nasional Bhd.

The sale was made at an agreed price of RM1 pursuant to a
call option agreement signed on March 12 last year.
Danamodal had a right to call on the remaining shares in
MBf Finance for RM1 in the event of a further deterioration
in the net tangible assets of MBf Finance.

"In view of the losses suffered by MBf Finance for the
financial year ended Dec 31, 1999, MBf Capital had made a
provision for the diminution in value on the said 22%
investment in MBf Finance of RM155.135mil (based on the NTA
of the finance company as at Dec 31, 1998) to reduce the
carrying value to RM1," said MBf Capital.

The sale would result in a loss of RM155,134,999 for the
financial year ending Dec 31, 2000 for the MBf Capital
group.  MBf Capital has also decided not to exercise an
offer under a call option agreement to purchase 1.65
billion shares and 1.485 billion preference shares ie. 60%
of its existing 78% equity interest in MBf Finance held by
Danamodal, at the price of RM480mil. Danamodal can now
proceed to sell or transfer the shares to Multi-Purpose
Bank Bhd.

MBf Capital has disposed its remaining 608.25 million
shares representing a 22% equity interest in MBf Finance
Bhd to Danamodal Nasional Bhd at an agreed price of RM1
pursuant to a call option agreement entered into between
the parties on March 12 last year.  Danamodal had the right
to call on the remaining shares in MBf Finance for RM1 in
the event of a further deterioration in the net tangible
assets of MBf Finance. (Star Online  07-Oct-2000)

SATERAS RESOURCES (MALAYSIA): Debt revamp delayed
-------------------------------------------------
Sateras Resources (Malaysia) Bhd's debt restructuring
exercise scheme will be delayed for another two months
because of paperwork, and the company expects it to be
concluded by the year-end.

Chairman and managing director Datuk Mohamed Kamal Hussain
said a number of creditors have yet to sign agreement
documents despite having agreed to the scheme that was
approved by the Securities Commission (SC).

"As such, it is unlikely to be completed by the end of
October but if the documentation is done, then we can move
quite fast," Mohamed Kamal said after the company's annual
general meeting on Saturday.

The property developer has proposed to repay RM254.1
million in borrowings through the issuance of new Sateras
shares. However, creditors will then sell the shares to a
sister company of Sateras, which means that they will not
end up as shareholders.

"(The debt restructuring) has taken more time than we
anticipated. We had wanted to finish this by August 1999.
But now we can look forward to completion," he added.

Sateras lost more than RM64 million for the year ended
March 31 1999 due to the moderate pace of recovery in the
broad property sector. For the recently-concluded financial
year, it returned to profitability mainly due to gains from
a subsidiary disposal.  The company, however, has to fork
out more than RM10 million in interest payments on its
borrowings in fiscal year 2000. In 1999, interest expense
was close to RM20 million.

"We did not go to the Corporate Debt Restructuring
Committee, we have done this independently by negotiating
with each creditor. Fortunately, they have substantially
agreed to the scheme," Mohamed Kamal said.

He said the company's main priority now is to conclude the
debt repayment and bring down Sateras' total liabilities to
below RM50 million.  Currently, its net current liability
is more than twice that amount.  "Then, the focus is to
move existing projects and return the company to
profitability."

Existing projects include the Serendah golf resort in
Selangor, a mixed- development project in Johor known as
Cosmo City and the development of China's Hefei World Trade
Centre.  Due to financial constraints, Sateras has entered
into joint ventures for these developments where it will
try to agree on a profit warranty for the project.

For example, it is entitled to a 40 per cent share of net
profit from the sale of units in Cosmo City and a profit
guarantee of about RM90 million from the China project.
"We hope to see profitability and liquidity without Sateras
committing a lot of funds. But I will get rid of the
financial problems first," Mohamed Kamal said. (Business
Times  04-Oct-2000)


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

PHILIPPINE NAT.BANK: Gets P10B infusion from Tan
------------------------------------------------
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has confirmed that
Lucio Tan completed the P10.2-billion infusion in the
Philippine National Bank (PNB) following government's
approval in principle of the bank's rehabilitation
plan.

"We have confirmed that PNB has received over P10 billion
in cash infusion from the Lucio Tan group and other
stockholders," said BSP officer-in-charge Armando Suratos.

The infusion now raised Lucio Tan's ownership in PNB to 85%
from 40%, after the taipan absorbed "practically all the
shares" offered in the stock rights offering that closed on
September 28.  On the other hand, government's stake in the
bank reduced to 16% from 30.4%, while Templeton Asset
Management Ltd's holdings shrunk to a meager 6% from
about 10%.

Last Thursday, BSP's policy-making Monetary Board approved
in principle the bank's rehabilitation, dropping their
earlier hard stance that Tan should make the capital
infusion without any condition.  The BSP said they made the
move upon confirmation that Tan had given Allied Bank the
go-signal to transfer about P10-billion worth of funds to
PNB on Friday.

However, various sectors linked the move to the
government's announcement on the same day that it will no
longer appeal Tan's P25.3 billion tax evasion case if the
Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) says the evidence against
the beer and tobacco magnate is indeed weak.  The BSP
maintains the move is plainly in line with its commitment
to support the bank, stressing that Tan's capital infusion
is imperative for the bank to strengthen its financial
position.

"This is a welcome move since the capital infusion will
provide the much-needed momentum for the sustained
strengthening of PNB. BSP has reiterated its earlier
continuing commitment to support and provide liquidity to
PNB when necessary to the extent permitted by law," said
Suratos.

Suratos said the BSP's Monetary Board expects to approve
with finality the rehabilitation plan for PNB, after
parties involved shall have finalized some details. PNB's
rehabilitation plan includes steps to reduce the bank's
non-performing loans (NPL); form a strong management team
that can handle risks; monitor foreclosed assets;
rationalize subsidiaries and branches overseas, among
others.

The BSP is also set to appoint a comptroller to PNB's
management before the end of the month.  Still, the
government is insistent that Tan should buy its 30.39-stake
in the bank. A Department of Finance (DoF) source said the
government is holding negotiations with Tan for the
purchase of the state's P6.267 billion stake in PNB.

The DoF source said the government is also looking at other
options to collect the money from Tan by July 2002 such as
other standby arrangements, aside from the letter-of-credit
which was earlier agreed on.  In 1999, PNB posted a net
loss of P9.87 billion, from a net loss of P7.25 billion in
1998.

As of June this year, PNB's NPL ratio hit 35% of its total
loan portfolio, one of the highest among the country's
commercial banks.  PNB's sore finances had made the bank's
immediate rehabilitation imperative. With the P10 billion
infusion, PNB expects to end the year with a much lower
net loss of about P1 billion and to start posting modest
earnings next year.  (ABS/CBN News Channel  07-Oct-2000)

WESTMONT INVEST.CORP.: Investors pushing for liquidation
--------------------------------------------------------
As the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) completes
its investigation on the alleged fraudulent operations of
Westmont Investment Corp. (Wincorp), irate investors of the
troubled firm are now pushing for its liquidation and
closure.

In a recent motion filed with the SEC's prosecution and
enforcement department (PED), lawyers representing a number
of Wincorp investors sought the creation of a committee of
creditors to implement and oversee the conservation and
liquidation of the investment firm's properties and assets.
The investors noted that the conservation or liquidation of
Wincorp's assets would be to the best interest of the
creditors.

Moreover, the group reiterated its earlier request to hold
Wincorp officials criminally liable for the firm's
continued violation of a cease and desist order (CDO).
Lawyers Apollo Sangalang and Augustine M. Vestil Jr.
accused Wincorp of pursuing its operations despite the CDO.
Messrs. Sangalang and Vestil represent at least 25
individual investors of Wincorp, with claims amounting to
over 500 million Philippine pesos ($10.78 million at
PhP46.362=$1).  (Business World  09-Oct-2000)


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

SEATOWN CORP.: Receives $31M to repay debts
-------------------------------------------
Seatown Corp. (formerly known as Pacific Can Investment
Holdings) will resume trading on the Singapore
Exchange today after Seatown injected $31 million
into the debt-laden can-maker to repay its creditors.
Judicial management will be extended until Oct 24 at the
request of the company to facilitate repayment of Pacific
Can's creditors.


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

NAKORNTHAI STRIP MILL: Requests time to work out debt plan
----------------------------------------------------------
Nakornthai Strip Mill has delayed submission of a debt
reorganization plan on 32.5 billion baht (about HK$5.95
billion) of defaulted debt, as the Thai steel-maker needs
more time to design a draft plan.

The Bankruptcy Court, which is supervising Nakornthai's
rehabilitation process, approved the company's request for
the extension of submission date to November 6, chairman
Sawat Horrungruang told the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

"There are circumstances which have resulted in [the
company's] planner being unable to prepare and submit [a]
debt rehabilitation plan to the official receiver within
the specified time period," Mr Sawat said.

Under an initial agreement between Nakornthai and its
creditors signed in February, creditors would swap 65 per
cent of the debt into equity, while the company will be
asked to repay US$85 million of foreign loans with cash.
After the share swap, creditors would own 90 per cent of
the company.  Nakornthai is one of Thailand's largest
delinquent debtors.

The company raised about US$650 million in March 1998 by
selling junk bonds and stock.  Production stopped later
that year after its plant was struck by lightning.
Nakornthai's largest creditors include Industrial Finance
Corp of Thailand, Thai Farmers Bank, Krung Thai Bank, Siam
City Bank and Standard Chartered Nakornthon Bank. About 55
per cent of debt is owed to bondholders.

Defaults also prompted investment funds that purchased
almost US$43 million of Nakornthai's notes to sue the
underwriters and investment banks, including KeyCorp's
McDonald Investments and Gleacher & Co, which co-managed
the financing package.  The investors last August alleged
the company misled them about its status and capabilities.
The case has not been settled.

Mr Sawat is also founder and major shareholder of NTS Steel
Group, Sun Tech Group, a food canner, and Hemaraj Land
Development, an industrial property developer. He has said
his personal guarantee is on about US$2 billion of loans to
various companies.  NTS Steel, one of Thailand's biggest
steel-bar makers, yesterday appointed Mr Sawat as the main
planner to prepare a rehabilitation plan for its 20 billion
baht of defaulted debt. (South China Morning Post,
Bloomberg  06-Oct-2000)

THAI AMARIT: Rehabilitation plan approved
-----------------------------------------
A majority of Thai Amarit Brewery Co's creditors,
accounting for 3.4 billion baht or 85.6% of the debts
totalling four billion baht, voted Wednesday in favour of a
rehabilitation plan prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

However, unsecured creditors were unhappy, saying that
Bangkok Bank, the firm's major creditor, has become the
owner of Thai Amarit Brewery, and that was unfair to other
creditors.  As part of the rehabilitation plan, the
existing 25,000 shares of the company are to be cut to only
one share.

As a result, the capital would be raised so that the
company's Group One creditors including Bangkok Bank or new
strategic partners, through debt-to-equity conversion or
cash payments or other means, would hold a 99% stake in the
company.  Further, after voting for the plan, there was no
establishment of a steering committee representing
creditors because Bangkok Bank, accounting for more than
50% of the debts, did not want the committee.

There was no clear business direction outlined in the
rehabilitation plan, except a mention that the plan would
cover brands of beer, marketing strategies, distribution
and production outsourcing.  In loan repayments, the
secured creditors including Bangkok Bank which accounted
for 3.5 billion baht of total debts, would be repaid by
proceeds from selling collateral or from capital injected
by new strategic partners.

Unsecured creditors accounting for over 300 million baht
would be repaid by proceeds from selling the assets. The
unsecured creditors might ask the court to consider what
they claim is unfairness. However, this could be an uphill
task since the plan has already been approved. (Bangkok
Post 06-Oct-2000)

THAI CANE PAPER: In desperate debt negotiation
----------------------------------------------
Thai Cane Paper is negotiating with its major creditor,
Thai Farmers Bank, on a revised business rehabilitation
plan after the Central Bankruptcy Court dismissed an
earlier petition.

The matter was urgent as the company's financial health was
rapidly deteriorating and any further delay could result in
bankruptcy, said a Thai Cane Paper executive who asked not
to be named. Two options are being considered: to petition
against the court's earlier dismissal, or to file a new
business rehabilitation petition.

The company has to negotiate with Thai Farmers Bank to
determine whether the bank can file the rehabilitation
petition on behalf of the company. The key issue is being
able to prove that the company's liabilities exceed its
assets.

The executive said the company believed it would obtain
good co-operation from its creditors as it had worked
closely in the past with both Thai Farmers Bank and Bangkok
Bank on debt restructuring.  Some creditors had objected to
the earlier petition, claiming the company's assets were
more than its liabilities. The court agreed after examining
the evidence.

According to the company's financial statements for the
first six months of this year, the company's assets
totalled 6.8 billion baht while its liabilities were 4.8
billion baht.  Picham Sukparangsee, legal adviser to Thai
Cane Paper, said the amount of the assets on the balance
sheet did not reflect the real financial health of the
company, as it was being sued in three civil cases.

The company was in no position to repay its 4.8 billion
baht in debts as it had only 51 million baht in cash, and
all financial institutions had stopped extending new
credit, he said.  If its assets were foreclosed and
auctioned, the proceeds would amount to about one billion
baht, Mr Picham said.

If the company was not allowed to rehabilitate its
business, its liquidity would become so constrained that
the business would be beyond recovery, he added. (Bangkok
Post  07-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

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