/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRAP

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRAP_Public/061109.mbx T R O U B L E D C O M P A N Y R E P O R T E R A S I A P A C I F I C Thursday, November 9, 2006, Vol. 9, No. 223 Headlines A U S T R A L I A ANTONIO FOOD: Members Decide to Wind Up Firm BERT PALM: Members Resolve to Voluntarily Wind-Up Operations BILLABONG SERVICES: Final Meeting Slated for November 13 BRANTI PTY: Members' Final Meeting Slated for November 10 BURNIE PLUMBING: Members Resolve to Close Business BURNS PHILP: S&P Withdraws Rating Due to Rank Group Acquisition BUTTER PRODUCERS': Placed Under Voluntary Wind-Up C & N PLUMBING: To Hold Final Meeting on November 13 CANBERRA ROOF: Schedules Final Meeting on November 17 COMPUTERCATIONS PTY: Members' Final Meeting Set for November 13 COMRADE ENTERPRISES: Creditors Must Prove Debts by November 21 CUMULATIVE ENTERPRISES: Members Resolve to Wind Up Firm FAENZA TRANSPORT: Liquidator to Present Final Wind-Up Report FRED WAKEFIELD: To Declare First and Final Dividend on Nov. 20 HEALTHY BENEFITS: Enters Voluntary Liquidation LAURELTON PTY: To Declare First and Final Dividend on Dec. 3 LEGENDARY PRODUCTS: Enters Wind-Up Proceedings LEXICON PTY: Members Opt to Shut Down Operations M & E ENTERPRISES: Court Issues Wind-Up Order MELREN FARMS: Prepares to Declare Final Dividend on November 27 MILFORD PTY: Will Declare First Dividend on November 24 NORMAN GOLDSWORTHY: Pass Resolution to Wind Up Operations NORTH BEACH: Liquidator to Present Wind-Up Report OMG OASIS: Undergoes Wind-Up Proceedings PAUL SEGAERT: Creditors' Proofs of Claim Due on November 21 QUEEN MEDICAL: Wind-Up Process Commenced ROLFE MOTOR: Members & Creditors' Final Meeting Set on Nov. 17 SONNORM PTY: To Distribute First and Final Dividend SUPERSUM INVESTMENTS: Members Agree to Liquidate Business WOOLBROOK PTY: To Declare First and Final Dividend WOOL CENTRE: Members to Receive Wind-Up Report on November 13 ZERMATT LTD: Undergoes Members' Voluntary Wind-Up * Australian Rate Rise May Impact Low-Doc Borrowers, Fitch Says * Reserve Bank Board Decides to Increase Cash Rate to 6.25% C H I N A & H O N G K O N G ADVANTAGE PLUS: Receives Wind-Up Order from Court AFK INTERNATIONAL: Wind-Up Petition Hearing Set on December 13 AGRICULTURAL BANK: CBRC Rejects Reform Plan ANTON INDUSTRIAL: Enters Voluntary Wind-Up CHEUNG FAI: Court Sets Wind-Up Hearing on December 6 CITIC BANK: To Introduce Strategic Foreign Investor DAVID C LEE: Court Orders Wind-Up DICKSON CONSTRUCTION: Commences Wind-Up Process FUND WEALTH: Court Favors Wind-Up GUANGDONG KELON: Former Head Appears in Court for Fraud Charges GRACEFUL SHIPPING: Members to Receive Wind-Up Report HSBC MEDICAL: Undergoes Voluntary Wind-Up ING BEIJING: Joint Liquidators Ceases to Act for the Company LAND BEST: Members Decide to Close Business NATIONWIDE TREASURE: Creditors' Proofs of Claim Due on Nov. 17 PACIFIC WORLD: Court to Hear Wind-Up Petition on December 6 SMALL AND MEDIUM: Faces Wind-Up Proceedings SHANGHAI XUJIAHUI: Members Opt to Wind Up Firm SINO BRILLIANT: Commences Wind-Up Proceedings SPLENDID JOY: Wind-Up Petition Hearing Fixed on November 22 WIN CHINA: Falls Into Wind-Up F I J I * Political Instability Prompts S&P to Lower Fiji's Ratings I N D I A ALLAHABAD BANK: Net Profit Ups 25% in September 2006 Quarter ALLAHABAD BANK: Seeks Acquisition in South India & Maharashtra ANDHRA BANK: Government Nominates Two New Directors ANDHRA CEMENTS: To Release Audited FY 2006 Results in December ARTSON ENGINEERING: Posts INR5.85-Mil Net Profit in 3rd Quarter GENERAL MOTORS: Reduces Third Quarter Net Loss to US$91 Million GENERAL MOTORS: Delphi Deal Coming Soon Says Rick Wagoner NOVELL: Collaborates with Microsoft for Prod. Interoperability NOVELL INC: Names Troy Richardson President of Novell Americas I N D O N E S I A LIPPO BANK: Moody's Assigns Ba3 Issuer Debt Rating TELKOM INDONESIA: To Take Part in US$1.5-Bil. Fiber Optic Tender * Asia Pulp Ruling Points to Judicial Uncertainties, Fitch Says J A P A N HERBALIFE LTD: Reports Strong Sales Growth in 3rd Quarter 2006 LOPRO CORPORATION: Fitch Affirms 'BB' Long-Term Ratings K O R E A DYNCORP INTERNATIONAL: Names Schehr as Sr. VP & General Counsel DYNCORP INTERNATIONAL: Secures US$450MM from Naval Facilities EUGENE SCIENCE: Enters 20-Year Lease to Accommodate Expansion EUGENE SCIENCE: To Implement National Investor Relations Program EUGENE SCIENCE: Earns US$1.4 Million in Second Quarter of 2006 KOREA EXCHANGE BANK: Ex-President Arrested Over Lone Star Probe KOREA EXCHANGE: Avails Overseas Tax Breaks Even if Unqualified KRISPY KREME: Settles Securities Fraud Lawsuit for US$75 Million KRISPY KREME: Files Annual Report for 2006 Fiscal Year with SEC M A L A Y S I A FOREMOST HOLDINGS: CIMB Demands Payment of MYR18,988,842.60 FOREMOST HOLDINGS: Group General Manager Ceases to Act KAI PENG: Ernst & Young Raises Substantial Going Concern Doubt KUMPULAN BELTON: Issues Litigation Update as of Oct. 2006 MCSB SYSTEMS: To Seek Shareholders' OK for Proposed Mandate PAXELENT CORPORATION: Reaches Amicable Settlement PAXELENT CORPORATION: Subsidiaries Face Wind-Up Petition N E W Z E A L A N D BUILDING MAINTENANCE: Faces Liquidation Proceedings INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: Shareholders Resolve to Liquidate Firm MASURAI LTD: Creditors' Proofs of Claim Due on January 16 NGAHERE CONTRACTORS: Court to Hear CIR's Liquidation Petition OLD BC: Creditors to Prove Claims by November 13 OLD BSC: Names Gilbert as Liquidator SEA ACCOMODATION: Liquidation Hearing Set on November 16 STARRION HOLDINGS: Creditors Must Prove Debts by January 12 VMOTO (NZ): Liquidation Hearing Set on November 13 WYNDHAM CONSTRUCTION: Court Set to Hear Liquidation Petition P H I L I P P I N E S ABS-CBN BROADCASTING: To Hold Investors & Analysts' Briefing BACNOTAN CONSOLIDATED: Board Approves PHP16.7-Million Investment BANCO DE ORO: Fitch Affirms Ratings After Merger Plans with EPCI BENPRES HOLDINGS: Disposes of 0.88% Digitel Shares for PHP78.5MM EQUITABLE PCI: Sets Special Stockholders's Meeting on Dec. 27 EQUITABLE PCI: Fitch Affirms Ratings After BDO Merger Plans EQUITABLE PCI: S&P Raises Rating to B+ Due to BDO Plan of Merger PHILIPPINE LONG DISTANCE: Earns PHP10.4 Bil. in 3rd Quarter 2006 PHILIPPINE LONG DISTANCE: Declares Cash Dividends UNION BANK: Posts 39% Increase in Net Income for 3rd Quarter '06 UNION BANK: Inks Memorandum of Agreement with Saratoga * BSP Maintains Key Policy Interest Rates * Philippines' End-October GIR Reaches US$22 Billion Mark * RP's October Inflation Registers at 5.4% S I N G A P O R E AC MANAGEMENT: Proofs of Claim Due on Dec. 1 BENCHMARK ELECTRONICS: Signs Agreement to Acquire Pemstar CM MANAGEMENT: Will Receive Proofs of Debt Until Dec. 1 FREESCALE SEMICON: Buyout Plan Prompts S&P's Credit Rating Watch INITIA SERVICES: Creditors Must Prove Debts by December 1 SEA CONTAINERS: Reed Conner Ceases to be a Major Shareholder SEA CONTAINERS: Wants To Give Up Railway Services In May 2007 SEE HUP SENG: Unveils Shareholders' Change of Interest T H A I L A N D ADVANCE PAINT: Stocks Out of SET's Index Calculations BANK OF AYUDHYA: Moody's Keeps Financial Strength Rating at E+ SAHAMITR PRESSURE: SET Excludes Stocks from Index Calculations - - - - - - - - ================= A U S T R A L I A ================= ANTONIO FOOD: Members Decide to Wind Up Firm -------------------------------------------- At a general meeting held on September 25, 2006, the members of Antonio Food Company Pty Ltd resolved to wind up the company's operations and appointed Tarquin Raoul Kock as liquidator. The Liquidator can be reached at: Tarquin Koch Anthony Matthews & Associates Chartered Accountants Ground Floor, 91 Hutt Street Adelaide, South Australia 5000 Australia Telephone:(08) 8232 8885 Facsimile:(08) 8232 8886 Email: info@matthewsassociates.com.au BERT PALM: Members Resolve to Voluntarily Wind-Up Operations ------------------------------------------------------------ Members of Bert Palm Industrial Pty Ltd held a general meeting on September 25, 2006, and passed a special resolution to voluntarily wind up the company's operations. In this regard, John Feddema was appointed as liquidator. The Liquidator can be reached at: John Feddema Cranstoun & Hussein Chartered Accountants Level 2, 102 Adelaide Street Brisbane, Queensland 4000 Australia BILLABONG SERVICES: Final Meeting Slated for November 13 -------------------------------------------------------- Members and creditors of Billabong Services Pty Ltd will hold a final meeting on November 13, 2006, at 11:00 a.m., to receive a report regarding the company's wind-up proceedings from Liquidator Danny Vrkic. According to the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific, the company commenced a wind-up of its operations on May 12, 2006. The Liquidator can be reached at: Danny Vrkic Jirsch Sutherland & Co - Wollongong Level 3, 6-8 Regent Street Wollongong, New South Wales 2500 Australia Telephone: 02 4225 2545 Facsimile: 02 4225 2546 BRANTI PTY: Members' Final Meeting Slated for November 10 --------------------------------------------------------- Branti Pty Ltd, which is in liquidation, will hold a final meeting for its members on November 10, 2006, at 10:30 a.m. During the meeting, the members will receive Liquidator B. A. Secatore's final report regarding the company's liquidation. The Liquidator can be reached at: B. A. Secatore Cor Cordis Chartered Accountants 406 Collins Street, Melbourne 3000 Australia BURNIE PLUMBING: Members Resolve to Close Business -------------------------------------------------- Members of Burnie Plumbing & Hardware Pty Ltd held a meeting on September 25, 2006, and resolved to close the company's business. Jorgen Viggo Andersen was consequently appointed as liquidator. The Liquidator can be reached at: Jorgen V. Andersen 6 Cypress Court Burnie, Tasmania Australia BURNS PHILP: S&P Withdraws Rating Due to Rank Group Acquisition --------------------------------------------------------------- On November 8, 2006, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its corporate credit rating on Burns, Philp & Co. Ltd. to 'B/Developing' from 'BB-/Watch Neg' and subsequently withdrew the rating, after the Rank Group Limited's acquisition of more than 90% of Burns Philp's ordinary shares as of Nov. 7, 2006. The privately owned Rank Group is expected to move to full ownership of Burns Philp soon. The withdrawal of the rating reflects heightened uncertainty over the future of Burns Philp and its financial policy going forward. Moreover, the lack of information available to Standard & Poor's about the Rank Group means it is unable to maintain a credit rating on Burns Philp. While Burns Philp is under the full ownership and control of the Rank Group, Standard & Poor's would not separate the credit quality of the two companies and, therefore, takes a consolidated credit view of the group. The Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific recently reported that Rank Group disclosed to the New Zealand Stock Exchange that the remaining condition in its offer period for shareholders of Burns Philp & Company Limited, which is the 90% acceptance condition, has been fulfilled. Accordingly, Rank Group declared that the Offer is unconditional. The Offer will close at 7:00 p.m. (Sydney time) on November 9, 2006, the TCR-AP noted. About Burns Philp Burns Philp & Company Limited -- http://www.burnsphilp.com/-- is an Australian based company involved in the production and distribution of food ingredients and consumer branded food, beverage and related products. The Group operates internationally with products including snack foods, breakfast cereals and meal components. Burns Philp has a 20% interest in Goodman Fielder Limited. * * * The Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific reported on August 24, 2006, that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services placed its 'BB-' long-term corporate credit rating on Burns Philp on CreditWatch with negative implications after the company announced that its major shareholder, Rank Group Ltd., proposed to make an offer for all Burns Philp shares that it does not already hold. Rank Group currently owns 57.6% of Burns Philp. BUTTER PRODUCERS': Placed Under Voluntary Wind-Up ------------------------------------------------- At an extraordinary general meeting via a special postal ballot held on September 22, 2006, the members of Butter Producers' Co- Operative Federation Limited resolved to voluntarily wind up the company's operations. In this regard, Scott Angus Blackwood and Justin Denis Walsh were appointed as liquidators. The Liquidators can be reached at: Scott Angus Blackwood Justin Denis Walsh Ernst & Young Level 5, 1 Eagle Street Brisbane, Queensland 4001 Australia Telephone: 07 3243 3607 C & N PLUMBING: To Hold Final Meeting on November 13 ---------------------------------------------------- C & N Plumbing Pty Ltd, which is in liquidation, will hold a final meeting for its members and creditors on November 13, 2006, at 10:00 a.m. At the meeting, Liquidator Vrkic will present an account of the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal exercises. The Liquidator can be reached at: Danny Vrkic Jirsch Sutherland & Co - Wollongong Level 3, 6-8 Regent Street Wollongong, New South Wales 2500 Australia Telephone: 02 4225 2545 Facsimile: 02 4225 2546 CANBERRA ROOF: Schedules Final Meeting on November 17 ----------------------------------------------------- Canberra Roof Painters Pty Ltd, which is in liquidation, will hold a final meeting for its members and creditors on November 17, 2006, at 10:30 a.m. During the meeting, the members and creditors will receive Liquidator Frank Lo Pilato's final report on the company's liquidation. The Liquidator can be reached at: Frank Lo Pilato RSM Bird Cameron Partners Level 1, 103-105 Northbourne Avenue Turner ACT 2612 Australia Telephone: 02 6247 5988 COMPUTERCATIONS PTY: Members' Final Meeting Set for November 13 --------------------------------------------------------------- Members of Computercations Pty Ltd will hold a final meeting on November 13, 2006, at 11:00 a.m., to receive Liquidator Geoffrey McDonald's account regarding the company's wind-up proceedings ending on November 13, 2006. According to the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific, the company commenced a wind-up of its operations on February 1, 2006. The Liquidator can be reached at: Geoffrey Mcdonald Hall Chadwick Level 29, 31 Market Street Sydney, New South Wales 2000 Australia COMRADE ENTERPRISES: Creditors Must Prove Debts by November 21 -------------------------------------------------------------- Comrade Enterprises Pty Ltd, which is in liquidation, will declare dividend on December 22, 2006. Creditors are required to prove their debts by November 21, 2006, to share in the distribution of dividend. The Liquidator can be reached at: John Lord PKF Chartered Accountants Level 10, 1 Margaret Street Sydney, New South Wales 2000 Australia Telephone: 02 9251 4100 Facsimile: 02 9240 9821 Web site: http://www.pkf.com.au CUMULATIVE ENTERPRISES: Members Resolve to Wind Up Firm ------------------------------------------------------- Members of Cumulative Enterprises Pty Ltd convened on September 21, 2006, and unanimously passed the these resolutions: -- the company's voluntary wind up; -- the appointment of Clifford Stuart Rocke and Simon Andrew Reed as joint and several liquidators; and -- the Liquidators' distribution in cash or in specie of the company's assets to the shareholders in accordance with the Articles of Association. The Joint and Several Liquidators can be reached at: Clifford Stuart Rocke Simon Andrew Reed PPB Level 1, 5 Mill Street Perth Australia FAENZA TRANSPORT: Liquidator to Present Final Wind-Up Report ------------------------------------------------------------ The members and creditors of Faenza Transport Pty Ltd will hold a final meeting on November 17, 2006, at 12:00 p.m., to receive the liquidator's explanation and final accounts regarding the company's wind-up. According to the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific, the company was placed under liquidation on September 12, 2006. The Liquidator can be reached at: Frank Lo Pilato RSM Bird Cameron Partners Level 1, 103-105 Northbourne Avenue Turner ACT 2612 Australia Telephone: 02 6247 5988 FRED WAKEFIELD: To Declare First and Final Dividend on Nov. 20 -------------------------------------------------------------- Fred Wakefield Pty Ltd, which is in liquidation, will declare the first and final dividend for its creditors on November 20, 2006. Creditors who were unable to prove their claims by November 3, 2006, are excluded in the company's distribution of dividend. The Liquidator can be reached at: Alan Scott SimsPartners Level 4, 12 Pirie Street Adelaide, South Australia 5000 Australia HEALTHY BENEFITS: Enters Voluntary Liquidation ---------------------------------------------- At a meeting held on September 21, 2006, the members of Healthy Benefits Pty Ltd resolved to voluntarily wind up the company's operations. Subsequently, Barry Keith Taylor was appointed as liquidator at the creditors' meeting held that same day. The Liquidator can be reached at: Barry Keith Taylor B. K. Taylor & Co 8/608 St Kilda Road Melbourne, Victoria 3004 Australia LAURELTON PTY: To Declare First and Final Dividend on Dec. 3 ------------------------------------------------------------ Laurelton Pty Ltd, which is in liquidation, will declare the first and final dividend on December 3, 2006. Creditors who were unable to prove their claims by October 24, 2006, will be excluded from the dividend distribution. The Liquidator can be reached at: Mark Pearce c/o Pearce & Heers Insolvency Accountants Level 8, 410 Queen Street Brisbane, Queensland 4000 Australia LEGENDARY PRODUCTS: Enters Wind-Up Proceedings ---------------------------------------------- At a general meeting held on September 26, 2006, the sole member of Legendary Products Pty Ltd resolved to voluntarily liquidate the company's business. Accordingly, Andrew McLellan was appointed as liquidator at the creditors' meeting held that same day. The Liquidator can be reached at: Andrew Mclellan PPB Chartered Accountants Level 10, 90 Collins Street Melbourne, Victoria 3000 Australia LEXICON PTY: Members Opt to Shut Down Operations ------------------------------------------------ The members of Lexicon Pty Ltd decided to shut down the company's operations during a general meeting held on September 18, 2006. In this regard, the members appointed Giuseppe Paolo Graziano as liquidator. The Liquidator can be reached at: Giuseppe Paolo Graziano Hayes Knight (WA) Pty Ltd Suite 1, 34 Hasler Road Osborne Park, Western Australia 6017 Australia M & E ENTERPRISES: Court Issues Wind-Up Order --------------------------------------------- The Supreme Court of New South Wales on September 26, 2006, ordered M & E Enterprises (NSW) Pty Ltd to wind up its operations. Accordingly, Steven Nicols was appointed as liquidator. The Liquidator can be reached at: Steven Nicols Level 2, 350 Kent Street Sydney, New South Wales 2000 Australia MELREN FARMS: Prepares to Declare Final Dividend on November 27 --------------------------------------------------------------- Melren Farms Pty Ltd, which is in liquidation, will declare the first and final dividend on November 27, 2006. Creditors who failed to submit their proofs of claim by Oct. 31, 2006, will be excluded from the distribution. On August 31, 2005, the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific reported that the company was placed under members' voluntary liquidation on July 20, 2005. The Liquidator can be reached at: Barry Keith Taylor B. K. Taylor & Co 8/608 St Kilda Road Melbourne, Victoria 3004 Australia MILFORD PTY: Will Declare First Dividend on November 24 ------------------------------------------------------- Milford Pty Ltd, which is in liquidation, will declare its first dividend on November 24, 2006. Creditors who failed to submit their proofs of claim on November 3, 2006, are excluded in the dividend distribution. The Joint and Several Liquidator can be reached at: David James Hambleton RE Murphy Level 9, 46 Edward Street Brisbane, Queensland 4000 Australia NORMAN GOLDSWORTHY: Pass Resolution to Wind Up Operations --------------------------------------------------------- At a general meeting held on September 26, 2006, the members of Norman passed a special resolution to voluntarily wind up the company's operations and distribute the proceeds of its assets disposal. The Liquidator can be reached at: Sinclair Wilson Accountants & Business Advisors 177 Koroit Street Warrnambool, Victoria 3280 Australia NORTH BEACH: Liquidator to Present Wind-Up Report ------------------------------------------------- Members and creditors of North Beach Bistro Pty Ltd will hold their final meeting on November 13, 2006, at 9:30 a.m., to receive Liquidator Vrkic's report on the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal exercises. The Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific previously reported that North Beach commenced a wind-up of its operations on November 11, 2005. The Liquidator can be reached at: Danny Vrkic Jirsch Sutherland & Co - Wollongong Level 3, 6-8 Regent Street Wollongong, New South Wales 2500 Australia Telephone: 02 4225 2545 Facsimile: 02 4225 2546 OMG OASIS: Undergoes Wind-Up Proceedings ---------------------------------------- On September 25, 2006, the members of OMG Oasis Marketing Group Pty Ltd resolved to voluntarily wind up the company's operations. At the creditors' meeting held that same day, Richard John Cauchi and Peter Gountzos were appointed as joint and several liquidators. The Joint and Several Liquidators can be reached at: Richard J. Cauchi CJL Partners Level 3, 180 Flinders Lane Melbourne, Victoria 3000 Australia Telephone:(03) 9639 4779 Facsimile:(03) 9639 4773 PAUL SEGAERT: Creditors' Proofs of Claim Due on November 21 ----------------------------------------------------------- Paul Segaert Pty Ltd -- formerly known as LIDCO -- will declare the first dividend on December 29, 2006, to the exclusion of those creditors who cannot formally file their proofs of debt by November 21, 2006. As reported by the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific, Paul Segaert commenced a wind-up of its operations on March 18, 2005. The Liquidator can be reached at: T. M. Pogroske Grant Thornton Level 17, 383 Kent Street Sydney, New South Wales 2000 Australia QUEEN MEDICAL: Wind-Up Process Commenced ---------------------------------------- Shareholders of Queen Medical Centre Pty Ltd held a general meeting on September 25, 2006, and passed a special resolution to wind up the company's operations voluntarily. Geoffrey McDonald was consequently appointed as liquidator. The Liquidator can be reached at: Geoffrey Mcdonald c/o Hall Chadwick Level 29, 31 Market Street Sydney, New South Wales 2000 Australia ROLFE MOTOR: Members & Creditors' Final Meeting Set on Nov. 17 -------------------------------------------------------------- A final meeting for the members and creditors of Rolfe Motor Corporation No. 2 Pty Ltd, which is in liquidation, will be held on November 17, 2006, at 11:30 a.m. At the meeting, the members and creditors will receive Liquidator Pilato's explanation of his final accounts. The Liquidator can be reached at: Frank Lo Pilato RSM Bird Cameron Partners Level 1, 103-105 Northbourne Avenue Turner ACT 2612 Australia Telephone: 02 6247 5988 SONNORM PTY: To Distribute First and Final Dividend --------------------------------------------------- Sonnorm Pty Ltd, which is in liquidation, will declare its first and final dividend on November 29, 2006. Only those creditors who were able to admit their debts on November 1, 2006, will be included in the benefit of the dividend. The Joint Liquidator can be reached at: Todd Kelly c/o Foremans Business Advisors (Queensland) Suite 1, 29 Lake Street Cairns, Queensland 4870 Australia SUPERSUM INVESTMENTS: Members Agree to Liquidate Business --------------------------------------------------------- At a meeting of Supersum Investments Pty Ltd held on September 26, 2006, the company's members resolved to voluntarily liquidate the company's business. Barry Keith Taylor was subsequently appointed as liquidator at the creditors' meeting held that same day. The Liquidator can be reached at: Barry Keith Taylor B. K. Taylor & Co 8/608 St Kilda Road Melbourne, Victoria 3004 Australia WOOLBROOK PTY: To Declare First and Final Dividend -------------------------------------------------- Woolbrook Pty Ltd, which is in liquidation, will declare the first and final dividend on December 3, 2006. Creditors who were not able to prove their claims by Oct. 24, 2006, will be excluded from the benefit of the dividend. The Liquidator can be reached at: Mark Pearce c/o Pearce & Heers Insolvency Accountants Level 8, 410 Queen Street Brisbane, Queensland 4000 Australia WOOL CENTRE: Members to Receive Wind-Up Report on November 13 ------------------------------------------------------------- Members of Wool Centre Australia Pty Ltd will hold a final meeting on November 13, 2006, at 10:00 a.m., to receive Liquidator Yip's account on the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal activities. According to the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific, Wool Centre was placed under voluntary liquidation on November 30, 2005. The Liquidator can be reached at: Arthur Yip Arthur Yip & Associates Suite 140, Level 3, Regis Towers 418 Pitt Street Sydney, New South Wales 2000 Australia ZERMATT LTD: Undergoes Members' Voluntary Wind-Up ------------------------------------------------- On September 25, 2006, the members of Zermatt Ltd held a general meeting and resolved to voluntarily wind up the company's operations. Subsequently, George Georges was appointed as liquidator. The Liquidator can be reached at: George Georges Ferrier Hodgson Level 29, 600 Bourke Street Melbourne, Victoria 3000 Australia * Australian Rate Rise May Impact Low-Doc Borrowers, Fitch Says --------------------------------------------------------------- Fitch Ratings said that the Reserve Bank of Australia's interest rate rise of 0.25%, if fully passed on to the borrowers, can be expected to have a significant effect on Australian residential borrowers. Fitch therefore expects to see a continuation of the trend of reduced documentation loan borrowers being affected in greater numbers than those with full documentation loans. While Fitch expects delinquencies to continue rising, they remain extremely low and well within the ratings parameters of Fitch's Australian Mortgage Default Rating model. In a report to be issued next week, Fitch comments that low doc borrowers are the more vulnerable part of the economy typically being self-employed and to date they have been the hardest hit by the combination of rising interest rates and volatile petrol prices. The interest rate rise by the Reserve Bank of Australia announced today is the third such quarter-percent rise during 2006 and, if fully passed through to borrowers as expected, represents a combined rise in payments for the year of over 11% for the average borrower. Data collected by Fitch and to be released next week as part of its quarterly Dinkum Index report shows that the rising interest rate cycle beginning with the rise in May 2002 has coincided with a spike in mortgage delinquencies particularly for low-doc mortgage borrowers. The Fitch Reduced Documentation Dinkum Index shows that 30+ days delinquencies for low-doc securitized mortgages have increased by 200% since data was first collected by Fitch in September 2003 and continue to be some three times the delinquencies for full documentation loans. "Clearly rate rises have a direct impact on borrowers ability to pay and the third rise this year and the eighth since interest rates began their upward cycle is going to have ramifications for borrowers," said Ben McCarthy, Fitch's Head of Australasian Structured Finance. "For those people who already have loans, rate rises have a significant impact on home loan affordability. Traditional measures of home loan affordability focus on new borrower's ability to purchase a home, however Fitch's analysis for RMBS investors focuses on the impact of rate rises on existing borrowers," stated Ben McCarthy. "In recent times housing affordability measures have notionally improved due to property price falls, particularly in the Sydney region, however this is little comfort to borrowers who purchased their property at the peak of the market." Fitch continues to track the performance of RMBS in Australia and while the agency is observing a rise in delinquency levels, investors in Australian RMBS will continue to be protected by low unemployment levels and stable, although somewhat softening, property markets. * Reserve Bank Board Decides to Increase Cash Rate to 6.25% ----------------------------------------------------------- In a statement, Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens discloses that at its meeting held on November 7, 2006, the Board of Directors decided to increase the cash rate by 25 basis points, to 6.25%. The decision was taken against a background of continued expansion in the global economy and further evidence that inflationary pressures had increased. According to Mr. Stevens, the world economy has grown strongly in 2006 and is generally expected to grow at an above-average pace in 2007. Although growth in the United States has moderated recently, strong conditions are prevailing in other parts of the world. The global expansion has contributed to high levels of commodity prices, which continue to add to incomes and spending in Australia. The Board took careful note of the likely economic effects of the drought, which will lower the supply of rural produce, reduce farm incomes and may temporarily affect prices for some foodstuffs. At this point, these developments appear unlikely to affect significantly the medium-term outlook for inflation. Domestic demand has been expanding at a relatively strong pace against a background of limited spare capacity. Labor market conditions have remained tight and businesses are reporting high levels of capacity usage. While there have been some tentative signs of moderation in the demand for credit recently, the overall pace of credit growth has remained strong. This combination of forces has contributed to an increase in inflation, Mr. Stevens says. In the September quarter the underlying inflation rate was around 3%, up from 2�% at the end of last year, and it is likely to remain around that rate in the near term. The headline CPI increase has been noticeably larger than this recently, though this reflects some temporary influences which will be reversed in the quarters ahead. Producer price indices showed further strong increases at all stages of production in the September quarter. Aggregate wages, though not accelerating further, have continued to grow at a faster-than-average pace. The Board judged this to be an environment in which the risks of inflation exceeding 2%-3% over the medium term remained significant. Monetary policy has been responding to these risks for some time, with increases in interest rates in May and August. Some effect of those measures is becoming evident in demand for credit by households. Nonetheless, the Board's judgement was that a somewhat more restrictive stance of monetary policy was required in order to moderate inflation over time, and thereby to secure sustainable growth, Mr. Stevens notes. ================================ C H I N A & H O N G K O N G ================================ ADVANTAGE PLUS: Receives Wind-Up Order from Court ------------------------------------------------- On October 4, 2006, Advantage Plus Technology Ltd received a wind-up order from the High Court of Hong Kong. The Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific reported that Law Shuk Chun filed the wind-up petition before the Court on August 4, 2006. AFK INTERNATIONAL: Wind-Up Petition Hearing Set on December 13 -------------------------------------------------------------- On October 16, 2006, AFK Hong Kong Ltd filed before the High Court of Hong Kong a petition to wind up AFK International Ltd. The petition will be heard on December 13, 2006, at 9:30 a.m. The Solicitors for the Petitioner can be reached at: Laracy Gall 20/F, Dina House Ruttonjee Centre 11 Duddell Street Central, Hong Kong Telephone: 2836 0555 Facsimile: 2836 0777 AGRICULTURAL BANK: CBRC Rejects Reform Plan ------------------------------------------- The Chinese Banking Regulatory Commission has rejected the reform plan submitted by the Agricultural Bank of China, the China Knowledge says citing a report from the South China Morning Post. On October 23, 2006, the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific reported that the bank is close to finalizing its reform plan which requires transforming the bank into a joint stock company. The TCR-AP, citing a report from the China Daily, said that the lender will be listed as a whole company instead of being broken into smaller units. Estimated cost of the reform plan was expected to reach US$100 billion. However, China Knowledge relates that regulators have considered breaking the bank up and listing the best parts or listing those areas of the bank that are not in line with government-mandated policy lending. Agricultural Bank's traditional role has been to support the poor rural population -- accounting for 80% of China's 1.3 billion population -- and agriculture-focused companies in the troubled State-owned industry sector, China Knowledge notes. * * * The Agricultural Bank of China -- http://www.abocn.com/-- is the mainland's fourth largest bank. It has lagged behind other major Chinese commercial banks, which have received government injections of new capital and been allowed to link up with foreign partners in preparation for raising money on foreign stock exchanges. Despite posting operating profits of over CNY42.4 billion in 2005, the Bank is still carrying billions of dollars in unpaid loans to state companies, which it says accounted for 26% of its lending at the end of last year. The Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific reported on June 27, 2006, that the National Audit Office found accounting irregularities involving CNY51.6 billion, CNY14.27 billion of which come from deposit business, CNY27.62 billion from loan grants, and CNY9.72 billion from fraudulent bill issuance. Fitch Ratings gave the Bank an 'E' Individual rating. ANTON INDUSTRIAL: Enters Voluntary Wind-Up ------------------------------------------ At an extraordinary general meeting on October 27, 2006, shareholders of Anton Industrial Ltd passed a resolution to voluntarily wind up the company's operations. In this regard, Hue Yat Lun Sansom was appointed as liquidator. The Liquidator can be reached at: Hue Yat Lun, Sansom Room 509, Bank of America Tower 12 Harcourt Road, Central Hong Kong CHEUNG FAI: Court Sets Wind-Up Hearing on December 6 ---------------------------------------------------- The High Court of Hong Kong will hear a wind-up petition against Cheung Fai Engineering Ltd on December 6, 2006, at 9:30 a.m. Mok Cho Fai filed the petition with the Court on October 11, 2006. The Solicitors for the Petitioner can be reached at: Joe Poon 34/F, Hopewell Centre 183 Queen's Road East Wanchai, Hong Kong CITIC BANK: To Introduce Strategic Foreign Investor --------------------------------------------------- China Citic Bank will introduce a foreign strategic investor within the month, ahead of the planned initial public offerings in Hong Kong and China, AFX news says, citing a report from the Shanghai Securities News. According to the report, Chen Xiaoxian, president of China Citic Bank, is negotiating with potential strategic investors including Mizuho Group, BNP Paribas SA, Grupo Santander, GE Capital, and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA. The paper relates that Banco Bilbao, the second largest bank in Spain, has offered book value for a stake -- the highest bid. The winning bidder will buy a 5% stake in the bank initially. AFX News recounts hat Mr. Chen said that the bank may not be able to go public within the year as it has not completed the introduction of strategic investors. Citic Bank had planned to list in Hong Kong at the beginning of 2007, and subsequently issue A-shares in China, AFX News notes. * * * China CITIC Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of the state conglomerate Citic Group. On September 11, 2006, Fitch Ratings affirmed the Individual D/E and Support 3 ratings of China CITIC Bank. The ratings outlook is stable. China CITIC Bank's Individual rating reflects its strengthened financial profile, bolstered by recent capital injections from its parent, CITIC Group, and the introduction of much-improved risk management systems. DAVID C LEE: Court Orders Wind-Up --------------------------------- David C Lee Property Consultants (Asia Pacific) Ltd was ordered by the High Court of Hong Kong to wind up its business operations on October 4, 2006. The petition was filed with the Court on August 7, 2006. DICKSON CONSTRUCTION: Commences Wind-Up Process ----------------------------------------------- Dickson Construction (Maintenance) Ltd commenced a wind-up of its operations on October 4, 2006, pursuant to an order by the High Court of Hong Kong. The wind-up petition was presented with the Court on August 7, 2006. FUND WEALTH: Court Favors Wind-Up --------------------------------- The High Court of Hong Kong issued a wind-up order against Fund Wealth Investment Ltd on October 4, 2006. The wind-up petition was presented before the Court on August 4, 2006. GUANGDONG KELON: Former Head Appears in Court for Fraud Charges --------------------------------------------------------------- On November 7, 2006, Gu Chujun, former chairman of Guangdong Kelon Electrical Holdings Co Ltd, appeared in court on charges of embezzling public funds, the People Daily reports. According to the report, Mr. Gu is on trial on suspicion of "economic crimes", a term that in China refers to a range of violations including fraud and embezzlement. On July 10, 2006, the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific reported that investors of Guangdong Kelon filed lawsuits following China Securities Regulation Commission's discovery of falsified 2002-2004 annual reports. As a result, CSRC imposed a CNY300,000 fine on Mr. Gu on top of being banned from conducting business or holding any position in a listed company, the TCR-AP said. Also facing trial in court, according to Xinhua News, were eight of Mr. Gu's assistants and subordinates: 1. Jiang Baojun, 2. Zhang Hong, 3. Liu Yizhong, 4. Zhang Xihan, 5. Yan Yousong, 6. Yan Guoru, 7. Liu Ke, and 8. Zeng Junhong Mr. Zeng was recently arrested, Xinhua News notes. Xinhuanet News relates that funds involved in the case totaled nearly CNY1.8 billion or US$228 million. A five-member prosecution group is involved in Mr. Gu's trial, headed by a deputy law officer of the Foshan procuratorate. "We still have not come up with a decision as to whether we should plead innocent to the court," People's Daily cites Li Guifang, Mr. Gu's lawyer, as saying in an interview with China Daily. According to Mr. Li, the trial will last three days. "We will wait and see how we will plead for Gu after the first day's trial," Mr. Li said, adding that it is hard to predict the final verdict as he has been accused of four crimes involving large sums of money. However, according to the Xinhua News, Mr. Gu could be sentenced up to 3 to 10 years imprisonment if found guilty based on China's Criminal Law. * * * Headquartered in Wanchai, Hong Kong, Guangdong Kelon Elecrical Holdings Company Limited -- http://www.kelon.com/-- is one of the largest cooling domestic appliance manufacturers in China, mainly engaging in the development and manufacture, as well as domestic and overseas sales of refrigerators and air- conditioners. Before the latest scandal involving it's former Chairman, the refrigerator maker was saddled with 2004 net losses, after seeing a CNY197.3 million net profit in 2003 and a similar substantial profit in 2002. With the outbreak of the scandal, it suspended trading of some of its shares and had its assets frozen. The Company was taken over China's Hisense Group in a CNY900-million acquisition agreement in September 2005. The Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific reported on July 3, 2006, that Guangdong Kelon is facing possible de-listing of its shares from China's stock exchanges for failing to submit its first quarter financial report ending March 31, 2006 on an appointed date. On August 16, 2006, TCR-AP reported that Guangdong Kelon's net loss widened to CNY3.7 billion, or CNY3.73 a share, from CNY226.29 million or CNY23 a share in 2004 under Hong Kong accounting standards. GRACEFUL SHIPPING: Members to Receive Wind-Up Report ---------------------------------------------------- Members of Graceful Shipping Ltd will hold a final meeting on November 27, 2006, 10:00 a.m., at Flat 1501, West Tower, Shun Tak Centre, 168-200 Connaught Rd Central, Hong Kong. During the meeting, Liquidator Chen Chuen Hon will present a report on the Company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal exercises. According to the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific, the Company commenced a wind-up of its operations on March 29, 2006. HSBC MEDICAL: Undergoes Voluntary Wind-Up ----------------------------------------- Shareholders of HSBC Medical Insurance Ltd convened for a general meeting on October 27, 2006, and passed a resolution to wind up the company's operations. Accordingly, Thomas Andrew Corkhill and Iain Ferguson Bruce were appointed as joint and several liquidators. The Joint Liquidators can be reached at: Thomas Andrew Corkhill Iain Ferguson Bruce 8/F, Gloucester Tower The Landmark 15 Queen's Road, Central Hong Kong ING BEIJING: Joint Liquidators Ceases to Act for the Company ------------------------------------------------------------ On October 31, 2006, Jacky Chung Wing Muk and Edward Simon Middleton ceased to act as joint and several liquidators of ING Beijing Investment Company Ltd. As reported by the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific, creditors of the Company were required to submit their proofs of debts to the liquidators on December 28, 2005. The former Joint Liquidators can be reached at: Jacky Chung Wing Muk Edward Simon Middleton 8/F, Prince's Building 10 Chater Road, Central Hong Kong LAND BEST: Members Decide to Close Business ------------------------------------------- The members of Land Best Development Ltd met on October 31, 2006, and agreed to shut down the company's business operations. In this regard, Fung Kit Yee was appointed as liquidator. The Liquidator can be reached at: Fung Kit Yee 3/F, Chinachem Tower 34-37 Connaught Road, Central Hong Kong NATIONWIDE TREASURE: Creditors' Proofs of Claim Due on Nov. 17 -------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Nationwide Treasure (HK) Ltd are required to submit their proofs of claims by November 17, 2006, to Joint Liquidators Kennic Lai Hang Lui and Lau Wu Kwai King Lauren. Failure to comply with the requirement will exclude a creditor from sharing in any distribution the Company will make. The Joint Liquidators can be reached at: Kennic Lai Hang Lui Lau Wu Kwai King, Lauren Kennic L. H. Lui & Co 5/F, Ho Lee Commercial Building 38-44 D'Aguilar Street, Central Hong Kong PACIFIC WORLD: Court to Hear Wind-Up Petition on December 6 ----------------------------------------------------------- A wind-up petition filed against Pacific World Innovations Ltd will be heard before the High Court of Hong Kong on December 6, 2006, at 9:30 a.m. ASGHAR Saleem Rahim filed the petition with the Court on October 9, 2006. The Solicitors for the Petitioner can be reached at: Joe Poon 34/F, Hopewell Centre 183 Queen's Road East Wanchai, Hong Kong SMALL AND MEDIUM: Faces Wind-Up Proceedings ------------------------------------------- A petition to wind up Small and Medium Business Entrepreneur Association Ltd will be heard before the High Court of Hong Kong on November 22, 2006, at 9:30 a.m. Yuen Sin Ying Mieko Sekine presented the petition with the Court on September 25, 2006. The Solicitors for the Petitioner can be reached at: Joe Poon 34/F, Hopewell Centre 183 Queen's Road East Wanchai, Hong Kong SHANGHAI XUJIAHUI: Members Opt to Wind Up Firm ---------------------------------------------- On October 25, 2006, members of Shanghai Xujuahui Holdings (H.K.) Ltd passed a special resolution to voluntarily wind up the company's operations and to distribute the proceeds of its assets disposal. Subsequently, Cheng Shui Tai was appointed as liquidator. The Liquidator can be reached at: Cheng Shui Tai S. T. Cheng & Co. Room 3203, 32/F, COSCO Tower 183 Queen's Road, Central Hong Kong SINO BRILLIANT: Commences Wind-Up Proceedings --------------------------------------------- At a special general meeting on October 25, 2006, members of Sino Brilliant Investments Ltd resolved to voluntarily wind up the company's operations and appointed Pang Yuen Fat as liquidator. The Liquidator can be reached at: Pang Yuen Fat Flat E, 12/F, Tak Lee Commercial Building 113-117 Wanchai Road Hong Kong SPLENDID JOY: Wind-Up Petition Hearing Fixed on November 22 ----------------------------------------------------------- On September 22, 2006, Chan Mei Kuen filed before the High Court of Hong Kong, a petition to wind up the operations of Splendid Joy Ltd. The Court will hear the petition on November 22, 2006, at 9:30 a.m. The Solicitors for the Petitioner can be reached at: Joe Poon 34/F, Hopewell Centre 183 Queen's Road East Wanchai, Hong Kong WIN CHINA: Falls Into Wind-Up ----------------------------- On October 4, 2006, the High Court of Hong Kong ordered Win China Industries Ltd to wind up its operations. The wind-up petition was filed against the Company on August 4, 2006. ======= F I J I ======= * Political Instability Prompts S&P to Lower Fiji's Ratings ----------------------------------------------------------- On November 8, 2006, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its foreign currency and local currency long-term sovereign credit ratings on the Republic of Fiji Islands to 'B+' and 'BB- ', from 'BB-' and 'BB', respectively. The ratings on Fiji remain on CreditWatch with negative implications, where they were placed on November 2, 2006. "The lowering reflects the further weakening of Fiji's external position following recent political instability, with the recent imposition of capital controls being a key symptom of this instability," Standard & Poor's credit analyst Kyran Curry of the Sovereign Ratings group said. "The capital controls will provide short-term support to capital reserves but will weaken medium-term investment prospects for Fiji." Standard & Poor's estimates reserves to be less than FJ$400 million on an IMF consistent basis, based on the latest figures for September 2006. The CreditWatch status is likely to be resolved this year as the political situation and implications for the external position become clearer. The foreign and local currency counterparty credit ratings on the Fiji Development Bank have also been lowered to 'B+' and 'BB-', from 'BB-' and 'BB', respectively, and remain on CreditWatch negative. The ratings on FDB reflect its status as Fiji's official development bank and the bank's close relationship and guaranteed support of the government of Fiji. ========= I N D I A ========= ALLAHABAD BANK: Net Profit Ups 25% in September 2006 Quarter ----------------------------------------------------------- Allahabad Bank released its unaudited financial results for the quarter and half-year periods ended September 30, 2006. Allahabad Bank reported a 25% increase in its net profit from INR1.683 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2005, to INR2.100 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2006. Total Income increased from INR10.639 billion for the September 2005 quarter to INR12.678 billion for the September 2006 quarter. "The Bank is accelerating its growth path in business accretion and also increased its market share to improve the performance," Allahabad Bank states in a press release. The release also noted these highlights of the Bank's performance for the half-year period ended September 2006, which include: -- The Bank's business crossed INR90,000 crores mark to reach at INR90,477 crores as at September-end 2006; -- Total Assets crossed INR60,000 crores mark and reached to INR61,499.30 crores as at September-end 2006, registering a growth of 23.49% over September-end 2005; -- Operating Profit was INR450.66 crores during the April to September 2006 as against INR426.47 crores during April- Sept 2005, registering a growth of 5.67%; -- Operating Profit from core operations (Excluding Investment Trading Profit) increased from INR355.74 crores during April to September 2005 to INR438.81 crores during April to September 2006, registering a growth of 23.35%; -- Net Profit increased from INR331.33 crores to INR338.28 crores, showing a growth of 2.10%. This was despite making a provision of INR16 crores for mark-to-market requirement for an Interest Rate Swap, which was "NIL" during the corresponding period last year; -- Net Profit (Excluding Investment Trading Profit) increased from INR260.60 crores during April to September 2005 to INR326.43 crores during April to September 2006, registering a growth of 25.26%; -- Operating Expenses to Average Working Fund declined to 1.73% during April to September 2006 from 2.15% during April to September 2005; and -- As at September-end 2006, Earning per share stood at INR15.15 and Book Value increased to INR88.99 from INR77.76 during the same period. A full-text copy of Allahabad Bank's financial results for the quarter and half-year periods ended September 30, 2006, are available for free at http://www.allahabadbank.com/financialresults.htm About Allahabad Bank Allahabad Bank -- http://www.allahabadbank.com/-- is a public sector bank in India. The company's offerings include personal loans, AllBank-Expo scheme, loan against National Savings Certificate and Kisan Vikas Patra, housing finance, furnishing loan, car finance and education loan. The Company offers a range of deposit schemes to the non-resident Indians. The company has retail banking boutique branches all over India. The company's other services include AllBank-Property, All Ayushman Bima Yojana, Cash Management Services, Kisan Credit Card, Flexi-Fix Deposit, Gold Deposit, SSI Finance, Gold Card Scheme for Exporters, Kisan Shakti Yojana, Bancassurance and Mutual fund, Real Time Gross Settlement and Clean Note Policy. The Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific reported on September 14, 2006, that Fitch Ratings assigned an Individual rating of C/D to Allahabad Bank. The Support rating is affirmed at '4'. The outlook on the rating is stable. ALLAHABAD BANK: Seeks Acquisition in South India & Maharashtra -------------------------------------------------------------- Allahabad Bank is open for acquisition of banks in southern India and western part of Maharashtra, Reuters reports, citing a statement made by the Bank's Chairman and Managing Director A.C. Mahajan. Those specific regions are the Bank's thrust areas, Mr. Mahajan explained. The Bank also plans to open 109 new branches across India during the year to March 2007, he said. Mr. Mahajan told Reuters that the Bank sees its total business to grow to INR1 trillion by March 2007 and INR2 trillion by 2010. "It will be driven mainly by retail banking and agri- business," he added. About Allahabad Bank Allahabad Bank -- http://www.allahabadbank.com/-- is a public sector bank in India. The company's offerings include personal loans, AllBank-Expo scheme, loan against National Savings Certificate and Kisan Vikas Patra, housing finance, furnishing loan, car finance and education loan. The Company offers a range of deposit schemes to the non-resident Indians. The company has retail banking boutique branches all over India. The company's other services include AllBank-Property, All Ayushman Bima Yojana, Cash Management Services, Kisan Credit Card, Flexi-Fix Deposit, Gold Deposit, SSI Finance, Gold Card Scheme for Exporters, Kisan Shakti Yojana, Bancassurance and Mutual fund, Real Time Gross Settlement and Clean Note Policy. The Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific reported on September 14, 2006, that Fitch Ratings assigned an Individual rating of C/D to Allahabad Bank. The Support rating is affirmed at '4'. The outlook on the rating is stable. ANDHRA BANK: Government Nominates Two New Directors -------------------------------------------------- Andhra Bank informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that the Government of India nominated Shri G B Singh as Director of the Bank on its board of directors, in place of Shri Rakesh Singh. In another filing with BSE, the Bank stated that the Government also nominated Shri Anup Prakash Garg, Chartered Accountant, as part-time non official director under Chartered Accountant category on the Bank's board of directors, for a period of three years from the date of notification or until further orders, whichever is earlier. About Andhra Bank Headquartered in Hyderabad, India, Andhra Bank -- http://www.andhrabank-india.com/ -- offers various products and services including deposits, loans, corporate banking products, non-resident Indian services and technology products. The deposits offered by the Bank include current deposits, savings bank deposits and term deposits. It offers housing, personal, mortgage and agricultural loans. Under corporate banking, it offers working capital loans, export and import finance, foreign currency loans, term finance and corporate loans. As of June 2006, the Bank rendered services through 1,788 business delivery channels consisting of 1,216 branches, 123 extension counters, 412 ATMs and 37 satellite offices spread over 21 states and two union territories in India. * * * On September 16, 2002, Fitch Ratings assigned Andhra Bank a C/D Individual Rating. ANDHRA CEMENTS: To Release Audited FY 2006 Results in December -------------------------------------------------------------- Andhra Cements Ltd has advised the Bombay Stock Exchange that its audited financial results for the 18 months ended Sept. 30, 2006, will be published by end of December 2006. About Andhra Cements Headquartered in Guntur, India, Andhra Cements Limited, manufactures and distributes cement. Andhra is part of the Kolkata-based Duncan Goenka group. The original promoter of Andhra Cements handed over the reins to Goenka in 1994 when the company was under the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction's purview. The Company had been operating under the sanctioned rehabilitation scheme of the BIFR dated June 16, 1994. The Appellate Authority for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction has already approved a rehabilitation scheme, which entailed fund infusion worth around INR80 crore. The Company is expected to turn around by 2006-07. ARTSON ENGINEERING: Posts INR5.85-Mil Net Profit in 3rd Quarter --------------------------------------------------------------- For the quarter ended September 30, 2006, Artson Engineering Limited recorded net profit of INR5.85 million, a 14% increase from the INR5.12 million in the corresponding quarter last year. Net sales, however, decreased to INR39.42 million in the September 2006 quarter from INR53.55 million in the September 2005 quarter. Even with the reduced sales, net profit improved in the quarter under review because of the drop in expenses. For the September 2006 quarter, Artson Engineering's total expenditures dipped by 32% to INR32.07 million from the corresponding period last year of INR47.33 million. About Artson Engineering Headquartered in Mumbai, India, Artson Engineering Limited -- http://www.artson.net/-- is a niche engineering company, active in specialized area of refineries, ports and airports. The Company was referred to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction as a sick company. It is currently awaiting approval of its restructuring program GENERAL MOTORS: Reduces Third Quarter Net Loss to US$91 Million --------------------------------------------------------------- General Motors Corporation's consolidated net loss for the third quarter of 2006 has been reduced by US$24 million to a net loss of US$91 million. General Motors Corporation previously announced preliminary consolidated net loss for the third quarter of 2006 as US$115 million. The reduction in net loss is attributable to additional loan sales that had not been previously reported by GM's unit, General Motors Acceptance Corporation LLC. GMAC has also revised its loss to US$325 million, from the US$349 million it reported earlier, the Associated Press reports. A full-text copy of GM's revised quarterly report, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Nov. 7, 2006, is available for free at http://researcharchives.com/t/s?14a0 About General Motors General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) -- http://www.gm.com/-- the world's largest automaker, has been the global industry sales leader since 1931. Founded in 1908, GM employs about 317,000 people around the world. It has manufacturing operations in 32 countries, including India, and its vehicles are sold in 200 countries. * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on Oct. 11, 2006, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said that its 'B' long-term and 'B-3' short-term corporate credit ratings on General Motors Corp. would remain on CreditWatch with negative implications, where they were placed March 29, 2006. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on July 27, 2006, Dominion Bond Rating Service downgraded the long-term debt ratings of General Motors Corporation and General Motors of Canada Limited to B. The commercial paper ratings of both companies are also downgraded to R-3 (low) from R-3. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on June 22, 2006, Fitch assigned a rating of 'BB' and a Recovery Rating of 'RR1' to General Motor's new US$4.48 billion senior secured bank facility. The 'RR1' is based on the collateral package and other protections that are expected to provide full recovery in the event of a bankruptcy filing. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on June 21, 2006, Moody's Investors Service assigned a B2 rating to the secured tranches of the amended and extended secured credit facility of up to US$4.5 billion being proposed by General Motors Corporation, affirmed the company's B3 corporate family and SGL- 3 speculative grade liquidity ratings, and lowered its senior unsecured rating to Caa1 from B3. The rating outlook is negative. GENERAL MOTORS: Delphi Deal Coming Soon Says Rick Wagoner --------------------------------------------------------- General Motors Corp. anticipates forging a deal with Delphi Corp. over contributions to the bankrupt auto parts maker's labor costs "reasonably soon," The Wall Street Journal reports. GM's Chief Executive, Rick Wagoner, told The Journal's Gordon Fairclough that "a huge amount of progress has been made" towards a compromise with Delphi. GM had recently updated estimates related to benefit guarantees as a result of progress in ongoing discussions with Delphi and its unions. In its report for the quarter-period ended Sept. 30, 2006, GM disclosed that its has narrowed the range of estimated potential exposure related to Delphi's bankruptcy at between US$6 and US$7.5 billion pre-tax, as compared to a previously disclosed range of US$5.5 to US$12 billion. Reflecting these updated estimates, GM also increased the reserve for its contingent liability for Delphi by US$500 million in the third quarter, bringing the total charges taken to date to US$6 billion pre-tax. In addition to these charges, the final agreement with Delphi may result in GM agreeing to reimburse Delphi for certain labor expenses to be incurred upon and after Delphi 's emergence from bankruptcy. The initial payment in 2007 is not expected to exceed approximately US$400 million pre-tax, and the ongoing expenses would be of limited duration and estimated to average less than US$100 million pre-tax annually. About Delphi Troy, MI-based Delphi Corporation -- http://www.delphi.com/-- supplies vehicle electronics, transportation components, integrated systems and modules, and other electronic technology. The Company filed for chapter 11 protection on Oct. 8, 2005 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Lead Case No. 05-44481). John Wm. Butler Jr., Esq., John K. Lyons, Esq., and Ron E. Meisler, Esq., at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, represent the Debtors in their restructuring efforts. Robert J. Rosenberg, Esq., Mitchell A. Seider, Esq., and Mark A. Broude, Esq., at Latham & Watkins LLP, represents the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors. As of Aug. 31, 2005, the Debtors' balance sheet showed US$17,098,734,530 in total assets and US$22,166,280,476 in total debts. About General Motors General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) -- http://www.gm.com/-- the world's largest automaker, has been the global industry sales leader since 1931. Founded in 1908, GM employs about 317,000 people around the world. It has manufacturing operations in 32 countries, including India, and its vehicles are sold in 200 countries. * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on Oct. 11, 2006, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said that its 'B' long-term and 'B-3' short-term corporate credit ratings on General Motors Corp. would remain on CreditWatch with negative implications, where they were placed March 29, 2006. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on July 27, 2006, Dominion Bond Rating Service downgraded the long-term debt ratings of General Motors Corporation and General Motors of Canada Limited to B. The commercial paper ratings of both companies are also downgraded to R-3 (low) from R-3. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on June 22, 2006, Fitch assigned a rating of 'BB' and a Recovery Rating of 'RR1' to General Motor's new US$4.48 billion senior secured bank facility. The 'RR1' is based on the collateral package and other protections that are expected to provide full recovery in the event of a bankruptcy filing. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on June 21, 2006, Moody's Investors Service assigned a B2 rating to the secured tranches of the amended and extended secured credit facility of up to US$4.5 billion being proposed by General Motors Corporation, affirmed the company's B3 corporate family and SGL- 3 speculative grade liquidity ratings, and lowered its senior unsecured rating to Caa1 from B3. The rating outlook is negative. NOVELL: Collaborates with Microsoft for Prod. Interoperability -------------------------------------------------------------- Microsoft Corp. and Novell Inc. disclosed a set of broad business and technical collaboration agreements to build, market and support a series of new solutions to make Novell and Microsoft products work better together. The two companies also announced an agreement to provide each other's customers with patent coverage for their respective products. These agreements will be in place until at least 2012. Under this new model, customers will realize unprecedented choice and flexibility through improved interoperability and manageability between Windows and Linux. "They said it couldn't be done. This is a new model and a true evolution of our relationship that we think customers will immediately find compelling because it delivers practical value by bringing two of their most important platform investments closer together," said Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft. "We're excited to work with Novell, whose strengths include its heritage as a mixed-source company. Resolving our patent issues enables a combined focus on virtualization and Web services management to create new opportunities for our companies and our customers." Under the agreement, Novell is establishing clear leadership among Linux platform and open source software providers on interoperability for mixed-source environments. As a result, Microsoft will officially recommend SUSE Linux Enterprise for customers who want Windows and Linux solutions. Additionally, Microsoft will distribute coupons for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server maintenance and support, so that customers can benefit from the use of an interoperable version of Linux with patent coverage as well as the collaborative work between the two companies. "Too often technology companies ask their customers to adapt to them. Today we are adapting to our customers," said Ron Hovsepian, president and CEO of Novell. "Microsoft and Novell are enabling customers to take advantage of each other's products where it makes sense in their enterprise infrastructure. We jointly believe that our business and patent agreements make it possible to offer the highest level of interoperability with the assurance that both our companies stand behind these solutions." The two companies will create a joint research facility at which Microsoft and Novell technical experts will architect and test new software solutions and work with customers and the community to build and support these technologies. The agreement between Microsoft and Novell focuses on three technical areas that provide important value and choice to the market: -- Virtualization Virtualization is one of the most important trends in the industry. Customers tell Microsoft that virtualization is one way they can consolidate and more easily manage rapidly growing server workloads and their large set of server applications. Microsoft and Novell will jointly develop a compelling virtualization offering for Linux and Windows. -- Web services for managing physical and virtual servers Web services and service-oriented architectures continue to be one of the defining ways software companies can deliver greater value to customers. Microsoft and Novell will undertake work to make it easier for customers to manage mixed Windows and SUSE Linux Enterprise environments and to make it easier for customers to federate Microsoft Active Directory with Novell eDirectory. -- Document format compatibility Microsoft and Novell have been focusing on ways to improve interoperability between office productivity applications. The two companies will now work together on ways for OpenOffice and Microsoft Office system users to best share documents, and both will take steps to make translators available to improve interoperability between Open XML and OpenDocument formats. "As a result of this collaboration, customers will now be able to run virtualized Linux on Windows or virtualized Windows on Linux," said Jeff Jaffe, executive vice president and chief technology officer at Novell. "Customers continually ask us how they can consolidate servers with multiple operating systems through virtualization. By working together, Novell and Microsoft enable customers to choose the operating system that best fits their application and business needs." The patent cooperation agreement enables Microsoft and Novell to give customers assurance of protection against patent infringement claims. It gives customers confidence that the technologies they use and deploy in their environments are compliant with the two companies' patents. As part of this agreement, Microsoft will provide a covenant not to assert its patent rights against customers who have purchased SUSE Linux Enterprise Server or other covered products from Novell, and Novell will provide an identical covenant to customers who have a licensed version of Windows or other covered products from Microsoft. "Both companies had to think creatively about how to create an intellectual property bridge between the two worlds of open source and proprietary software," said Brad Smith, senior vice president and general counsel of Microsoft. "This bridge is built on respect for the innovations of each company and the open source community, and a passion for what we can deliver for our customers together." Microsoft and Novell announced the new alliance at an event attended by several customers and partners. "We applaud Novell and Microsoft in their efforts to provide greater Windows and Linux interoperability," said Paul Otellini, president and chief executive officer of Intel Corp. "Customers want solutions that meet their individual needs, and higher levels of software interoperability give them the ability to more easily make the best choices." "Windows and Linux are extremely important to our enterprise customers and the industry, and AMD strongly supports both," said Hector Ruiz, chairman and chief executive officer of Advanced Micro Devices. "This agreement by Novell and Microsoft helps customers bridge the gap between these platforms, giving them greater flexibility in doing what works best for them. This is a great example of vendors working together to resolve complexity so their customers don't have to." "This technology and business collaboration provides a model that allows Microsoft and Novell to develop new solutions to enable open source and proprietary software to work better together in a mixed-source environment," said Shane Robison, executive vice president and chief strategy and technology officer at HP. "We applaud these two companies for doing the hard work to build a bridge between Windows and Linux." "IBM encourages more industry endorsement of mixed-source solutions that promote open standards," said Steve Mills, senior vice president and group executive at IBM Software. "Microsoft support for interoperability with the industry-standard OpenDocument Format is most welcome. Open documents give customers choice and help unlock broad industry creativity, allowing access to a new generation of innovative applications. Our view continues to be that interoperability and choice are key values that customers demand and deserve." "We are pleased to see that Novell and Microsoft have come together to address customer needs with heterogeneous operating environments," said Kevin Kettler, CTO at Dell Inc. "As an industry leader in the IT market, we are excited to see the technology investments being made around virtualization and interoperability by both companies with this agreement." "SAP has been the first enterprise application vendor to run our apps on Linux, while we have more Windows-based deployments than any other platform," said Shai Agassi, president of Product and Technology at SAP. "Today's announcement means that customers can now choose their preferred operating system for each part of their SAP implementation with the confidence that the systems will have strong interoperability and be supported by SAP, Novell and Microsoft -- both companies being strong SAP partners." "One of the key challenges in government is IT interoperability," said Thomas Jarrett, secretary of the Department of Technology and CIO of the state of Delaware. "We commend Microsoft and Novell for their collaboration and their efforts to build bridges in the interoperability area, which will help government to better serve our customers, our business community and our citizens." Good for the Open Source Community Novell officials noted that one of their priorities in working toward the agreement with Microsoft was making sure the agreement made sense for the open source community. As part of the agreement, Novell and Microsoft are announcing three important commitments. First, Microsoft will work with Novell and actively contribute to several open source software projects, including projects focused on Office file formats and Web services management. Second, Microsoft will not assert its patents against individual noncommercial open source developers. And third, Microsoft is promising not to assert its patents against individual contributors to OpenSUSE.org whose code is included in the SUSE Linux Enterprise platform, including SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop. "Today's announcement by Microsoft and Novell marks a significant milestone in the adoption of Linux," said Stuart Cohen, CEO of Open Source Development Labs. "By choosing a course of competition, Microsoft acknowledges the critical role that open source plays today in an enterprise IT infrastructure. We appreciate the role Novell is playing to help bridge the gap between Microsoft and the open source community. We are glad to see these two companies collaborating to further diminish the legal threat posed to developers and customers by patent assertions. This is good for customer confidence in Linux, the open source community and the broader IT ecosystem." Like many commercial transactions, the financial terms of the agreement are not being disclosed at this time. Under the technical collaboration agreement, the companies will create a joint research facility and pursue new software solutions for virtualization, management and document format compatibility. These are potentially huge markets -- IDC projects the overall market for virtual machine software revenue to be more than US$1.8 billion by 2009, and the overall market for distributed system management software to be US$10.2 billion by 2010 -- and the companies believe their investment in interoperability will make their respective products more attractive to customers. Under the patent cooperation agreement, both companies will make upfront payments in exchange for a release from any potential liability for use of each other's patented intellectual property, with a net balancing payment from Microsoft to Novell reflecting the larger applicable volume of Microsoft's product shipments. Novell will also make running royalty payments based on a percentage of its revenues from open source products. Under the business collaboration agreement, the companies will pursue a variety of joint marketing activities to promote the adoption of the technologies they are collaborating on. In addition, Microsoft will purchase a quantity of coupons from Novell that entitle the recipient to a one-year subscription for maintenance and updates to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. Microsoft will annually make available approximately 70,000 of these coupons to customers, with a mix of priority and standard support services. By providing its customers with these coupons, Microsoft is enabling companies to benefit from the use of the new software solutions developed through the collaborative research effort, as well as a version of Linux that is covered with respect to Microsoft's intellectual property rights. Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) delivers Software for the Open Enterprise(TM). With more than 50,000 customers in 43 countries, Novell helps customers manage, simplify, secure and integrate their technology environments by leveraging best-of- breed, open standards-based software. With over 20 years of experience, more than 5,000 employees, 5,000 partners and support centers around the world, Novell helps customers gain control over their IT operating environment while reducing cost. More information about Novell can be found at http://www.novell.com The company has office in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. Novell has received a letter from Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., the trustee with respect to company's US$600 million 0.50% convertible senior debentures due 2024, which asserts that Novell is in default under the indenture because of the delay in filing its Form 10-Q for the period ended July 31, 2006. NOVELL INC: Names Troy Richardson President of Novell Americas -------------------------------------------------------------- Novell Inc. named Troy Richardson as president, Novell Americas. Formerly vice president and general manager of sales for Novell's Northeast region, Mr. Richardson brings more than 22 years of experience in technology sales and management to the role. He will be responsible for the full range of Novell's sales and consulting business across the US, Latin America and Canada. Susan Heystee, the former president of Novell Americas, moves to become vice president and general manager for global strategic alliances, a newly created position that recognizes the importance of Novell's partner community to Novell's success. Tom Francese, Novell's executive vice president of worldwide sales, said, "Troy has done a great job over the last year in driving Novell's success in the Northeast region, helping customers in the financial services, government and retail sectors leverage Novell(R) solutions for their businesses. I look forward to him expanding this success to our broader Americas region, where we see real potential for our growth businesses of Linux and open source and security, identity and resource management. In addition, I can't think of anyone better to lead our critical global partnering efforts than Susan, whose done an excellent job driving our Americas business over the last two years." Mr. Richardson has over 22 years in the technology industry with a proven track record for consistently delivering significant revenue and profit growth and building high performance teams. He joined Novell in July 2005 as vice president and general manager for the Northeast Area. Before coming to Novell, he served as vice president of Retail Solutions Division for the Americas at NCR Corp. He also held various executive level positions in sales and marketing management over a 15-year career with IBM Corp. Mr. Richardson commented, "This is a very exciting time for Novell as we drive our new Linux and identity, security and resource management businesses forward. Novell is well positioned to help customers leverage the performance and value of open source and standards-based solutions. I look forward to working with customers across the Americas region to help them save money and improve their business processes with Novell solutions." Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) delivers Software for the Open Enterprise(TM). With more than 50,000 customers in 43 countries, Novell helps customers manage, simplify, secure and integrate their technology environments by leveraging best-of- breed, open standards-based software. With over 20 years of experience, more than 5,000 employees, 5,000 partners and support centers around the world, Novell helps customers gain control over their IT operating environment while reducing cost. More information about Novell can be found at http://www.novell.com The company has office in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. Novell has received a letter from Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., the trustee with respect to company's US$600 million 0.50% convertible senior debentures due 2024, which asserts that Novell is in default under the indenture because of the delay in filing its Form 10-Q for the period ended July 31, 2006. ================= I N D O N E S I A ================= LIPPO BANK: Moody's Assigns Ba3 Issuer Debt Rating -------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investors Service has assigned first-time ratings to PT Bank Lippo Tbk: -- issuer/subordinated debt of Ba3/Ba3; -- foreign currency long-term/short-term deposit of B2/Not Prime; and -- bank financial strength (BFSR) of D-. The outlook for all ratings is stable. "These ratings are underpinned by the bright prospects for Bank Lippo's franchise under its new shareholder Khazanah Nasional Berhad of Malaysia (Khazanah; rated A3 senior unsecured domestic currency)," says Beatrice Woo, a Moody's VP/Senior Credit Officer. "Furthermore, the ratings are supported by its competitive advantage as the second largest payment bank in the system, and its modest financial fundamentals," adds Woo. "While these financial trends are in its early stages, they, nonetheless, appear to be improving," says Woo, adding, "In particular, Bank Lippo enjoys strong economic solvency, after adjusting for problem loans and foreclosed assets on its balance sheet, and despite its recent rapid loan expansion. This level may be affected by the bank's growth ambitions -- either organically or through mergers & acquisitions -- and therefore cause the BFSR to come under downward pressure." As for earnings, they have not normalized, but on a positive note, its net interest margin has widened to above peer-group average. However, the ratings also consider Bank Lippo's lack of scale -- although it is the 10th largest domestic bank, it is still relatively small in a system which is consolidating and where competition is rising -- and its relative late thrust into the market. Having only been installed for just over one year since September 2005, the new management team is still developing and implementing the bank's new risk framework. Finally, the ratings incorporate anticipated support - in terms of financial and technical -- from Khazanah. Moody's believes that support would be readily forthcoming, if needed, given the sovereign status of the investment agency and the importance of its Indonesian investments. This backing -- from a financially stronger shareholder -- provides greater comfort of expected support in light of Bank Lippo's position as the system's 10th largest bank and hence, relatively lower systemic importance. In addition, the rating agency has assigned a Ba3 rating to Bank Lippo's proposed subordinated notes due 2016. The rating outlook is stable. The subordinated notes represent unsecured, subordinated obligations of the bank and will be issued through the bank's Cayman Islands branch. The notes also contain a step up interest rate feature in 2011 if the notes are not redeemed. In liquidation, the ranking of the notes is subordinated to the claims of senior obligations. The bank may redeem the notes, subject to the prior approval of Bank Indonesia: (1) upon tax changes; (2) following a Change of Control; or (3) at the option of the bank on the call date. The purpose of the issuance is to fund growth. Bank Lippo is Indonesia's 10th largest bank with a 2% share of the deposit market. At June 2006, it had assets of IDR28.6 trillion. In September 2005, Santubong Investments B.V. -- a wholly owned subsidiary of Khazanah -- bought a 52.05% stake for US$326.8 million. Santubong Investments B.V. then increased its holdings to 87.52% through a tender offer in December 2005. The other shareholders include PT Lippo E-Net Tbk (1%); Ministry of Finance (2.26%); and the public (9.22%). The following ratings were assigned: Issuer/subordinated debt of Ba3/Ba3. Outlook stable; Foreign currency long-term/short-term deposit of B2/Not Prime. Outlook stable; and Bank financial strength of D-. Outlook stable TELKOM INDONESIA: To Take Part in US$1.5-Bil. Fiber Optic Tender ---------------------------------------------------------------- PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk will take part in the proposed fiber-optic network construction tender valued at IDR13.65 trillion (US$1.5 billion) which will be launched in October 2007, Telegeograph reports. Telkom's managing director, Arwin Rasyid, confirmed the company's interest to the press and added that he is still considering the best option for the company to take part in the tender process. Mr. Rasyid said that whether or not a consortium is formed, the company will certainly play a large role in constructing the fibre-optic network. Telkom's involvement, according to Mr. Rasyid, will be aimed at increasing the capacity of its network. Tempo Interactive says that this will support increases in both Telkom's customer growth as well as its subsidiaries such as PT Telekomunikasi Selular and PT Telkom Vision, a pay-for-TV broadcast provider. The report relates that the company will reduce its broadband tariff by the end of 2007 so that the access to the Internet will be cheaper for the general public. Based on data from the Directorate General of Posts and Telecommunication, the broadband tariff in Indonesia is US$3,500 per two megabytes per second, Tempo notes. Based in Bandung, Indonesia, Perusahaan Perseroan (Persero) PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk -- http://www.telkom-indonesia.com -- provides local and long-distance telephone service in Indonesia. Known as Telkom, the company also offers fixed- wireless service, leased lines, and data transport through affiliates. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific on May 22, 2006, Moody's Investors Service gave Telekomunikasi Indonesia a Ba1 local currency corporate family rating. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services gave the company foreign and local currency corporate credit ratings of BB+. Fitch Ratings has assigned Telkom Indonesia Long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings of 'BB-'. * Asia Pulp Ruling Points to Judicial Uncertainties, Fitch Says --------------------------------------------------------------- Fitch Ratings said that an Indonesian Supreme Court ruling last week to uphold a lower court's decision to nullify US$500 million of secured bonds sold by Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper Co. (a subsidiary of Asia Pulp & Paper) is detrimental to creditors' confidence in the reliability of Indonesia's judicial system. "The ruling serves to remind creditors of the ambiguities within the Indonesian legal regime," said Siew Huey Loong, director in Fitch's Asia-Pacific Corporate Ratings Group. "Such ambiguities as those reflected in this ruling and other case precedents are fully considered in Fitch's rating methodology. Instrument ratings for Indonesian entities are subject to a "soft cap" at the level of the Issuer Default ratings at all rating levels. This effectively means that, in most cases, no credit will be given for security." The agency believes that this ruling could result in a more cautious approach to Indonesian bond issues by international investors, which is clearly not in the best interests of the market's development. "Investors can be expected to examine the track record of the sponsors in future transactions to see how they may have treated creditors in the past, potentially leading to more selective investment decisions," said Ms. Loong. "Although the nullification of bonds have so far been isolated cases stemming from issuers acting in bad faith, the Supreme Court's upholding of the lower court's decision to nullify the bonds emphasizes the uncertainties creditors face in Indonesia's legal regime," added Ms. Loong. "It is also interesting to note that the basis of the ruling to nullify the bonds is the use of an offshore special purpose vehicle for the bond issuance. This same mechanism is still commonly used for bond issuance by Indonesian entities." These and other findings were previously noted by Fitch in a report entitled "Indonesia's Insolvency Regime and its Impact on Recovery Ratings" published on 31 October 2006. The report examines how the insolvency regime affects the rights of secured and unsecured creditors. In addition, it highlights the issues faced by creditors in the event of default and reviews several milestone cases such as Asia Pulp & Paper. The report also examines the common structure of credit support mechanisms applied in Indonesian high yield bonds, as well as innovative credit enhancement features included in recent issuances. "Although Fitch notes that these serve to better protect noteholders' interests and ensure that cash flow is properly captured for debt servicing, the enforceability of security in event of default remains uncertain due to the lack of an established track record in the consistent application of legal principles within the Indonesian legal system," elaborated Ms. Loong. The Supreme Court ruling and publication of Fitch's report coincides with an increasing number of Indonesian corporates returning to the capital markets following their recovery from the Asian financial crisis. This recently improved level of capital market access has been facilitated by a number of factors including an improved political environment and macro stability as well as strengthening credit profiles of the corporate universe following significant deleveraging since the crisis. The special report is available on the agency's Web site http://www.fitchratings.com/and is the first of a series of reports that will review the insolvency regimes of certain countries in the Asia-Pacific region. ========= J A P A N ========= HERBALIFE LTD: Reports Strong Sales Growth in 3rd Quarter 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------- Herbalife Ltd. reported third-quarter net sales of US$476.4 million, an increase of 18.8% compared to the same period of 2005. This record performance was largely attributable to increases in the company's two largest markets, Mexico and the U.S., which reported net sales growth of 66.0% and 24.7%, respectively, versus the third quarter of 2005. The company's chief executive officer, Michael O. Johnson, said, "I am pleased with the strong sales growth we have generated in our top markets. We believe our innovative distributor business methods, combined with engaged leadership and high-quality products will continue to serve as the primary sales drivers in our existing markets." During the third quarter of 2006, new distributor supervisors increased 18.9% versus the same period in 2005. Total supervisors, as of September 30, 2006, increased 23.8% versus 2005 and the company's President's Team increased 17.0% year- over-year to 958 members. Financial Performance For the quarter ended September 30, 2006, the company reported net income of US$26.5 million, or US$0.36 per diluted share, compared to US$27.1 million, or US$0.37 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2005. This decrease was primarily attributable to the impact of a US$14.3 million after-tax expense incurred during the quarter relating to the company's July 2006 debt refinancing, partially offset by strong net sales growth, and lower interest and income tax expenses. Excluding the impact of this refinancing charge and other items1, third quarter 2006 net income increased 54.6% to US$38.1 million, or US$0.51 per diluted share, compared to US$0.34 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2005. For the nine months ended September 30, 2006, the company reported net income of US$101.5 million, or US$1.37 per diluted share, compared to US$63.2 million, or US$0.87 per diluted share in the same period last year. Excluding the impact of certain items, year-to-date net income increased 36.1% to US$109.4 million, or US$1.47 per diluted share, compared to US$1.11 per diluted share in the same period of 2005. The company invested US$23.5 million in capital expenditures during the third quarter, primarily related to the relocation of the company's regional headquarters in Los Angeles, the development of the company's e-commerce platform, enhancements to its management information systems, and additional infrastructure investments in China. Third Quarter 2006 Business Highlights During the quarter, the company hosted over 50,000 distributors at more than 40 local and regional events. The largest events were three regional Extravaganzas hosted in Athens, Las Vegas and Mexico City, which collectively attracted over 40,000 attendees. Additionally, more than 3,000 distributors attended a Summer Spectacular in South Africa. Numerous leadership and training events were also hosted around the world, including five World Team Schools in South America, a President's Team Retreat in the U.S. and several Supervisor Workshop tours across Europe. The company continued to assist its distributors in the global expansion of key business methods during the quarter. For example, over 11,000 distributors were trained on the Customer Club party-planning concept, and the company estimates that there are nearly 40,000 clubs in operation worldwide. Greg Probert, the company's president and chief operating officer, said, "Our distributors' business methods have enabled us to increase penetration within several of our key markets and reach a broader consumer base worldwide." The company also launched several new products during the third quarter. A water-mixable version of its flagship Formula 1 nutritional protein drink, a reformulated version of the company's Garden 7 phytonutrient supplement and sample packs of its NouriFusion personal care line were introduced to the U.S. market at the company's North American Extravaganza in July. Additionally, globalization of other recent product introductions continued during the quarter, with LiftOffTM expanding into ten additional European markets. Global branding remains a key component in supporting the retailing and recruiting efforts of the company's distributors and associating the Herbalife brand with healthy, active lifestyles. Sponsorships during the quarter included the Moscow Peace Marathon, the Nautica Malibu Triathlon, the Michelob Ultra London Triathlon and the JPMorgan Chase Tennis Tournament. The company also continued the execution of its China strategy by opening five new stores in three additional provinces, bringing the total to 33 stores in 20 provinces as of September 30, 2006. "I am pleased with our performance in China," said Probert. "The results we generated through the third quarter were in-line with our expectations and although we are still awaiting approval for our direct selling license, we remain optimistic about our long-term prospects in this important market," Probert continued. Regional Performance Effective July 2006, the company changed its geographic units from four to seven. As a part of its realignment for growth initiative, the company is refining its organizational structure to create additional touch points and growth opportunities for its distributors, support faster decision making across the organization due to reduced management layers, and improve the sharing of ideas and tools to accelerate growth in its high potential markets. The new geographic units are as follows: Europe, Middle East and Africa, Mexico and Central America, North America, South America and Southeast Asia, Greater China, North Asia and Brazil. EMEA, which accounted for 26.7% of worldwide sales, reported net sales of US$127.4 million in the third quarter, down 2.9% versus the same period of 2005. Excluding currency fluctuations, net sales decreased 5.9%. The performance was primarily attributable to declines in Germany and the Netherlands, which were down 25.7% and 21.2%, respectively, versus 2005, partially offset by growth in several of the region's top markets, including Portugal, up 32.5%, Spain, up 15.6%, and France, up 13.2%, in each case compared to the third quarter of 2005. Total supervisors in the region, as of September 30, 2006, increased 1.6% versus the same period in 2005. For the nine months ended September 30, 2006, net sales in the region decreased 0.8% to US$414.1 million, as compared to the same period in 2005. However, excluding currency fluctuations, year-to-date net sales in the region increased 0.9%, versus the comparable period of 2005. Mexico and Central America, which accounted for 21.6% of worldwide sales, reported net sales of US$103.0 million in the third quarter, up 66.8% versus the same period of 2005. Excluding currency fluctuations, net sales increased 70.5%. This increase was primarily attributable to strong growth in the company's largest market, Mexico, which reported a 66.0% increase during the quarter versus 2005. Total supervisors in the region, as of September 30, 2006, increased 97.7% as compared to the same period in 2005. For the nine months ended September 30, 2006, net sales in Mexico and Central America increased 87.8% to US$281.0 million, as compared to the same period in 2005. Excluding currency fluctuations, year-to-date net sales in the region increased 87.7%, versus the comparable period of 2005. The North America unit, which accounted for 19.4% of worldwide sales, reported net sales of US$92.3 million in the third quarter, up 22.8% versus the same period of 2005. Excluding currency fluctuations, net sales increased 22.5%. This increase was largely attributable to continued sales growth in the U.S., which reported a 24.7% increase during the quarter as compared to the third quarter of 2005. Total supervisors in the region, as of September 30, 2006, increased 14.9% versus the same period in 2005. For the nine months ended September 30, 2006, net sales in North America increased 15.9% to US$266.7 million, as compared to the same period in 2005. Excluding currency fluctuations, year-to-date net sales in the region increased 15.5%, versus the comparable period of 2005. SAM/SEA accounted for 10.8% of worldwide sales and reported net sales of US$51.5 million in the third quarter, up 39.2% versus the same period of 2005. Excluding currency fluctuations, net sales increased 37.6%. The growth in the region was primarily attributable to a 43.6% increase in the company's South American markets and incremental revenue in Malaysia, which opened in the first quarter of 2006. Total supervisors in the region, as of September 30, 2006, increased 39.3% versus the same period in 2005. For the nine months ended September 30, 2006, net sales in the region increased 51.1% to US$142.5 million, as compared to the same period in 2005. Excluding currency fluctuations, year-to- date net sales in the region increased 50.6%, versus the comparable period of 2005. Greater China, which accounted for 7.6% of worldwide sales, reported net sales of US$36.2 million in the third quarter, up 23.9% versus the same period of 2005. Excluding currency fluctuations, net sales increased 24.2%. The increase was primarily attributable to incremental sales in China, offset by declines in Taiwan and Hong Kong resulting from the continued shift in distributor focus towards China and Malaysia. Total supervisors in the region, as of September 30, 2006, increased 19.4% versus the same period in 2005. For the nine months ended September 30, 2006, net sales in Greater China increased 12.1% to US$92.5 million, as compared to the same period in 2005. Excluding currency fluctuations, year- to-date net sales in the region increased 13.0%, versus the comparable period of 2005. North Asia, which accounted for 7.0% of worldwide sales, reported net sales of US$33.2 million in the third quarter, down 12.4% versus the same period of 2005. Excluding currency fluctuations, net sales decreased 13.1%. The performance reflects a 24.3% decline in Japan, offset by an 8.3% increase in South Korea. Total supervisors in the region, as of September 30, 2006, increased 10.3% versus the same period in 2005. For the nine months ended September 30, 2006, net sales in North Asia decreased 4.5% to US$102.0 million, as compared to the same period in 2005. Excluding currency fluctuations, year-to-date net sales in the region decreased 2.5%, versus the comparable period of 2005. Brazil, which accounted for 6.9% of worldwide sales, reported net sales of US$32.8 million in the third quarter, up 13.6% versus the same period of 2005. Excluding currency fluctuations, net sales increased 5.2%. Total supervisors, as of September 30, 2006, increased 16.8% versus the same period in 2005. For the nine months ended September 30, 2006, net sales in Brazil increased 29.6% to US$99.4 million, as compared to the same period in 2005. Excluding currency fluctuations, year-to-date net sales in the region increased 13.3%, versus the comparable period of 2005. Fourth Quarter 2006 and Full Year 2007 Guidance Based on management outlook for continued sales growth in its key markets, fourth quarter 2006 net sales growth is expected to be in the range of 18.0% to 20.0% and diluted earnings per share are expected to be in the range of US$0.52 to US$0.55. Furthermore, as a result of its higher than expected financial performance through the third quarter of the year, the company is raising its full year 2006 diluted earnings per share guidance to be in the range of US$2.00 to US$2.03. The company's fourth quarter 2006 diluted earnings per share estimates exclude expenses expected to be incurred during the quarter relating to the company's realignment for growth initiative. In addition, the company's full year 2006 diluted earnings per share estimates also exclude the impact of the US$14.3 million after-tax recapitalization charge, and US$6.4 million in tax benefits realized during the first nine months of 2006. The Company expects full year 2007 net sales growth to be in the range of 10.0% to 15.0% and diluted earnings per share to be in the range of US$2.40 to US$2.47. A full-text copy of Herbalife's financial results for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2006, is available for free at http://ResearchArchives.com/t/s?14ab About Herbalife Ltd. Herbalife Limited -- http://www.herbalife.com/-- is a global network marketing company that sells weight-management, nutritional supplements and personal care products intended to support a healthy lifestyle. Herbalife products are sold in 62 countries through a network of more than one million independent distributors. The company supports the Herbalife Family Foundation -- http://www.herbalifefamily.org/-- and its Casa Herbalife program to bring good nutrition to children. Herbalife of Japan K.K. is headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. * * * Standard & Poor's Ratings Services rated Herbalife Ltd.'s long- term foreign and local issuer credit ratings at BB+. LOPRO CORPORATION: Fitch Affirms 'BB' Long-Term Ratings ------------------------------------------------------- Fitch Ratings has affirmed its ratings on Lopro Corporation as follows: * Long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default ratings of 'BB'; and * Short-term foreign and local currency IDRs of 'B'. The Outlook on the ratings is Stable. This follows the recent revision by Lopro of its FY07 (end-March 2007) interim results for the six months ending September 30, which showed a large downward adjustment in its estimates to a net loss of JPY14.3 billion for the period. As previously noted by Fitch, the non-bank finance sector in Japan, including both commercial lenders like Lopro and other consumer finance companies, is facing a number of serious challenges over the next few years. These include the need for each company to sharply increase reserves for the repayment of interest charged on loans made in previous years, in line with new accounting guidelines for the sector, as well as the likely lowering of the 29.2% interest rate ceiling mandated under Japan's Money Lending Business Law, now under parliamentary review. In this context, Lopro's interim net loss is entirely expected and in line with industry trends following similar moves by other non-bank finance companies in Japan. As with these other companies, Lopro's estimated net loss is the direct result of increased reserves for interest payments, on top of other loan loss provisioning charges. The agency views Lopro's decision as unavoidable and in line with the sector's generally conservative approach to meeting the challenge of their increased provisioning requirements. Fitch considers that the current ratings it has on Lopro provide an accurate and fair reflection of the company's financial position and overall business prospects. This is especially the case as among the Japanese non-bank finance companies rated by Fitch, the agency is concerned that Lopro enters a period of intensifying competition in a relatively more vulnerable position than some of its peers. The agency intends to conduct its regular annual review of Lopro's financial performance in the coming weeks and will announce its conclusions after meeting with management. * * * Headquartered in Kyoto, Japan -- http://www.lopro.co.jp/-- Lopro Corporation is involved in the provision of lending services and commercial bills, as well as the leasing of real estate. It principally offers its services to small- and medium-sized companies, as well as small-scale businesses. Its major products include commercial bill discounts, as well as unsecured loans on notes and deeds. As of April 1, 2006, the Company merged with a consolidate subsidiary, which is primarily engaged in the provision of credit assurance services. ========= K O R E A ========= DYNCORP INTERNATIONAL: Names Schehr as Sr. VP & General Counsel --------------------------------------------------------------- DynCorp International LLC has appointed Curtis L. Schehr as its Senior Vice President and General Counsel. Mr. Schehr was the senior vice president, general counsel and secretary of Anteon International Corp. from 1996 to July 2006, where he was part of the corporate leadership team that spearheaded the company's vigorous growth, including an initial public offering in early 2002. From 1991-1996, he was associate general counsel of Vitro Corp. of Rockville, MD. Before that, Mr. Schehr was corporate legal counsel at Information Systems and Networks Corp. of Rockville, MD, and served in several legal and contracts positions at Westinghouse Electric Corp.'s defense group in Baltimore, MD. Herb Lanese, president and chief executive officer of DynCorp International, said, "I'm delighted to have Curtis join our executive team in this highly important role. We are a newly formed public company with substantial opportunity for growth, and Curtis's deep corporate legal experience, business acumen, and track record in helping grow a business will add an important dimension in support of the company's success." Headquartered in Irving, Texas, DynCorp International Inc. (NYSE: DCP) -- http://www.dyn-intl.com/-- provides specialized mission-critical outsourced technical services to civilian and military government agencies. The company specializes in law enforcement training and support, security services, base operations, aviation services and operations, and logistics support. The company has more than 14,400 employees in 33 countries, including Korea. DynCorp International, LLC, is the operating company of DynCorp International Inc. * * * Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised its ratings, including the corporate credit rating to 'BB-' from 'B+', on DynCorp International LLC. The ratings were removed from CreditWatch where they were placed with positive implications on Oct. 3, 2005. S&P said the outlook is stable. Moody's Investors Service upgraded DynCorp International LLC's US$90 million senior secured revolver maturing Feb. 11, 2010, to Ba3 from B2; US$345 million senior secured term loan B due Feb. 11, 2011, to Ba3 from B2; US$320 million 9.5% senior subordinated notes due Feb. 15, 2013, to B3 from Caa1; Corporate Family Rating, to B1 from B2; and Speculative Grade Liquidity Rating, to SGL-2 from SGL-3. Moody's said the ratings outlook is stable. DYNCORP INTERNATIONAL: Secures US$450MM from Naval Facilities ------------------------------------------------------------- The Naval Facilities Engineering Command aka NAVFAC has awarded DynCorp International and its partners in Contingency Response Services LLC the Global Contingency Services Contract. The contract is valued at up to US$450 million over a five-year period. DynCorp International, Parsons Global Services, and PWC Logistics formed Contingency Response Services LLC to provide a full range of worldwide contingency and disaster-response services, including humanitarian assistance and interim or transitional base-operating support services. Key functional areas where work will be performed include: -- facility operations and maintenance; -- air operations; -- port operations; -- health care; -- supply and warehousing; -- galley; -- housing support; -- emergency services; -- security, fire, and rescue; -- vehicle-equipment repair; and -- incidental construction. Work will be performed through individual task orders extending through August 2011. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, DynCorp International Inc. (NYSE: DCP) -- http://www.dyn-intl.com/-- provides specialized mission-critical outsourced technical services to civilian and military government agencies. The company specializes in law enforcement training and support, security services, base operations, aviation services and operations, and logistics support. The company has more than 14,400 employees in 33 countries, including Korea. DynCorp International, LLC, is the operating company of DynCorp International Inc. * * * Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised its ratings, including the corporate credit rating to 'BB-' from 'B+', on DynCorp International LLC. The ratings were removed from CreditWatch where they were placed with positive implications on Oct. 3, 2005. S&P said the outlook is stable. Moody's Investors Service upgraded DynCorp International LLC's US$90 million senior secured revolver maturing Feb. 11, 2010, to Ba3 from B2; US$345 million senior secured term loan B due Feb. 11, 2011, to Ba3 from B2; US$320 million 9.5% senior subordinated notes due Feb. 15, 2013, to B3 from Caa1; Corporate Family Rating, to B1 from B2; and Speculative Grade Liquidity Rating, to SGL-2 from SGL-3. Moody's said the ratings outlook is stable. EUGENE SCIENCE: Enters 20-Year Lease to Accommodate Expansion ------------------------------------------------------------- Eugene Science, Inc., signed a definitive agreement with the Kyonggi-Do State Government of South Korea for its new corporate facility in suburban Seoul. Construction is scheduled to begin next month on an initial 22,000 square feet of custom designed office, R&D and production space on six acres of land offering future additional build-out capacity -- approximately twice the size of the Company's recently sold current property. Additional space build out is scheduled for 2008. Terms provide for a 20-year lease, and an automatic ten-year renewal, with the Kyonggi-Do State Government subsidizing practically the entire lease and much of construction costs under local economic development programs. Eugene Science expects to move into the new facility in the first quarter of 2007, with additional construction phases scheduled for completion by 2008. The property will be located in Jang-An Industrial Complex, Haw Sung City, Kyonggi-Do, about 40 miles south of Seoul and ten miles from Pyungtaek Port, an important and emerging industrial harbor servicing the capital city of Seoul. The Company will maintain its corporate headquarters in Seoul in office space that it purchased in 2000. "Completion of this agreement and the upcoming move to new, larger facilities is yet another important company achievement," said Seung Kwon Noh, Chief Executive Officer, Eugene Science. "The market for our CholZero(TM) product line is expanding with greater consumer awareness and growing demand from new and existing customers. With our AD/ADD biotechnology and other nutraceutical products in our development pipeline, the new headquarters facility will provide Eugene Science with capacity for strong growth next year and beyond." Going Concern Doubt As reported in Troubled Company Reporter on May 18, 2006, SF Partnership, LLP, Chartered Accountants, in Toronto, Canada, raised substantial doubt about Eugene Science, Inc., fka Ezomm Enterprises, Inc.'s ability to continue as a going concern after auditing the Company's consolidated financial statements for the year ended Dec. 31, 2005. The auditor pointed to the Company's recurring losses, negative working capital, and operation in a country whose economy is currently unstable -- South Korea. About Eugene Science Based in Kyonggi Do, South Korea, Eugene Science, Inc., fka Ezomm Enterprises, Inc. (OTCBB: EUSI), is a global biotechnology company that develops, manufactures and markets nutraceuticals, or functional foods that offer health-promoting advantages beyond that of nutrition. Plant sterols are the Company's primary products, which include CZTM Series of food additives and CholZeroTM branded beverages and capsules. In June 2005, the Company received regulatory approval for certain health claims associated with the Company's products from government agencies in the Republic of Korea. EUGENE SCIENCE: To Implement National Investor Relations Program ---------------------------------------------------------------- Eugene Science, Inc., discloses in a press release dated November 3, 2006, that it will be implementing a nationwide investor relations program. In this regard, Eugene Science retained Mirador Consulting, Inc., a Florida-based corporate consulting firm, to establish an investor-relations campaign. Under the deal, Mirador will implement a five-part program including: -- stockbroker relations; -- media relations; -- shareholder or investor communications; and -- Internet coverage. Mirador Consulting -- http://www.MiradorConsulting.com-- is a full service corporate consulting firm. Mirador specializes in micro-cap and middle market NASDAQ listed companies, providing nationwide representation to members of the investment community. Going Concern Doubt As reported in Troubled Company Reporter on May 18, 2006, SF Partnership, LLP, Chartered Accountants, in Toronto, Canada, raised substantial doubt about Eugene Science, Inc., fka Ezomm Enterprises, Inc.'s ability to continue as a going concern after auditing the Company's consolidated financial statements for the year ended Dec. 31, 2005. The auditor pointed to the Company's recurring losses, negative working capital, and operation in a country whose economy is currently unstable -- South Korea. About Eugene Science Based in Kyonggi Do, South Korea, Eugene Science, Inc., fka Ezomm Enterprises, Inc. (OTCBB: EUSI), is a global biotechnology company that develops, manufactures and markets nutraceuticals, or functional foods that offer health-promoting advantages beyond that of nutrition. Plant sterols are the Company's primary products, which include CZTM Series of food additives and CholZeroTM branded beverages and capsules. In June 2005, the Company received regulatory approval for certain health claims associated with the Company's products from government agencies in the Republic of Korea. EUGENE SCIENCE: Earns US$1.4 Million in Second Quarter of 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------ Eugene Science Inc. has filed its quarterly financial statements for the period ended June 30, 2006, with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Eugene Science reported a US$1,440,112 net income on US$220,397 of revenues for the second quarter ended June 30, 2006, compared with a US$960,992 net loss on US$100,082 of revenues for the same period in 2005. The net income was mainly due to the recognition of a US$5,490,547 gain on sale of assets in the second quarter. At June 30, 2006, the company's balance sheet showed US$6,098,465 in total assets and US$16,190,785 in total liabilities, resulting in a US$10,092,320 stockholders' deficit. The company's balance sheet at June 30, 2006, also showed strained liquidity with US$2,625,718 in total current assets available to pay US$15,526,969 in total current liabilities. Full-text copies of the company's second quarter financials are available for free at http://researcharchives.com/t/s?1439 Going Concern Doubt As reported in Troubled Company Reporter on May 18, 2006, SF Partnership, LLP, Chartered Accountants, in Toronto, Canada, raised substantial doubt about Eugene Science, Inc., fka Ezomm Enterprises, Inc.'s ability to continue as a going concern after auditing the Company's consolidated financial statements for the year ended Dec. 31, 2005. The auditor pointed to the Company's recurring losses, negative working capital, and operation in a country whose economy is currently unstable -- South Korea. About Eugene Science Based in Kyonggi Do, South Korea, Eugene Science, Inc., fka Ezomm Enterprises, Inc. (OTCBB: EUSI), is a global biotechnology company that develops, manufactures and markets nutraceuticals, or functional foods that offer health-promoting advantages beyond that of nutrition. Plant sterols are the Company's primary products, which include CZTM Series of food additives and CholZeroTM branded beverages and capsules. In June 2005, the Company received regulatory approval for certain health claims associated with the Company's products from government agencies in the Republic of Korea. KOREA EXCHANGE BANK: Ex-President Arrested Over Lone Star Probe --------------------------------------------------------------- Korea Exchange Bank's former president, Lee Kang-Won, was arrested over his alleged involvement in the sale of the bank to United States-based Lone Star Funds. The Seoul District Court approved the arrest warrant after seeing sufficient reason to believe criminal acts may have been committed, XFN-ASIA relates. The Seoul Court also cited the need to remove Mr. Lee from a position he can remove evidence. "[Mr. Lee] was suspected of causing damage of hundreds of billions of won to KEB or shareholders in the process of KEB's sale," Reuters cites the allegation stated in the arrest warrant. As reported by the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific reports on November 7, 2006, the Seoul Court rejected South Korean prosecutors' request to issue a warrant for Lone Star executives. Pursuant to prior TCR-AP reports, prosecutors had been looking into Lone Star's purchase of a 50.5% stake in KEB in 2003, and had been examining whether the acquisition was appropriate. The probe focuses on the alleged charges of the Bank's cheap sale and manipulation of the Bank for International Settlement equity rate. According to Reuters, the probe is being closely watched by investors who fear prosecutors may be singling out foreign interests, delaying the deal in which Kookmin Bank agreed to buy KEB for US$7.3 billion. About Korea Exchange Bank Korea Exchange Bank -- http://www.keb.co.kr/english/index.htm-- was established in January 1967 by the Government originally as a specialist foreign exchange bank. It retains its strength in trade finance and foreign exchange. After being privatized in 1989, the Bank focused into commercial banking. In terms of assets, it ranks sixth among Korea's nationwide commercial banks with 7% of system assets. It operates a branch network of 317 domestic and 28 overseas offices. During the economic crisis, significant exposures to troubled corporate borrowers led to a deterioration in the bank's financial health. However, since then, its operating performance stabilized, and the bank has reported consecutive quarterly profits since the end of 2003. Fitch Ratings gave Korea Exchange Bank a 'C' Individual Rating effective on June 17, 2005. Moody's Investors Service gave KEB a 'D' Bank Financial Strength Rating effective on May 9, 2006. * * * South Korean politicians -- led by the main opposition Grand National Party -- have alleged that the Korea Exchange shares were sold cheap to United States-based Lone Star Funds after the Bank's financial status was incorrectly reported. Korea Exchange denied the allegations in March 2006. The Board of Audit and Inspections and the Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office initiated separate investigations into the matter. On June 20, 2006, the BAI determined that Lone Star's acquisition of Korea Exchange was led by management with the approval of the financial supervisory bureau. BAI found that KEB exaggerated its insolvency and falsely recorded the Bank for International Settlements' capital adequacy ratio at 6.16%, which is below the 8% threshold for healthy banks. Prosecutors are investigating whether there were any transgressions of law in the process of selling KEB and whether bribes were given to officials. If prosecutors will find solid evidence that the data was cooked up, it might lead to the nullification of the KEB sale to Lone Star and the arrest of regulators, policymakers and former KEB executives. KOREA EXCHANGE: Avails Overseas Tax Breaks Even if Unqualified -------------------------------------------------------------- The Korea Exchange Bank continues to avail of benefits from tax treaties given to state-run banks even after it was privatized in 1989, The Korea Times reports, citing a statement made by Rep. Sim Sang-jeong of the of the progressive Democratic Labor Party. In a parliamentary interpellation session, Ms. Sim related that the South Korean Government designated KEB as a financial institution exempt from taxes overseas. The tax exemption is pursuant to treaties that South Korea signed with 12 countries between 1977 and 1994, wherein certain state-run banks are exempted from paying taxes. After being privatized in 1989, KEB, however, continued to be included in the list of tax-exempt entities and hence continued not to pay capital gains taxes on its interest income overseas, Ms. Sim disclosed. "For instance, KEB did not pay capital gains taxes on US$7.5 million of interest income in Canada and two other countries from 2001 and 2004 thanks to its state-run bank status," the Times quotes Ms. Sim as saying. However, Korea's Ministry of Finance and Economy argued that it did not provide any favor to KEB, the Times states. The MOFE even regards as "not a big deal" KEB's status as a state-run bank. Even with the tax exemption overseas, KEB has to pay exempted taxes on top of corporate income taxes in Korea, a MOFE officer explained to the Times. Hence, KEB pays taxes domestically on its overseas interest income. About Korea Exchange Bank Korea Exchange Bank -- http://www.keb.co.kr/english/index.htm-- was established in January 1967 by the Government originally as a specialist foreign exchange bank. It retains its strength in trade finance and foreign exchange. After being privatized in 1989, the Bank focused into commercial banking. In terms of assets, it ranks sixth among Korea's nationwide commercial banks with 7% of system assets. It operates a branch network of 317 domestic and 28 overseas offices. During the economic crisis, significant exposures to troubled corporate borrowers led to a deterioration in the bank's financial health. However, since then, its operating performance stabilized, and the bank has reported consecutive quarterly profits since the end of 2003. Fitch Ratings gave Korea Exchange Bank a 'C' Individual Rating effective on June 17, 2005. Moody's Investors Service gave KEB a 'D' Bank Financial Strength Rating effective on May 9, 2006. * * * South Korean politicians -- led by the main opposition Grand National Party -- have alleged that the Korea Exchange shares were sold cheap to United States-based Lone Star Funds after the Bank's financial status was incorrectly reported. Korea Exchange denied the allegations in March 2006. The Board of Audit and Inspections and the Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office initiated separate investigations into the matter. On June 20, 2006, the BAI determined that Lone Star's acquisition of Korea Exchange was led by management with the approval of the financial supervisory bureau. BAI found that KEB exaggerated its insolvency and falsely recorded the Bank for International Settlements' capital adequacy ratio at 6.16%, which is below the 8% threshold for healthy banks. Prosecutors are investigating whether there were any transgressions of law in the process of selling KEB and whether bribes were given to officials. If prosecutors will find solid evidence that the data was cooked up, it might lead to the nullification of the KEB sale to Lone Star and the arrest of regulators, policymakers and former KEB executives. KRISPY KREME: Settles Securities Fraud Lawsuit for US$75 Million ---------------------------------------------------------------- Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc., with the approval of the Special Committee of its Board of Directors, has entered into a Stipulation and Settlement Agreement with the lead plaintiffs in the pending securities class action, the plaintiffs in the pending derivative action and all defendants named in the class action and derivative action, except for the company's former chairman and chief executive officer, providing for the settlement of the securities class action and the derivative action. Both the class action and derivative action settlements are subject to preliminary and final approval of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. With respect to the securities class action, the Stipulation provides for the certification of a class consisting of all persons who purchased the company's publicly-traded securities between March 8, 2001 and April 18, 2005, inclusive. The settlement class will receive total consideration of approximately US$75 million, consisting of a cash payment of US$34,967,000 to be made by the company's directors' and officers' insurers, a cash payment of US$100,000 to be made by the company's former Chief Operating Officer, John W. Tate, a cash payment of US$100,000 to be made by the company's former Chief Financial Officer, Randy Casstevens, a cash payment of US$4,000,000 to be made by the company's independent registered public accounting firm, and common stock and warrants to purchase common stock to be issued by the company having an aggregate value of US$35,833,000. All claims against defendants will be dismissed with prejudice; however, claims that the company may have against Scott A. Livengood, the company's former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, that may be asserted by the company in the derivative action for contribution to the securities class action settlement or otherwise under applicable law are expressly preserved. The Stipulation contains no admission of fault or wrongdoing by the company or the other defendants. With respect to the derivative litigation, the Stipulation provides for the settlement and dismissal with prejudice of all claims against defendants except for claims against Mr. Livengood. The company, acting through its Special Committee, settled claims against Mr. Tate and Mr. Casstevens for these consideration: -- Messrs. Tate and Casstevens each agreed to contribute US$100,000 in cash to the settlement of the securities class action; -- Mr. Tate agreed to cancel his interest in 6,000 shares of the company's common stock; and -- Messrs. Tate and Casstevens agreed to limit their claims for indemnity from the company in connection with future proceedings before the Securities and Exchange Commission or the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York to specified amounts. The company, acting through its Special Committee, has been in negotiations with Mr. Livengood but has not reached agreement to resolve the derivative claims against him and counsel for the derivative plaintiffs are deferring their application for fees until conclusion of the derivative actions against Mr. Livengood. All other defendants named in the derivative action will be dismissed with prejudice without paying any consideration, consistent with the findings and conclusions of the company's Special Committee in its report of August 2005. "The settlement of these legal matters represents a significant step in the turnaround of Krispy Kreme," Daryl Brewster, President and Chief Executive Officer, said. The company estimates that, based on the current market price of its common stock, it will issue approximately 1,875,000 shares of its common stock and warrants to purchase approximately 4,400,000 shares of its common stock in connection with the Stipulation. The exercise price of the warrants will be equal to 125% of the average of the closing prices of the company's common stock for the 10-day period surrounding the filing of its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Jan. 29, 2006. The company has recorded a non-cash charge to earnings in fiscal 2006 of US$35,833,000, representing the estimated fair value of the common stock and warrants to be issued by the company. The Company has recorded a related receivable from its insurers in the amount of US$34,967,000, as well as a liability in the amount of US$70,800,000 representing the aggregate value of the securities to be issued by the company and the cash to be paid by the insurers. The settlement is conditioned upon the company's insurers and the other contributors paying their share of the settlement. The provision for settlement costs will be adjusted to reflect changes in the fair value of the securities until they are issued following final court approval of the Stipulation, which the company anticipates will occur in late calendar 2006 or early calendar 2007. Founded in 1937 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Krispy Kreme (NYSE: KKD) -- http://www.krispykreme.com/-- is a branded specialty retailer of premium quality doughnuts, including the Company's signature Hot Original Glazed. There are currently approximately 320 Krispy Kreme stores and 80 satellites operating systemwide in 43 U.S. states, in Australia, Canada, Mexico, the Republic of South Korea and the United Kingdom. Headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Freedom Rings LLC is a majority-owned subsidiary and franchisee partner of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc., in the Philadelphia region. Freedom Rings operates six out of the approximately 360 Krispy Kreme stores and 50 satellites located worldwide. The company filed for chapter 11 protection on Oct. 16, 2005 (Bankr. D. Del. Case No. 05-14268). M. Blake Cleary, Esq., Margaret B. Whiteman, Esq., and Matthew Barry Lunn, Esq., at Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP, represent the Debtor in its restructuring efforts. When the Debtor filed for protection from its creditors, it estimated US$10 million to US$50 million in assets and debts. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, Glazed Investments, LLC, is a 97%-owned unit of Krispy Kreme. Glazed filed for chapter 11 protection on Feb. 3, 2006 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. Case No. 06- 00932). The bankruptcy filing will facilitate the sale of 12 Krispy Kreme stores, as well as the franchise development rights for Colorado, Minnesota and Wisconsin, for approximately US$10 million to Westward Dough, the Krispy Kreme area developer for Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. Daniel A. Zazove, Esq., at Perkins Coie LLP represents Glazed in its restructuring efforts. When Glazed filed for protection from its creditors, it estimated assets and debts between US$10 million to US$50 million. KremeKo, Inc., Krispy Kreme's Canadian franchisee, is currently restructuring under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. Pursuant to the Court's Initial Order, Ernst & Young Inc. was appointed as Monitor in KremeKo's CCAA proceedings. The Monitor is attempting to sell the KremeKo business. KRISPY KREME: Files Annual Report for 2006 Fiscal Year with SEC --------------------------------------------------------------- Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. has filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission its Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Jan. 29, 2006. For fiscal 2006, the company reported revenues of US$543 million, and a net loss of US$136 million, which included non-cash impairment charges of US$54 million and a non-cash charge of US$36 million related to the settlement of litigation. "The filing of the Form 10-K for fiscal 2006 represents another significant step in the turnaround of Krispy Kreme," said Daryl Brewster, President and Chief Executive Officer. Founded in 1937 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Krispy Kreme (NYSE: KKD) -- http://www.krispykreme.com/-- is a branded specialty retailer of premium quality doughnuts, including the Company's signature Hot Original Glazed. There are currently approximately 320 Krispy Kreme stores and 80 satellites operating systemwide in 43 U.S. states, Australia, Canada, Mexico, the Republic of South Korea and the United Kingdom. Headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Freedom Rings LLC is a majority-owned subsidiary and franchisee partner of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc., in the Philadelphia region. Freedom Rings operates six out of the approximately 360 Krispy Kreme stores and 50 satellites located worldwide. The company filed for chapter 11 protection on Oct. 16, 2005 (Bankr. D. Del. Case No. 05-14268). M. Blake Cleary, Esq., Margaret B. Whiteman, Esq., and Matthew Barry Lunn, Esq., at Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP, represent the Debtor in its restructuring efforts. When the Debtor filed for protection from its creditors, it estimated US$10 million to US$50 million in assets and debts. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, Glazed Investments, LLC, is a 97%-owned unit of Krispy Kreme. Glazed filed for chapter 11 protection on Feb. 3, 2006 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. Case No. 06- 00932). The bankruptcy filing will facilitate the sale of 12 Krispy Kreme stores, as well as the franchise development rights for Colorado, Minnesota and Wisconsin, for approximately US$10 million to Westward Dough, the Krispy Kreme area developer for Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. Daniel A. Zazove, Esq., at Perkins Coie LLP represents Glazed in its restructuring efforts. When Glazed filed for protection from its creditors, it estimated assets and debts between US$10 million to US$50 million. KremeKo, Inc., Krispy Kreme's Canadian franchisee, is currently restructuring under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. Pursuant to the Court's Initial Order, Ernst & Young Inc. was appointed as Monitor in KremeKo's CCAA proceedings. The Monitor is attempting to sell the KremeKo business. =============== M A L A Y S I A =============== FOREMOST HOLDINGS: CIMB Demands Payment of MYR18,988,842.60 ----------------------------------------------------------- On November 1, 2006, Foremost Holdings Berhad received a notice of the termination of the banking facilities granted by CIMB Bank Berhad -- formerly known as Bumiputra-Commerce Bank Berhad -- to the company's subsidiary, Yaku Shin (Malaysia) Sdn, which as at Sept. 30, 2006, amounted to MYR18,988,842.60. Pursuant to the amount outstanding and owed under the banking facilities, CIMB Bank demanded: -- Yaku Shin as the borrower; and -- Foremost Holdings as the guarantor. Currently, Foremost Holdings is in the midst of analyzing the situation and will work out a repayment strategy with CIMB Bank in due course. About Foremost Holdings Foremost Holdings Berhad manufactures and sells automobile speakers, home audio speakers, general-purpose speakers and speaker wooden cabinets. The Company is also engaged in the trading of auto accessories, investment holdings and the provision of management services. Products are distributed in Malaysia, Singapore, United Kingdom, Italy, Taiwan, the United States, other Asian countries, other European countries and other countries. Foremost was classified as an affected listed issuer under Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad's Practice Note 17 because it has "insufficient financial position to warrant continued listing". As an affected issuer, the Company is required to draft a plan to regularize its finances to avoid being delisted from the Official List. FOREMOST HOLDINGS: Group General Manager Ceases to Act ------------------------------------------------------ Teh Beng Soon has voluntarily ceased to act as the Group General Manager of Foremost Holdings Berhad on Nov. 3, 2006. Moreover, Foremost Holdings will announce in due course, the appointment of Mr. Teng's successor. In the meantime, for all matters relating to the company and group, please contact: Adrian Chin Mun Kwong Executive Director; or Tang Wei Kok Mr. Kwong's Assistant About Foremost Holdings Foremost Holdings Berhad manufactures and sells automobile speakers, home audio speakers, general-purpose speakers and speaker wooden cabinets. The Company is also engaged in the trading of auto accessories, investment holdings and the provision of management services. Products are distributed in Malaysia, Singapore, United Kingdom, Italy, Taiwan, the United States, other Asian countries, other European countries and other countries. Foremost was classified as an affected listed issuer under Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad's Practice Note 17 because it has "insufficient financial position to warrant continued listing". As an affected issuer, the Company is required to draft a plan to regularize its finances to avoid being delisted from the Official List. KAI PENG: Ernst & Young Raises Substantial Going Concern Doubt -------------------------------------------------------------- The external auditors of Kai Peng Berhad, Ernst & Young, have raised a substantial doubt on the company's and the group's ability to continue as going concerns after auditing the Kai Peng's financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2006. Specifically, Ernst & Young raised substantial doubt on the company's ability to continue as a going concern after pointing out these factors in Kai Peng's June 30, 2006 financial statements: -- that the group and the company reported net losses of MYR62,181,981 and MYR53,789,921 respectively; -- that the group and the company's current liabilities exceeded their current assets by MYR77,245,002 and MYR49,988,562 respectively; and -- that the group and the company's June 30, 2006, balance sheet showed shareholder's deficit of MYR36,300,109 and MYR34,116,889 respectively. Based on the information made available to Ernst & Young, they are unable to satisfy themselves as to whether the application of the going concern basis in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate. The financial statements of the group the company do not include any adjustments relating to the amounts and classifications of assets and liabilities that might be necessary should the group and the company be unable to continue as going concerns. Moreover, Kai Peng is confident that all matters expressed by Ernst & Young are financial based and will be regularized upon the company's formulation of a comprehensive regularization plan. The regularization plan is due to be submitted for approval to the regulatory authorities by Jan. 9, 2007. About Kai Peng Berhad Headquartered in Selangor, Darul Ehsan, Malaysia, Kai Peng Berhad Kai manufactures, markets and distributes steel products. Other activities include provision of information and communication technology services, undertaking steel fabrication and engineering works and investment holding. Operations are carried out principally in Malaysia. Kai Peng was on May 9, 2006, classified under Practice Note 17 of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad after its shareholders' equity failed to meet the listing requirement. As an affected listed issuer, the Company is required to submit a financial regularization plan or risk the possibility of delisting. KUMPULAN BELTON: Issues Litigation Update as of Oct. 2006 --------------------------------------------------------- Kumpulan Belton Berhad provided updates on the status of its involvement in litigation and default in payment for the period of Sept. 30, to Oct. 31, 2006: * OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad (Plaintiff) versus Belton Fasteners Sdn. Bhd. (Defendant) and Kumpulan Belton Berhad (Guarantor) Ipoh High Court (No.3) Civil Suit No. 22-251- 2001; * OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad (Plaintiff) versus Belton HWC Industries Sdn Bhd (Defendant) and Kumpulan Belton Berhad (Guarantor) Kuala Lumpur High Court Civil Suit No: D8-22- 1430-2002; * OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad (Plaintiff) versus Belton Springs Sdn Bhd (Defendant) and Kumpulan Belton Berhad (Guarantor) Kuala Lumpur High Court Civil Suit No: D8-22- 1429-2002; * OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad (Plaintiff) versus Aesthetic Development Sdn Bhd (Defendant) and Kumpulan Belton Berhad (Guarantor) Ipoh High Court Civil Suit No. 22-173-2003; An Appeal to the Judge in Chambers was allowed with costs. No date has been fixed yet. * OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad (Plaintiff) versus Pleasant Venture Sdn Bhd (Defendant) Ipoh High Court Originating Summons No. 24-707-2001; The auction was conducted on Oct. 17, 2006, but there was no successful bidder; * OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad (Plaintiff) versus Aesthetic Development Sdn Bhd (Defendant) Ipoh High Court Originating Summons No. 24-706-2001; * RHB Bank Berhad (Plaintiff) versus Belton Springs Sdn Bhd (Defendant) and Kumpulan Belton Berhad (Guarantor) Ipoh High Court Civil Suit No. 22-133-2001; * RHB Bank Berhad (Plaintiff) versus Belton Sdn Berhad (Defendant) and Kumpulan Belton Berhad (Guarantor) Ipoh High Court Civil Suit No.22-134-2001; * AmBank Berhad (Plaintiff) versus Belton Sdn Berhad (Defendant) and Kumpulan Belton Berhad (Guarantor) Kuala Lumpur High Court Civil Suit No: D9-22-2365-2000; * Aseambankers Malaysia Berhad (Plaintiff) versus Kumpulan Belton Berhad (Defendant) Kuala Lumpur High Court Civil Suit No. D3-22-1827-03; * Hong Leong Bank Berhad (Plaintiff) versus Belton Pins Industries Sdn Bhd (Defendant) and Kumpulan Belton Berhad and 2 others (Guarantors) Kuala Lumpur High Court Civil Suit No. D7-22-1845-2003; * Danaharta Managers Sdn Bhd (Plaintiff) versus Belton Fasteners Sdn Bhd (Defendant) Ipoh High Court Originating Summons No.24-389-2004; The matter has been set down for hearing on Feb. 23, 2007. * Danaharta Managers Sdn Bhd (Plaintiff) versus Belton Tools Sdn Bhd (Defendant) and Kumpulan Belton Berhad (Guarantor) Kuala Lumpur High Court Civil Suit No. 22-1747-2004; The matter has been set down for mention on Nov. 22, 2006. * Danaharta Managers Sdn Bhd (Plaintiff) versus Belton- Oriental Heat Treatment Sdn Bhd (Defendant) and Kumpulan Belton Berhad (Guarantor) Kuala Lumpur High Court Civil Suit No. D1-22-1748-04; and * Kumpulan Belton Bhd, Belton Springs Sdn Bhd and Belton HWC Industries Sdn Bhd (Plaintiffs) versus OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Bhd (Defendant) Ipoh High Court Originating Summons No.24- 04-2006. -- Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (Lender) (i) Belton Sdn Berhad (Borrower) (ii) Belton Fasteners Sdn Bhd (Borrower) (iii) Belton HWC Industries Sdn Bhd (Borrower) (iv) Kumpulan Belton Berhad (Guarantor) (v) Belton Properties Sdn Bhd (Chargor) (vi) Belton Precision Machining Sdn Bhd (Chargor) (vii) Belton Tools Sdn Bhd (Chargor) About Kumpulan Belton Headquartered in Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia, Kumpulan Belton Berhad -- http://www.beltongroup.com-- manufactures and sells automotive suspension parts and components. Other activities include property development and investment, provision of machining and heat treatment services and investment holding. Operations of the Group are carried out in Malaysia and Australia. Kumpulan Belton was classified under the Amended Practice Note No. 17 Criteria on May 5, 2006, as the company's shareholders' equity on a consolidated basis is less than 25% of its issued and paid up capital as at Dec. 31, 2005. Moreover, the auditors have expressed a modified opinion with emphasis on the company's going concern for the financial year ended Dec. 31, 2005. MCSB SYSTEMS: To Seek Shareholders' OK for Proposed Mandate ----------------------------------------------------------- MCSB Systems (Malaysia) Berhad will seek the shareholders' approval for the Proposed Shareholders' Mandate at the company's forthcoming annual general meeting. The Proposed Shareholders' Mandate will allow the company and its subsidiaries, in the ordinary course of business, to enter into recurrent related party transactions of revenue or trading nature, which are necessary for MCSB Group's day-to-day operations. Accordingly, the company will issue circular containing information on the Proposed Shareholders' Mandate and the notice of the annual general meeting in due course. About MCSB Systems Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, MCSB Systems (Malaysia) Berhad's principal activity is the provision of Information Technology services ranging from hardware, software, consultancy and professional services. Information Technology services are categorized into Systems Support Services, Internet Professional Services, Outsourcing Services, Software Services, Education Services, eCommerce Consultancy and Development Services. The company is also into investment holdings. The company's operations are carried out in Malaysia, Singapore, China and Hong Kong. On May 9, 2006, the company was classified as an affected listed issuer pursuant to paragraph 2.1(a) of the Amended PN 17/2005, as MCSB Systems 'current shareholders' equity on a consolidated basis is less than 25% of its issued and paid-up capital. PAXELENT CORPORATION: Reaches Amicable Settlement ------------------------------------------------- Suit No. D3-22-1234-2005 in the High Court of Malaya initiated by Commerce International Merchant Bankers Berhad against Paxelent Corporation Berhad has been discontinued on Oct. 17, 2006, as the parties have reached an amicable out of court settlement. About Paxelent Corporation Paxelent Corporation is engaged in investment holding. The principal activities of the subsidiaries are property investment, provision of information technology solutions, investment holding, marketing and sale of hard disk drive components. The Company is a public limited liability company, incorporated and domiciled in Malaysia, and is listed on the Second Board of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad. The Company is actively pursuing various restructuring schemes to address its default issues. These schemes would involve raising funds through partial disposal of assets, potential debts waivers and rescheduling of the debts. PAXELENT CORPORATION: Subsidiaries Face Wind-Up Petition -------------------------------------------------------- Paxelent Corporation Berhad's subsidiaries, Mass Media Interactive Sdn Bhd and Konsortium Multimedia Swasta Sdn Bhd, have on Nov. 2, 2006, received: -- an unsealed members' wind-up petition against Konsortium Multimedia; and -- an unsealed Notice of Motion for an appointment of a provisional liquidator over Konsortium Multimedia. The wind-up petition was presented in the Kuala Lumpur High Court by the solicitors of CSA MSC Sdn Bhd against the respondents -- Konsortium Multimedia, Mass Media and Dibena Enterprise Sdn Bhd. Mass Media, Dibena Enterprise and CSA MSC are the shareholders of Konsortium Multimedia. No hearing date for the Petition and Motion has been fixed. Moreover, CSA MSC further claims: -- the costs of the wind-up to be taxed and paid by Mass Media and Dibena Enterprise; and -- further or other orders in the circumstances be just. According to the Petition, CSA applied for the wind up of Konsortium Multimedia on just and equitable grounds claiming that there is a deadlock and lack of probity in the management of Konsortium Multimedia. No monetary sum is claimed under the said petition. Konsortium Multimedia is a major contributor to Paxelent Corporation's revenue. In the event an order for wind-up of Konsortium Multimedia is made under the petition, PCB's investment in Konsortium Multimedia through Mass Media will be affected and this is dependent on the liquidation value of Konsortium Multimedia's assets. As at June 30, 2006, Paxelent Corporation's total cost of investment in Konsortium Multimedia is MYR12.087 million. However, the solicitors of Paxelent Corporation and Mass Media believe that the Petition and Motion are baseless. Moreover, Paxelent Corporation and Mass Media will vigorously oppose and take all necessary course of action against it. About Paxelent Corporation Paxelent Corporation is engaged in investment holding. The principal activities of the subsidiaries are property investment, provision of information technology solutions, investment holding, marketing and sale of hard disk drive components. The Company is a public limited liability company, incorporated and domiciled in Malaysia, and is listed on the Second Board of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad. The Company is actively pursuing various restructuring schemes to address its default issues. These schemes would involve raising funds through partial disposal of assets, potential debts waivers and rescheduling of the debts. ===================== N E W Z E A L A N D ===================== BUILDING MAINTENANCE: Faces Liquidation Proceedings --------------------------------------------------- The High Court of Christchurch will hear a liquidation petition against Building Maintenance Construction Ltd on November 13, 2006, at 10:00 a.m. Smiths Hardware Ltd filed the petition on October 4, 2006. The Solicitor for the Petitioner can be reached at: Owen Godfrey Paulsen Cavell Leitch Pringle & Boyle Level Fifteen, Clarendon Tower corner of Worcester Street and Oxford Terrace (P.O. Box 799), Christchurch New Zealand Telephone:(03) 379 9940 Facsimile:(03) 379 2408 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: Shareholders Resolve to Liquidate Firm -------------------------------------------------------------- On October 13, 2006, shareholders of Information Technology Ltd resolved to voluntarily liquidate the company's business and appointed John Albert Price and Christopher Robert Ross Horton as joint and several liquidators. The liquidators fix November 10, 2006, as the last day for creditors to prove their debts. The Joint Liquidators can be reached at: John Albert Price Christopher Robert Ross Horton Horton Price Limited P.O. Box 9125 Newmarket, Auckland New Zealand Telephone:(09) 366 3700 Facsimile:(09) 366 7276 MASURAI LTD: Creditors' Proofs of Claim Due on January 16 --------------------------------------------------------- On October 16, 2006, Richard Dale Agnew and Vivian Judith Fatupaito were appointed as joint and several liquidators of Masurai Ltd. Accordingly, the liquidators required the Company's creditors to file their proofs of claim by January 16, 2007. Failure to prove a debt will exclude a creditor from sharing in any distribution the Company will make. The Joint Liquidators can be reached at: Richard Dale Agnew Vivian Judith Fatupaito PricewaterhouseCoopers Level Eight, PricewaterhouseCoopers Tower 188 Quay Street (Private Bag 92-162), Auckland New Zealand Telephone:(09) 355 8000 Facsimile:(09) 355 8013 NGAHERE CONTRACTORS: Court to Hear CIR's Liquidation Petition ------------------------------------------------------------- On October 2, 2006, the Commissioner of Inland Revenue filed a liquidation petition against Ngahere Contractors Ltd before the High Court of Rotorua. The petition will be heard on November 13, 2006, at 10:45 a.m. The Solicitor for the Petitioner can be reached at: E. M. Duncan-Sittlington Inland Revenue Department 1 Bryce Street, Hamilton New Zealand OLD BC: Creditors to Prove Claims by November 13 ------------------------------------------------ On October 16, 2006, John Michael Gilbert was appointed liquidator of Old BC Ltd. Accordingly, Mr. Gilbert requires the Company's creditors to submit their proofs of claim by November 13, 2006, for them to share in the Company's distribution. The Liquidator can be reached at: John Michael Gilbert C & C Strategic Limited Private Bag 47-927 Ponsonby, Auckland New Zealand Telephone:(09) 376 7506 Facsimile:(09) 376 6441 OLD BSC: Names Gilbert as Liquidator ------------------------------------ On October 16, 2006, John Michael Gilbert was appointed as liquidator of Old BSC Ltd. Mr. Gilbert requires creditors of the Company to submit their proofs of claim by November 13, 2006. The Liquidator can be reached at: John Michael Gilbert C & C Strategic Limited Private Bag 47-927 Ponsonby, Auckland New Zealand Telephone:(09) 376 7506 Facsimile:(09) 376 6441 SEA ACCOMODATION: Liquidation Hearing Set on November 16 -------------------------------------------------------- On June 7, 2006, Mahone Management Ltd filed a petition to liquidate Sea Accomodation Trustee Ltd. The petition will be heard before the High Court of Auckland on November 16, 2006, at 10:45 a.m. The Solicitor for the Petitioner can be reached at: Anita Legge Haigh Lyon 34 Shortland Street Auckland 1010 New Zealand Telephone:(09) 306 0600 Facsimile:(09) 307 0353 STARRION HOLDINGS: Creditors Must Prove Debts by January 12 ----------------------------------------------------------- Joint Liquidators Vivian Judith Fatupaito and Richard Dale Agnew require the creditors of Starrion Holdings Ltd to file their proofs of debt on January 12, 2007. Failure to present proofs of debt by the due date will exclude a creditor from sharing in any distribution the Company will make. The Joint Liquidators can be reached at: Vivian Judith Fatupaito Richard Dale Agnew PricewaterhouseCoopers Level Eight, PricewaterhouseCoopers Tower 188 Quay Street (Private Bag 92-162), Auckland New Zealand Telephone:(09) 355 8000 Facsimile:(09) 355 8013 VMOTO (NZ): Liquidation Hearing Set on November 13 -------------------------------------------------- A petition to liquidate VMOTO (NZ) Ltd will be heard before the High Court of Christchurch on November 13, 2006, at 10:00 a.m. VMOTO Scooters and Motorcycles (NZ) Pty Ltd filed the petition with the Court on October 16, 2006. The Solicitor for the Petitioner can be reached at: R. A. Osborne Duncan Cotterill Level Nine, Clarendon Tower corner of Worcester Street and Oxford Terrace Christchurch New Zealand WYNDHAM CONSTRUCTION: Court Set to Hear Liquidation Petition ------------------------------------------------------------ Mahone Management Ltd filed with the High Court of Auckland a liquidation petition against Wyndham Construction Ltd on June 7, 2006. The application will be heard before the Court on November 16, 2006, at 10:45 a.m. The Solicitor for the Petitioner can be reached at: Anita Legge Haigh Lyon 34 Shortland Street Auckland 1010 New Zealand Telephone:(09) 306 0600 Facsimile:(09) 307 0353 ===================== P H I L I P P I N E S ===================== ABS-CBN BROADCASTING: To Hold Investors & Analysts' Briefing ------------------------------------------------------------ ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation informs the Philippine Stock Exchange that it will hold an Investors and Analysts' Briefing to discuss the Company's Nine Months 2006 Financial Results on November 14, 2006, at 3:00 p.m., at The Chronicle Lounge, Restaurant 9501, 14/F ELJ Communications Center, in Eugenio Lopez Drive, Quezon City. About ABS-CBN Broadcasting ABS-CBN Broadcasting or Alto Broadcasting System-Chronicle Broadcasting Network -- http://www.abscbn-ir.com/-- is a leading Philippine radio and television broadcasting network and multimedia company. It was the first television station founded in the Philippines in 1953. The network's main broadcast facilities are located at the ABS-CBN Broadcast Center, Mother Ignacia St., Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines. ABS-CBN's senior secured debt was given a Ba3 rating by Moody's Investor Service. BACNOTAN CONSOLIDATED: Board Approves PHP16.7-Million Investment ---------------------------------------------------------------- At a regular meeting of the Board of Directors of Bacnotan Consolidated Industries, Inc., held on November 7, 2006, the Board approved: (a) an additional investment of PHP16.7 million in Asian Plaza, Inc., which will raise the Corporation's investment to PHP198.1 million or 57.5% of expanded capital; and (b) the appointment of Rizalina P. Andrada as Assistant Vice President - Finance. About BCI Makati-based Bacnotan Consolidated Industries, Incorporated, Phinma Group's flagship company, was founded by a group of industrialists led by the Escaler family in 1957. BCI is a holding company that, through its operating subsidiaries, is engaged primarily in the production, distribution and sale of clinker, cement and concrete products. It also has an interest in the paper and packaging industry and it has also ventured into property development and reinforced steel bars manufacturing. The Company's principal source of revenue is from the cement sales of its cement subsidiary. Historically, its cement subsidiary has been responsible for at least 80% of its sales revenues. It is primarily engaged in the quarrying, production, distribution and marketing of portland and pozzolan cement. On March 22, 2006, the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific cited a report from the Philippine Daily Inquirer saying that the Philippine Stock Exchange planned to remove Bacnotan Consolidated from its index due to insufficient tradability. BANCO DE ORO: Fitch Affirms Ratings After Merger Plans with EPCI ---------------------------------------------------------------- On November 8, 2006, Fitch Ratings affirmed the ratings of Banco De Oro Universal Bank: * Individual 'C/D', and * Support '3' The ratings affirmation follows the announcement of a plan of merger with Equitable PCI Bank, Inc., as approved by their respective boards noting that both BDO and EPCI are controlled by the SM group, one of the Philippine's largest conglomerates with substantial interests in retailing and property development. The merger of equals is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2007. Together the two banks will form the Philippine's second largest bank with c. 14% of system-wide assets; currently BDO and EPCI are the fifth and third largest banks with 6% and 8% of system- wide assets respectively. Fitch would expect BDO's management to take the lead in driving the enlarged entity, given its high competence and experience in numerous previous smaller acquisitions and mergers. In terms of balance sheet strength and profitability, the enlarged entity should be above the industry average as is currently the case with both BDO and EPCI. The CAR of the enlarged entity is expected to come in at a satisfactory 15%, predominantly Tier I. That said, like all Philippine banks, both BDO and particularly EPCI have long been carrying a significant amount of potentially overvalued foreclosed property assets on their balance sheets. Nevertheless, capitalization should remain intact with any losses here being covered over time by core earnings. This is particularly so given that the merger should result in considerable cost, revenue and diversification synergies. Thus, the enlarged bank is likely to assume BDO's higher Individual rating of 'C/D', although this will be subject to further review and analysis. Fitch notes that the SM group also controls China Banking Corporation ("CBC", rated 'BB'), the Philippine's 11th largest bank with c. 4% of system-wide assets. It remains to be seen whether or not CBC also merges with BDO/EPCI, noting its more niched Chinese-Filipino franchise. Following a bout of mergers in the late-1990s, there has since been little further consolidation of the Philippine banking industry which remains quite fragmented contributing to the banks' high cost bases. The BDO/EPCI merger, however, may well spur another round of merger activity. While Fitch would welcome this, particularly if it results in the rectifying of the very weak balance sheets of certain banks, the agency also notes that the payment of high prices for banks (as occurred in the 1990s) could result in downward pressure on the ratings of any acquirers. BENPRES HOLDINGS: Disposes of 0.88% Digitel Shares for PHP78.5MM ---------------------------------------------------------------- Benpres Holdings Corporation discloses that it has disposed of 55,749,999 Digital Telecommunications Inc., shares through the Philippine Stock Exchange. Benpres notes that it is unaware of the identity of the buyers. The disposed shares are equivalent to 0.88% of the total issue and outstanding shares of Digital based on the total outstanding shares of 6,356,976,310 as of December 31, 2005. However, this number of shares does not reflect the dilution from the parent company zero coupon convertible bonds and DCPL zero coupon convertible bonds as disclosed in the Digitel 2005 audited financial statements. The total consideration of shares disposed amounted to PHP78.5 million. Funds will be used for working capital requirements of Benpres. About Benpres Holdings Headquartered in Pasig City Philippines, Benpres Holdings Corporation is a 56.22%-owned subsidiary of Lopez, Inc. Both entities were incorporated in the Philippines. Benpres Holdings and its subsidiaries are mainly involved in investment holdings, broadcasting and entertainment, and water distribution. The Company's associates are involved in telecommunications, power generation and distribution, cable television, real estate development and infrastructure. Starting in 2002, Benpres Holdings defaulted on its principal and interest payments on its long-term direct obligations and guarantees and commitments. As proposed in the Company's Balance Sheet Management Plan, all of Benpres' liabilities were computed as of May 31, 2002. Also as proposed in the BSMP, the Company would make good faith semi-annual payments on its direct and contingent obligations. The first payment was made on December 2, 2002, and succeeding payments were made in June and December 2003, June and November 2004, and May and November 2005. As of Dec. 31, 2005, Benpres Holdings' long-term direct obligations due for payment stood at PHP9.96 billion. By virtue of its guarantees and commitments, based on the BSMP, the Company may be liable for certain obligations that already fell due, amounting to approximately PHP10.94 billion as of December 31, 2005, excluding guarantees in its unit, Maynilad Water Services, Inc. As of December 31, 2005, consolidated current liabilities exceeded consolidated current assets by PHP22.12 billion. Net loss attributable to Benpres Holdings' equity holders for the year ended December 31, 2004, amounted to PHP1.2 billion. After auditing the Company's annual report for the period ended December 31, 2005, Sycip Gorres Velayo & Co. raised substantial doubt on Benpres Holdings' ability to continue as a going concern, which would depend on success of the Company's balancesheet management plan. EQUITABLE PCI: Sets Special Stockholders's Meeting on Dec. 27 ------------------------------------------------------------- Equitable PCI Bank, Inc., advises the Philippine Stock Exchange that it will hold its Special Stockholders' Meeting on December 27, 2006, at 3:00 p.m., at the Francisco Santiago Hall, Mezzanine Floor, Equitable PCI Bank Tower 1, Makati Avenue corner H.V. Dela Costa St., Makati City. The record date for purposes of determining stockholders entitled to vote in the meeting is November 20, 2006. About Equitable PCI Equitable PCI Bank, Inc. -- http://www.equitablepci.com/-- is a universal bank formed from the consolidation of Equitable Banking Corporation and PCI Bank on September 2, 1999. EBC and its subsidiaries provide a wide range of commercial, corporate, and retail banking and financial services, including lending and deposit taking, branch banking, international banking, electronic banking, trade finance, cash management, and trust and treasury services. Aside from commercial banking, the Bank also capitalizes in credit card, investment banking, leasing, trust banking, and remittance business. The Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific has reported that on November 6, 2006, the Boards of Banco de Oro Universal Bank and Equitable PCI Bank, Inc., passed resolutions approving a plan to merge the two companies. Both Boards have endorsed to their shareholders the approved Plan of Merger for final ratification. Completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is anticipated to close by the first quarter of 2007. The combination will be structured as a merger and executed by means of a share-for-share exchange. Under the proposed terms, Banco de Oro will serve as the surviving entity, and Equitable PCI shareholders will receive 1.80 Banco de Oro common shares for every Equitable PCI share. The name of the combined institution will be Banco de Oro - EPCI, Inc. * * * Moody's Investors Service gave Equitable PCI Bank's Subordinated Debt and Long-Term Bank Deposits 'Ba3' ratings effective May 25, 2006. EQUITABLE PCI: Fitch Affirms Ratings After BDO Merger Plans ----------------------------------------------------------- On November 8, 2006, Fitch Ratings affirmed the ratings of Equitable PCI Bank: * Long-term foreign currency Issuer Default rating 'BB'/Outlook Stable; * Individual 'D', * Support '3', and * Long-term senior unsecured rating 'BB' The ratings affirmation follows the announcement of a plan of merger with Banco de Oro Universal Bank as approved by their respective boards noting that both BDO and EPCI are controlled by the SM group, one of the Philippine's largest conglomerates with substantial interests in retailing and property development. The merger of equals is expected to be completed in Q107. EQUITABLE PCI: S&P Raises Rating to B+ Due to BDO Plan of Merger ---------------------------------------------------------------- On November 7, 2006, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised its long-term counterparty credit ratings on Equitable PCI Bank Inc. to 'B+' from 'B'. The outlook is stable. Standard & Poor's also raised its ratings on EPCI's senior unsecured debt to 'B+' from 'B' and subordinated debt to 'B-' from 'CCC+'. The 'B' short-term counterparty credit rating and the Bank Fundamental Strength Rating of 'D' were affirmed. The rating upgrade comes after the announcement of a decision by the boards of EPCI and Banco de Oro Universal Bank (BDO, B+/Stable/B) to merge. This would create Philippines' second- largest commercial bank, in terms of total assets and deposits. BDO is proposed to be the surviving entity with the name of the merged bank being Banco de Oro - EPCI, Inc. The ratings on BDO are not affected. "The merged bank's business profile will be stronger than that of the two banks individually," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Ritesh Maheshwari. The merged bank's pro-forma asset quality and capitalization would be essentially a weighted average of the stand-alone entities. The merged capitalization will be marginally better than that of EPCI's. The credit profile of the merged bank is likely to be closer to that of BDO's. The proposed transaction is subjected to regulatory and shareholder approvals and is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2007. Standard & Poor's believes the necessary approvals are likely to be received and the upgrade factors this in. Standard & Poor's may lower the ratings on EPCI if there are material impediments causing a prolonged delay to the merger. PHILIPPINE LONG DISTANCE: Earns PHP10.4 Bil. in 3rd Quarter 2006 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company discloses that its unaudited financial results for the first nine months of 2006 recorded a consolidated net income of PHP25.7 billion compared with the PHP24.8 billion recorded for the same period last year. Core earnings of PHP23.2 billion, before the effects of foreign exchange gains/losses, deferred tax assets and additional depreciation, improved 11% compared with core earnings of PHP20.9 billion for the first nine months of 2005. Consolidated service revenues for the 2006 nine-month period rose by 3% to PHP92 billion. Consolidated EBITDA improved by 5% to PHP60.7 billion while EBITDA margins rose to 66% compared with 64% last year. Net income for the third quarter ended September 30, 2006, increased 55% to PHP10.4 billion compared with the 2005 second quarter's PHP6.7-billion net income due to forex gains and other exceptional items. In line with PLDT Group's strategy to step up the upgrade of its Fixed Line and Wireless networks, consolidated capital expenditures increased to PHP16.9 billion. PLDT Fixed Line is currently upgrading about 300,000 fixed lines to NGN while wireless subsidiary Smart Communications, Inc., has expanded its cellular network to support its ongoing initiatives and programs for 2G, wireless broadband and 3G. The Group expects total capital expenditures for 2006 to reach PHP20 billion. Despite the higher capital expenditure level, consolidated free cash flow remained strong at PHP32.1 billion for the first nine months of the year. The Group's consolidated balance sheet further strengthened with consolidated debt balances down to less than US$1.8 billion. Net debt to EBITDA and net debt to free cash flow ratios continued to improve, falling to 0.85 times and 1.7 times, respectively. Piltel to be Debt-free by December 2006 On October 25, 2006, PLDT's cellular subsidiary Pilipino Telephone Corporation submitted notices of its intent to make the final voluntary prepayment of its principal debt. The aggregate prepayment amount of US$233 million, of which US$161 million is owed to Smart and US$72 million is owed to third parties, represents the balance of Piltel's total outstanding restructured debt after the initial payment of US176 million was paid on June 5, 2006. The final prepayment will be effected on December 4, 2006, after which Piltel's restructured debt balance will be reduced to zero. Piltel is currently seeking approval from the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas for the purchase of foreign exchange requirements relating to the prepayment. About PLDT Based in Makati City, Philippines, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. -- http://www.pldt.com.ph/-- is the leading national telecommunications service provider in the Philippines. Through three principal business groups -- wireless, fixed line, and information and communications technology -- the company offers a wide range of telecommunications services to over 22 million subscribers in the Philippines across the nation's most extensive fiber optic backbone and fixed line, cellular and satellite networks. * * * Moody's Investors Service placed a Ba1 local currency corporate family rating on PLDT. Moody's also affirmed the company's Ba2 foreign currency senior unsecured ratings, with a negative outlook. Standard & Poor's placed the company's long-term foreign issuer credit rating at BB+. Standard & Poor's also affirmed its 'BB+' foreign currency rating on the company with a stable outlook. PHILIPPINE LONG DISTANCE: Declares Cash Dividends ------------------------------------------------- Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company advises the Philippine Stock Exchange that during the meeting of the company's board of directors held on November 7, 2006, PLDT declared cash dividends out of its unrestricted retained earnings as of December 31, 2005: (a) a total of PHP12,285,000 on all of the outstanding shares of the company's Series IV Cumulative Non-Convertible Redeemable Preferred Stock, for the quarter ending December 15, 2006, payable on that date to the holder of record on November 24, 2006; (b) PHP1 per outstanding share of the company's Series G 10% Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock, for the annual period ending November 30, 2006, payable on December 29, 2006, to the holders of record on December 7, 2006; (c) PHP1 per outstanding share of the company's Series N 10% Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock, for the annual period ending November 30, 2006, payable on December 29, 2006, to the holders of record on December 7, 2006; (d) PHP1 per outstanding share of the company's Series P 10% Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock, for the annual period ending November 30, 2006, payable on December 29, 2006, to the holders of record on December 7, 2006; and (e) PHP 1 per outstanding share of the company's Series S 10% Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock, for the annual period ending November 30, 2006, payable on December 29, 2006, to the holders of record on December 7, 2006. About PLDT Based in Makati City, Philippines, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. -- http://www.pldt.com.ph/-- is the leading national telecommunications service provider in the Philippines. Through three principal business groups -- wireless, fixed line, and information and communications technology -- the company offers a wide range of telecommunications services to over 22 million subscribers in the Philippines across the nation's most extensive fiber optic backbone and fixed line, cellular and satellite networks. * * * Moody's Investors Service placed a Ba1 local currency corporate family rating on PLDT. Moody's also affirmed the company's Ba2 foreign currency senior unsecured ratings, with a negative outlook. Standard & Poor's placed the company's long-term foreign issuer credit rating at BB+. Standard & Poor's also affirmed its 'BB+' foreign currency rating on the company with a stable outlook. UNION BANK: Posts 39% Increase in Net Income for 3rd Quarter '06 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Union Bank of the Philippines made a net income of PHP581 million in the third quarter of 2006, 39.3% higher than PHP417 million in the same period last year. Revenues more than doubled to PHP4.1 billion due to substantial increase in both interest differential and fee-based income. Interest income from lending soared 362.2% to PHP1.6 billion as the Bank's loan portfolio more than doubled with the acquisition of International Exchange Bank. Due to the interim impact of expenses related to the purchase of iBank, nine-month net profits declined to PHP1.6 billion from the previous year's PHP1.9 billion. The lower bottom line was also attributed to the industry-wide margin compression due to decline in local interest rates. The merged bank provided a total of PHP178 million in loan loss reserves in the first nine months of the year, bringing non- performing loans cover to 78%. Efficiency and profitability ratios remained well above industry averages. Return on average equity was 12% and return on average assets was 2% during the reference period. On August 28, 2006, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the merger between UnionBank and iBank. The merger produced synergy in the areas of technology-based products & services, lending, capital markets businesses, service quality and channels management. The combined asset base created one of the industry's most balanced portfolio with almost one-third each allocated to loans, securities, and interbank call loans. Total assets stood at PHP146 billion, the seventh largest among private domestic universal banks while deposit base placed ninth at PHP102 billion. The combined network of 191 branches is now the sixth largest among Philippine banks. About UnionBank Union Bank of the Philippines -- http://www.unionbankph.com/-- offers a wide range of products and services to both corporate and individual clients. Its core businesses are payment services, corporate cash management foreign exchange, capital markets, corporate finance and consumer finance. It is also engaged in investment management, trust banking, insurance brokerage, currency brokerage, private banking, pre-need products marketing, investment banking and financial advisory and real property development and marketing via Union Properties, Inc. Moody's Investors Service gave UnionBank a 'Ba3' Senior Unsecured Debt and Long-Term Bank Deposits Ratings effective May 25, 2006. UNION BANK: Inks Memorandum of Agreement with Saratoga ------------------------------------------------------ On October 26, 2006, Union Bank of the Philippines entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Saratoga Electronic Solutions, Inc., likewise a publicly-listed company in Montreal Canada, wherein they intended to set up a remittance office in Canada that will enable clients to transfer funds electronically via UnionBank's payment channel cards system. The remittance office will, among others, manage, operate and promote UnionBank's business of offering a card-based money remittance service in the Philippines. UnionBank will provide the payment channel system thru its banking network and the target launch date of the remittance business is at end 2006 after obtaining BSP clearance and approval. SES has a technology platform and distribution and processing channels in Canada that will enable OFWs to transfer funds electronically via UnionBank's payment channel cards system which is provided by UnionBank to the client-beneficiaries whenever and wherever they are situated in the Philippines. The company is in the business of offering and operating a network of white-label automatic teller machines, a card-based remittance solution and other financial and prepaid solutions in Canada. At the signing ceremony, Saratoga President & CEO Georges Alfred Durst said "our goal is to provide overseas Filipino workers with a cost efficient solution to facilitate electronic funds transfers to family member and others in the Philippines." "UnionBank, as the acknowledged leader in electronic banking services in the Philippines, has embarked in the plan to tap the inward remittances of global Filipinos by providing a payment channel card product, process and network in the Philippines that can be used to facilitate the receipt and disbursement of electronic funds transfers for OFWs and is pleased to set up and test this service for the first time from Canada," Union Bank President Victor B. Valdepenas said. About UnionBank Union Bank of the Philippines -- http://www.unionbankph.com/-- offers a wide range of products and services to both corporate and individual clients. Its core businesses are payment services, corporate cash management foreign exchange, capital markets, corporate finance and consumer finance. It is also engaged in investment management, trust banking, insurance brokerage, currency brokerage, private banking, pre-need products marketing, investment banking and financial advisory and real property development and marketing via Union Properties, Inc. Moody's Investors Service gave UnionBank a 'Ba3' Senior Unsecured Debt and Long-Term Bank Deposits Ratings effective May 25, 2006. * BSP Maintains Key Policy Interest Rates ----------------------------------------- At a meeting held on November 2, 2006, the Monetary Board decided to maintain the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' key policy interest rates at 7.5% for the overnight borrowing or reverse repurchase rate and 9.75% for the overnight lending or repurchase rate. At the same time, the Monetary Board adopted a tier scheme on banks' aggregate placements with the BSP under the RP/RRP and special deposit accounts windows, effective November 2, 2006. Bank placements with the BSP under the windows, will now be subject to the applicable BSP published rate (RRP or SDA): (a) for the first PHP5 billion; (b) less 200 basis points for the next PHP5 billion; and (c) less 400 basis points for amounts in excess of PHP10 billion. The restoration of the tiering scheme is expected to encourage banks to seek alternatives to placing their excess funds with the BSP, like lending to the public. The Monetary Board is of the view that the improving outlook for inflation, given prevailing demand and supply-side conditions, provides some policy flexibility. Latest forecasts continue to show a generally declining path for inflation, with average inflation for 2007 expected to fall within the 4%-5% target in the absence of further adverse shocks. The stronger peso should also help keep down the domestic prices of imported commodities, particularly crude oil, while a moderate outlook for agriculture should help ensure stable food prices. Meanwhile, the continued easing of core inflation suggests minimal demand-based inflation pressures. Aggregate demand, to date, has been largely driven by consumer spending. However, the Monetary Board also believes that the balance of risks to the inflation outlook remains on the upside, due to a number of factors. Foremost among these are the potential cost- side pressures arising from the uncertainty in world oil prices. Food prices may also be at risk if the El Nino turns out more severe than expected, which can significantly affect agricultural production. With these potential supply-side pressures, the Monetary Board remains watchful of a rise in the public's inflation expectations. Monetary authorities will continue to pay close attention to a possible excessive buildup in liquidity conditions that could lead to higher inflation. The Monetary Board remains committed to achieving the inflation targets for the medium term and stands ready to act against emerging risks to the outlook for inflation and to inflation expectations. * * * "Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'BB-' senior unsecured rating to the Republic of Philippines' proposed new bond issue that will mature in 2024, as well as the new debt under the series of 7.75% Global Bonds due in 2031. The government is offering these bonds in exchange for some of its existing debt. At the same time, Standard & Poor's also affirmed its 'BB-' ratings on the bonds that are eligible for exchange." On November 3, 2006, the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific reported that Moody's Investors Service changed to stable from negative the outlook on the Philippines' key ratings due to the progress made in reining in fiscal deficits in 2006 and an easing in dependence on external financing. The affected ratings include the B1 long-term government foreign- and local-currency ratings, the B1 foreign-currency bank deposit ceiling and Ba3 foreign currency country ceiling, the TCR-AP noted. * Philippines' End-October GIR Reaches US$22 Billion Mark --------------------------------------------------------- The country's gross international reserves reached another record-high level of US$22.27 billion as of end-October 2006, up by US$0.68 billion from US$21.59 billion the previous month. The preliminary end-October GIR level was adequate to cover about 4.4 months of imports of goods and payments of services and income. This level was also equivalent to 4.0 times the country's short-term external debt based on original maturity and 2.0 times based on residual maturity. Short-term debt based on residual maturity refers to outstanding external debt with original maturity of one year or less, plus principal payments on medium- and long-term loans of the public and private sectors falling due within the next 12 months. The higher end-October 2006 GIR was mainly a result of inflows from the BSP's foreign exchange operations and income from investments abroad. The continued build-up of reserves allowed the BSP to prepay in October US$446 million of loans and notes originally maturing in 2007 and 2009, as well as service its maturing foreign exchange obligations and those of the National Government. Net international reserves, including revaluation of reserve assets and reserve-related liabilities, increased to US$22.02 billion from the end-September 2006 level of US$21.34 billion. NIR refers to the difference between the BSP's GIR and the combined total of short-term liabilities and use of Fund credits. * * * "Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'BB-' senior unsecured rating to the Republic of Philippines' proposed new bond issue that will mature in 2024, as well as the new debt under the series of 7.75% Global Bonds due in 2031. The government is offering these bonds in exchange for some of its existing debt. At the same time, Standard & Poor's also affirmed its 'BB-' ratings on the bonds that are eligible for exchange." On November 3, 2006, the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific reported that Moody's Investors Service changed to stable from negative the outlook on the Philippines' key ratings due to the progress made in reining in fiscal deficits in 2006 and an easing in dependence on external financing. The affected ratings include the B1 long-term government foreign- and local-currency ratings, the B1 foreign-currency bank deposit ceiling and Ba3 foreign currency country ceiling, the TCR-AP noted. * RP's October Inflation Registers at 5.4% ------------------------------------------ The Philippines' annual inflation in October came in at 5.4%, the slowest since June 2004, due to slower price increases in most commodities except food and housing, the National Statistics Office says. The figure beat market expectations, but fell in line with central bank estimates. Economists polled had expected annual inflation in October to come in at 5.57%. BSP governor Amando Tetangco had expected annual inflation in October to be between 5.0% and 5.7%. According to NSO, fish, vegetable, and poultry prices increased after Typhoon Milenyo whipped the country in September. The index of fruits and vegetables increased 3.7% month-on- month, as damage from the super typhoon, which hit the country in September, affected October food prices. "This (higher inflation month-on-month) was caused by the continuous upward movement in the prices of vegetables in most of the regions brought about by the after effects of the typhoon that hit these areas. The price movement was also due to the absence of supply of vegetables coming from Bicol region that was hardly hit by the typhoon," the NSO said. * * * "Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'BB-' senior unsecured rating to the Republic of Philippines' proposed new bond issue that will mature in 2024, as well as the new debt under the series of 7.75% Global Bonds due in 2031. The government is offering these bonds in exchange for some of its existing debt. At the same time, Standard & Poor's also affirmed its 'BB-' ratings on the bonds that are eligible for exchange." On November 3, 2006, the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific reported that Moody's Investors Service changed to stable from negative the outlook on the Philippines' key ratings due to the progress made in reining in fiscal deficits in 2006 and an easing in dependence on external financing. The affected ratings include the B1 long-term government foreign- and local-currency ratings, the B1 foreign-currency bank deposit ceiling and Ba3 foreign currency country ceiling, the TCR-AP noted. ================= S I N G A P O R E ================= AC MANAGEMENT: Proofs of Claim Due on Dec. 1 -------------------------------------------- The creditors of AC Management Pte Ltd are required to file their proofs of debt by Dec. 1, 2006, in order to be included in the company's distribution of dividend. The liquidator can be reached at: Low Kok Poo c/o Corporate Alliance Pte Ltd 5 Shenton Way #06-08 UIC Building Singapore 068808 BENCHMARK ELECTRONICS: Signs Agreement to Acquire Pemstar --------------------------------------------------------- Benchmark Electronics, Inc., has signed a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which each outstanding share of Pemstar Inc. common stock will be converted into the right to receive 0.160 of a common share of Benchmark at transaction close. Based on Benchmark's closing price of US$28.93 on Oct. 16, 2006, the transaction values Pemstar at approximately US$300 million including the assumption of Pemstar net debt. The merger is expected to be a tax-free exchange of common shares. The merger agreement has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both Benchmark and Pemstar. The transaction, which is subject to the approval of Pemstar's shareholders, antitrust approvals and other closing conditions, is expected to close in the first calendar quarter of 2007, subject to the timing of completion of regulatory reviews. "The combination of the Benchmark/Pemstar organizations brings together two well respected teams with broad and complementary customer bases and serving diversified end markets. Pemstar's customer-focused culture and operating flexibility is highly compatible with that of Benchmark," said Cary Fu, Benchmark's chief executive officer. "This acquisition also supports Benchmark's strategy to continue to expand and deepen its suite of integrated services and solutions. Pemstar's strengths in design engineering and systems integration as well as its global footprint complement our existing growing business. I am confident that the combined organization will create additional value for our combined base of customers." "Benchmark's proven track record, strong balance sheet, and reputation as a global leader in electronics manufacturing services make the deal an attractive one for Pemstar's customers, shareholders and employees. This transaction will provide Pemstar customers with an enhanced portfolio of capabilities, expanded supply chain and operating leverage and the advantages of an increased global footprint," said Al Berning, Pemstar's chairman and chief executive officer. "Our customers will benefit greatly from Benchmark's capabilities in design engineering, complex manufacturing and test and repair, as well as expanded low-cost operations in Asia. There is a strong cultural fit between the two organizations, which will facilitate a smooth transition and ensure consistency of ongoing service delivery. The management team and I strongly support the transaction and the opportunity it provides." Pemstar provides a range of global engineering, product design, automation and test, manufacturing and fulfillment services to customers through facilities strategically located in North America, Asia and Europe. About Benchmark Benchmark Electronics, Inc. -- http://www.bench.com/-- manufactures electronics and provides its services to original equipment manufacturers of computers and related products for business enterprises, medical devices, industrial control equipment, testing and instrumentation products, and telecommunication equipment. Benchmark's global operations include facilities in eight countries. Benchmark's Common Shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BHE. The company has operations in United States, Brazil, Mexico, Europe, and Asia, which includes Thailand, China and Singapore. * * * Standard & Poor's Ratings Services placed its 'BB-' corporate credit rating at Benchmark Electronics on CreditWatch with positive implications after the company announced it will acquire Pemstar Inc. in a stock transaction valued at about US$300 million. Moody's rates Benchmark's long-term corporate family rating at Ba3; Bank loan debt at Ba2; and equity linked at B2. The ratings were assigned on March 2003. CM MANAGEMENT: Will Receive Proofs of Debt Until Dec. 1 ------------------------------------------------------- Low Kok Poo, as liquidator for CM Management Pte Ltd, will be receiving proofs of debt from the creditors of the company, which was placed under voluntary liquidation, until December 1, 2006. Failure to comply with the requirement will exclude the creditor from sharing in the company's distribution of dividend. The Liquidator can be reached at: Low Kok Poo c/o Corporate Alliance Pte Ltd 5 Shenton Way #06-08 UIC Building Singapore 068808 FREESCALE SEMICON: Buyout Plan Prompts S&P's Credit Rating Watch ---------------------------------------------------------------- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services kept ratings, including the 'BB+' corporate credit rating, on Austin, Texas-based Freescale Semiconductor Inc. on CreditWatch with negative implications, where they were placed on Sept. 11, 2006, after the company's announcement that it was considering a business transaction, later confirmed as a leveraged buyout. "We have determined the rating actions that will be taken upon the completion of the financing that will facilitate the acquisition of Freescale by the consortium, expected to be in the near term," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Bruce Hyman. The anticipated rating actions reflect the pending LBO, which will materially increase debt leverage while substantially reducing liquidity and free cash flows. The corporate credit rating will be lowered to 'BB-' with a negative outlook, and a 'BB' rating will be assigned to the company's senior secured bank loan package with a '1' recovery rating. Freescale's US$4.25 billion senior secured bank facility will consist of a US$3.5 billion senior secured term loan and a US$750 million revolving credit agreement. The term loan and credit facility will be rated 'BB', one notch higher than the corporate credit rating, with a recovery rating of '1', indicating an expectation of full recovery of principal in the event of a payment default. The senior fixed-rate, senior toggle, senior unsecured floating rate, and senior subordinated notes will all be rated 'B'; the 'BB+' rating on the existing senior unsecured notes will be withdrawn. The anticipated post-LBO ratings on Freescale reflect the company's near-investment grade business profile, enabling a leverage profile that is high for the rating level. The business profile reflects the company's strong position in its industry and improving cost structure, offset by substantial customer concentration in a cyclical, capital-intensive marketplace. Debt leverage will be high, about 5.6x trailing four quarters' adjusted EBITDA, treating pensions, postretirement benefits and capitalized operating leases as debt, with an adequate initial cash balance around US$600 million. The planned ratings anticipate that free cash flows should enable the company to deleverage moderately over the intermediate term. Based in Austin, Texas, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. (NYSE:FSL) (NYSE:FSL.B) -- http://www.freescale.com/-- designs and manufactures embedded semiconductors for the automotive, consumer, industrial, networking and wireless markets. Freescale became a publicly traded company in July 2004. The company has design, research and development, manufacturing or sales operations in more than 30 countries, including Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore. INITIA SERVICES: Creditors Must Prove Debts by December 1 --------------------------------------------------------- Initia Services Pte Ltd, which is in members' voluntary liquidation, requires its creditors to submit their proofs of debt by Dec. 1, 2006, to be included in the company's distribution of dividend. The liquidator can be reached at: Low Kok Poo c/o Corporate Alliance Pte Ltd 5 Shenton Way #06-08 UIC Building Singapore 068808 SEA CONTAINERS: Reed Conner Ceases to be a Major Shareholder ------------------------------------------------------------ In a regulatory filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Reed Conner & Birdwell, LLC, discloses that it has ceased to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of the Common Stock of Sea Containers, Ltd. As of October 20, 2006, the investment adviser beneficially owned 1,100 shares of the Company's common stock. A month earlier, as of September 11, 2006, Reed Conner beneficially owned 2,818,510 shares, representing a 10.84% equity stake in Sea Containers. Donn B. Conner is the firm's president and chief executive officer while Jeffrey Bronchick is the chief investment officer. About Sea Containers Headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda, Sea Containers Ltd. -- http://www.seacontainers.com/-- provides passenger and freight transport and marine container leasing. Registered in Bermuda, the company has regional operating offices in London, Genoa, New York, Rio de Janeiro, Sydney, and Singapore. The company is owned almost entirely by United States shareholders and its primary listing is on the New York Stock Exchange (SCRA and SCRB) since 1974. On Oct. 3, the company's common shares and senior notes were suspended from trading on the NYSE and NYSE Arca after the company's failure to file its 2005 annual report on Form 10-K and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q during 2006 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Through its GNER subsidiary, Sea Containers Passenger Transport operates Britain's fastest railway, the Great North Eastern Railway, linking England and Scotland. It also conducts ferry operations, serving Finland and Estonia as well as a commuter service between New York and New Jersey in the U.S. Sea Containers Ltd. and two subsidiaries filed for chapter 11 protection on Oct. 15, 2006 (Bankr. D. Del. Case No. 06-11156). Robert S. Brady, Esq., at Young, Conaway, Stargatt & Taylor represents the Debtors in their restructuring efforts. When the Debtors filed for protection from their creditors, they reported US$1.7 billion in total assets and US$1.6 billion in total debts. (Sea Containers Bankruptcy News, Issue No. 3; Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., http://bankrupt.com/newsstand/or 215/945-7000). SEA CONTAINERS: Wants To Give Up Railway Services In May 2007 ------------------------------------------------------------- Sea Containers, Ltd., will walk away from its wholly owned non- debtor subsidiary, Great North Eastern Railway Ltd., in May 2007, if it will not obtain more favorable franchise terms, The Sunday Times reports. GNER operates high-speed passenger trains between London and Scotland along the East Coast main line of Britain under a franchise agreement with the British Government since April 1996. Robert D. MacKenzie, president and chief executive officer of Sea Containers, told The Sunday Times although GNER is profitable, it cannot "cope with the GBP1.3 billion premium that it had to pay to the Treasury under the franchise agreement." What's more, GNER's performance bond nearly doubles on May 1 from GBP15.3 million to GBP28.7 million, Dominic O'Connell of The Sunday Times writes. According to Mr. O'Connell, Britain's Department for Transport has rejected suggestions it will renegotiate the franchise. GNER currently operates a fleet of 41 train sets totaling 463 cars and locomotives covering approximately 920 route miles and 52 stations, and in 2005 achieved 16,700,000 passenger journeys. As previously reported, Sea Containers, Ltd., and its subsidiaries, Sea Containers Services, Ltd., and Sea Containers Caribbean, Inc., filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. On October 16, 2006, the Company initiated a complementary proceeding in Bermuda to facilitate the Chapter 11 Filing. About Sea Containers Headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda, Sea Containers Ltd. -- http://www.seacontainers.com/-- provides passenger and freight transport and marine container leasing. Registered in Bermuda, the company has regional operating offices in London, Genoa, New York, Rio de Janeiro, Sydney, and Singapore. The company is owned almost entirely by United States shareholders and its primary listing is on the New York Stock Exchange (SCRA and SCRB) since 1974. On Oct. 3, the company's common shares and senior notes were suspended from trading on the NYSE and NYSE Arca after the company's failure to file its 2005 annual report on Form 10-K and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q during 2006 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Through its GNER subsidiary, Sea Containers Passenger Transport operates Britain's fastest railway, the Great North Eastern Railway, linking England and Scotland. It also conducts ferry operations, serving Finland and Estonia as well as a commuter service between New York and New Jersey in the U.S. Sea Containers Ltd. and two subsidiaries filed for chapter 11 protection on Oct. 15, 2006 (Bankr. D. Del. Case No. 06-11156). Robert S. Brady, Esq., at Young, Conaway, Stargatt & Taylor represents the Debtors in their restructuring efforts. When the Debtors filed for protection from their creditors, they reported US$1.7 billion in total assets and US$1.6 billion in total debts. (Sea Containers Bankruptcy News, Issue No. 3; Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., http://bankrupt.com/newsstand/or 215/945-7000) SEE HUP SENG: Unveils Shareholders' Change of Interest ------------------------------------------------------ See Hup Seng Limited unveiled the changes of its shareholders interest in the number of shares held in the company. On Nov. 7, 2006, Yap Sew, a registered shareholder of the company, has decreased the number of shares he held in the company. Before the change, Mr. Yap held 12,000,000 direct shares with 4.53% issued share capital. Presently, Mr. Yap holds 7,000,000 shares with 2.64% issued share capital. Moreover, on Oct. 10, 2006, Chu Chwee Tiak, another substantial shareholder of See Hup Seng has increased his shareholding in the company. Before the change, Mr. Chu held 1,500,000 deemed shares with 0.57% issued share capital. Presently, Mr. Chu holds 11,500,000 deemed shares with 4.34% issued share capital. In addition, Mr. Chu still holds 2,000,000 direct shares with 0.75% issued share capital. Mr. Chu's deemed interest was due from his being a substantial shareholder and director of C T Holdings Pte Ltd, which in turn is a registered holder of See Hup Seng. About See Hup Seng See Hup Seng Limited -- http://www.seehupseng.com.sg/-- is engaged in the provision of corrosion prevention services through a range of marine and industrial blasting and coating methods. Its other activities are the provision of tank cleaning, painting and coating, ship repair, shipbuilding and scaffolding services, trading and manufacturing of blasting and painting equipment and investment holding. The group is domiciled in Singapore and markets its products and services domestically and in the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong and Cayman Islands. Significant Doubt As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific on May 24, 2006, after reviewing the company's full year financials for the year 2005, Moore Stephens -- See Hup Seng's independent auditors -- expressed, on April 7, 2006, significant doubt in the company's ability to continue as going concern, citing the company's losses and net current liabilities. Moore Stephens adds that the ability of the group and the company to continue as going concerns is dependent the company's debt restructuring exercise. =============== T H A I L A N D =============== ADVANCE PAINT: Stocks Out of SET's Index Calculations ----------------------------------------------------- Advance Paint & Chemicals (Thailand) Pcl's stocks will be excluded from the Stock Exchange of Thailand's Index calculation adjustment starting on November 14, 2006. The SET, in a statement on its Web site, said that stocks that have been suspended for over a year from the Index will be automatically excluded from the Index calculation. Advance Paint's stocks will remain excluded from trading until such time SET grants permit for them to trade. Headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand, Advance Paint & Chemicals Public Company Limited manufactures and distributes decorative paint, heavy-duty coating, and industrial painting under Dutch boy, and Seven Stars brand names. It has assets of THB124.83 million in December 2005. The Company signed a 30-year contract with Sherwin-Williams Company starting from June 1, 1987, for the use of brand names and technology. Advance Paint is currently undergoing business rehabilitation and is categorized under the Non-Performing Group Sector of the Stock Exchange of Thailand. After auditing the Company's financial report for the second quarter ended June 30, 2006, Atipong AtipongSakul, of ANS Audit Company Ltd., stressed that "the Company continuously operates at an increased loss and has current liabilities substantially in excess of current assets." He said that the Company's ability to continue operations as a going concern is dependent on its ability to generate sufficient profit and cash flows to serve its debts. BANK OF AYUDHYA: Moody's Keeps Financial Strength Rating at E+ -------------------------------------------------------------- On November 7, 2006, Moody's Investors Service affirmed the Bank of Ayudhya Public Co Ltd's bank financial strength rating of E+. The affirmation follows the review of BAY's ratings for possible upgrade as announced on May 31, 2006. The rating continues to be on review for possible upgrade. "The affirmation of BAY's rating reflects the expectation that the acquisition of a strategic stake in the bank by GE Group- owned GE Capital International Holdings Corporation could bring notable benefits to the bank," says Leo Wah, a Moody's Assistant Vice President/analyst, adding, "The coup in Thailand in late September this year delayed GECIH's subscription deadline by three months, keeping us from concluding the rating review within our normal time frame." According to lead analyst Wah, expectations of GECIH's acquisition of 1,391 million shares in BAY by Jan 10, 2007, and the exercise of existing shareholders' outstanding warrants -- which are currently deep in the money and will expire in August 2008 --, could double the bank's tier-1 capital base from its current level of approximately Bt36.8 billion. This alone would restore BAY's economic solvency and largely restore its capital adequacy, even stressed for possible additional loan losses. The increase in regulatory capital to approximately 17% would allow BAY to strengthen its balance sheet by raising provisions against non-performing loans, while also allowing the bank to write off bad debts more aggressively and support its strategy to expand its retail banking business. The bank's balance sheet is among the weakest in Thailand, with a 13% NPL ratio and 33% loan loss reserve - both significantly worse than the average for Thailand's rated commercial banks. With only 14% of BAY's loan portfolio in retail banking, GE Group's individual business expertise in product design, system, collection, and most importantly risk management would certainly support the bank's strategy to seek a more balanced and healthier loan portfolio. Moody's also expects GE Group's best practice in risk management to be adopted. "A possible upgrade of BAY's rating would most likely hinge on the completion of the GECIH investment," adds Wah. "While BAY's creditworthiness has shown improvement from its previously weakened state, these slow developments alone are not sufficient to justify an upgrade of the rating for now, especially given that the coup may slow the economy and BAY's improving financial fundamentals." BAY, headquartered in Bangkok, is Thailand's sixth largest bank by deposits assets. As of June 30, 2006, it had total assets of THB646 billion. SAHAMITR PRESSURE: SET Excludes Stocks from Index Calculations -------------------------------------------------------------- Stocks of Sahamitr Pressure Container Pcl will be excluded from the Stock Exchange of Thailand's Index calculation adjustment starting November 14, 2006. According to the SET's statement on its Web site, stocks that have been suspended from the index for over one year will be automatically excluded from the index calculation. Sahamitr Pressure's stocks will be excluded until such time SET grants permit to trade. Sahamitr Pressure Container Public Company Limited -- http://www.smpcplc.com/-- produces pressure containers for liquefied petroleum gas for local and overseas markets under its SMPC brand name. The Company's capital deficit started in 2003, at THB1.19 billion. The trend continued going downward with 2005's THB1.15-billion deficit. Also in 2003, the Company posted a THB1.29 billion net loss, which it was able to turn around with a THB20.63 million profit in 2004. During the years 1998 to 2000, the creditors of a related company -- Sahamitr Steel -- filed court cases demanding for loan repayments totaling approximately THB1.80 billion. The Company, being a guarantor to the related firm's liabilities, was named as a joint defendant in the lawsuit with a liability of THB1.35 billion. Sahamitr Steel entered into a debt restructuring agreement with creditor banks rescheduling the repayments of loans, from 2002 to 2011. The Company, as a loan guarantor, is obliged to provide a cash advance to Sahamitr Steel for loan repayments should the related company not have enough cash. The balance of the obligation totaled THB1.29 billion as of December 31, 2005, and the Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission ordered the Company, in a letter dated April 23, 2004, to take up the possible damage, including the possible loss on non-collection of advances to directors who jointly guaranteed Sahamitr Steel's loans for the obligation in the accounts. The Company had been classified under the REHABCO Sector -- Companies under Rehabilitation -- of the Stock Exchange of Thailand for several years. In July 2006, the SET reclassified the whole sector and categorized the Company under the "non- performing group." ********* Tuesday's edition of the TCR-AP delivers a list of indicative prices for bond issues that reportedly trade well below par. Prices are obtained by TCR-AP editors from a variety of outside sources during the prior week we think are reliable. Those sources may not, however, be complete or accurate. The Tuesday Bond Pricing table is compiled on the Friday prior to publication. Prices reported are not intended to reflect actual trades. Prices for actual trades are probably different. Our objective is to share information, not make markets in publicly traded securities. Nothing in the TCR-AP constitutes an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security of any kind. It is likely that some entity affiliated with a TCR-AP editor holds some position in the issuers' public debt and equity securities about which we report. A list of Meetings, Conferences and Seminars appears in each Wednesday's edition of the TCR-AP. Submissions about insolvency- related conferences are encouraged. Send announcements to conferences@bankrupt.com Friday's edition of the TCR-AP features a list of companies with insolvent balance sheets obtained by our editors based on the latest balance sheets publicly available a day prior to publication. At first glance, this list may look like the definitive compilation of stocks that are ideal to sell short. Don't be fooled. Assets, for example, reported at historical cost net of depreciation may understate the true value of a firm's assets. A company may establish reserves on its balance sheet for liabilities that may never materialize. The prices at which equity securities trade in public market are determined by more than a balance sheet solvency test. ********* 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 newsletter co-published by Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, USA, and Beard Group, Inc., Frederick, Maryland, USA. Nolie Christy Alaba, Rousel Elaine Tumanda, Valerie Udtuhan, Francis James Chicano, Catherine Gutib, Tara Eliza Tecarro, Freya Natasha Fernandez, and Peter A. Chapman, Editors. Copyright 2006. All rights reserved. ISSN: 1520-9482. This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or publication in any form (including e-mail forwarding, electronic re-mailing and photocopying) is strictly prohibited without prior written permission of the publishers. Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed. TCR-AP subscription rate is $575 for 6 months delivered via e- mail. Additional e-mail subscriptions for members of the same firm for the term of the initial subscription or balance thereof are $25 each. For subscription information, contact Christopher Beard at 240/629-3300. *** End of Transmission ***