/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRAP_Public/070410.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
Tuesday, April 10, 2007, Vol. 10, No. 70
Headlines
A U S T R A L I A
ARROW ELECTRONICS: Annual Shareholders' Meeting Slated for May 8
ARROW ELECTRONICS: Earns US$388.33 Million for Full Year 2006
CHROME CORPORATION: Phillips Warren Resigns as Company Secretary
LAFAYETTE MINING: Board Extends Share Purchase Plan to April 30
LAFAYETTE MINING: Names Steve Wood to Board of Directors
REALOGY CORP: Earns US$365 Million in Full Year 2006
REALOGY CORP: Stockholders Approve Apollo Buyout
C H I N A & H O N G K O N G
HEXCEL CORP: Good Performance Cues Moody's to Upgrade Ratings
POLYMER GROUP: Names Veronica Hagen as CEO & Director
SHANGHAI PUDONG: Ji Xiaohui to Replace Jin Yun as Chairman
* Tough 2007 for Taiwan's Bills Finance Companies, Fitch Says
I N D I A
AES CORP: Form 10-K Filing Delay Prompts NYSE Delisting Notice
BRITISH AIRWAYS: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Rating
BRITISH AIRWAYS: Terminal 5 Set to Open on March 27, 2008
BRITISH AIRWAYS: Inks Distribution Agreement with Worldspan
CANARA BANK: To Release FY 2006-07 Financials by June 30
DECCAN AVIATION: Expects to Breakeven in Oct.-Dec. Quarter
DHANALAKSHMI BANK: Board to Consider Rights Issue on April 16
ICICI BANK: Allots 891,543 Shares in March 2007 Under ESOS
ICICI BANK: Increases Lending Rates by 1%
STATE BANK OF INDIA: May Post Lower Profits, Bloomberg Says
I N D O N E S I A
ALCATEL-LUCENT: Completes Network Project with Gazprom
ALCATEL-LUCENT: Completes EUR1.4-Bil. Syndicated Credit Facility
ALCATEL-LUCENT: Wins UMTS Network Equipment Supply Contract
GOODYEAR TIRE: Fitch Says Outlook is Positive & Affirms Ratings
MEDCO ENERGI: Unit Builds US$600 Million Geothermal Plant
J A P A N
LADO INTERNATIONAL OF JAPAN: Files for Bankruptcy
K O R E A
ARROW ELECTRONICS: Good Performance Cues Fitch to Lift Ratings
ARROW ELECTRONICS: Completes US$485MM Agilysys KeyLink Takeover
ARROW ELECTRONICS: ECS Unit Brings In New Management Team
SHINHAN BANK: Sets Eyes into Foreign Market
M A L A Y S I A
ARMSTRONG WORLD: Court Approves Settlement with Former Parent
ARMSTRONG WORLD: Earns US$2.2 Million in Fourth Quarter 2006
SUREMAX GROUP: Discloses Proposals Under Restructuring Scheme
TALAM CORP: Gives Update on Loan Default Status as of March 31
TAP RESOURCES: Posts MYR2.19-Million Net Loss in Third Quarter
TAP RESOURCES: Discloses Amendments to Proposed Reform Plan
TAP RESOURCES: Pola Unik's Vendor Agrees to Payment Scheme
TENGGARA OIL: Jan. 31 Balance Sheet Upside-Down by MYR1.14 Mil.
TENGGARA OIL: Defaults Due March 31 Reaches MYR29 Million
VANGUARD CAR: Moody's Holds Corporate Family Rating at B1
P H I L I P P I N E S
HERTZ CORP: DBRS Rates Senior Subordinated Debt at B (high)
SBARRO INC: Earns US$9.9 Million in Full Year 2006
* Inflation in March Decelerates to 2.2% from 2.6% Last Month
S I N G A P O R E
AAR CORP: Acquires Brown International Corporation
AVAGO TECH: Gets US$76.9 Mln from Noteholders in Tender Offer
ALLIANCE TECHNOLOGY: Court to Hear Wind-Up Petition on April 20
LIONS OF ASIA: Court to Hear Wind-Up Petition on April 20
MILLENNIUM-WESTMONT: Pays First and Final Dividends to Creditors
MAGNUM MACHINERY: Court to Hear Wind-Up Petition on April 20
T H A I L A N D
HANTEX PCL: Posts THB1.68 Billion Net Income for 2006
KASIKORNBANK: Paying THB1.25 Per Share Dividends for 2006
KUANG PEI: Insolvency and Net Losses Prompt Going Concern Doubt
KUANG PEI: Annual General Meeting Set for April 26
NFC FERTILIZER: M.R. & Associates Raises Going Concern Doubt
* BOND PRICING: For the Week 2 April to 6 April 2007
- - - - - - - -
=================
A U S T R A L I A
=================
ARROW ELECTRONICS: Annual Shareholders' Meeting Slated for May 8
----------------------------------------------------------------
Arrow Electronics will hold its Annual Meeting of Shareholders
at 11:00 a.m. on May 8, 2007, at the Grand Hyatt, 109 East 42nd
Street in New York, U.S.A.
All shareholders are invited to attend.
About Arrow Electronics
Headquartered in Melville, New York, Arrow Electronics Inc.
-- http://www.arrow.com/-- provides products, services and
solutions to industrial and commercial users of electronic
components and computer products. Arrow serves as a supply
channel partner for nearly 600 suppliers and more than 130,000
original equipment manufacturers, contract manufacturers and
commercial customers through a global network of over 270
locations in 53 countries and territories.
The company operates in France, Spain, Portugal, Denmark,
Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden,
Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands,
United Kingdom, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, China,
Hong Kong, Korea, Philippines and Singapore.
* * *
In a TCR-Europe report on March 30, Moody's affirmed Arrow
Electronics' senior preferred stock at Ba2 and senior
subordinated stock at Ba1.
Arrow Electronics carries Fitch's 'BB+' issuer default rating.
The company's senior unsecured notes and senior unsecured bank
credit facility also carry Fitch's 'BB+' rating. The rating
outlook is positive.
ARROW ELECTRONICS: Earns US$388.33 Million for Full Year 2006
-------------------------------------------------------------
Arrow Electronics Inc. released its financial results for the
year ended Dec. 31, 2006.
Arrow posted US$388.33 million in net profit on US$13.58 billion
in net revenues for 2006, compared with US$253.61 million in net
profit on US$11.16 billion in revenues for 2005.
As of Dec. 31, 2006, the company had US$6.67 billion in total
assets, US$3.67 billion in total liabilities and US$3.00 billion
in total shareholders' equity.
"Our worldwide electronic components business posted record
sales in 2006 of US$10.8 billion, a more than 22% increase
compared with 2005," William E. Mitchell, Chairman, President
and CEO of Arrow Electronics, said. "Each major regional
electronic components business, now part of Arrow Global
Components, gained market share and grew both sales and
operating income."
"Our 2006 results show a company on the move -- a company
working successfully behind a solid strategy, addressing the
needs of the business and the interests of our shareholders,"
Mr. Mitchell added.
About Arrow Electronics
Headquartered in Melville, New York, Arrow Electronics Inc.
-- http://www.arrow.com/-- provides products, services and
solutions to industrial and commercial users of electronic
components and computer products. Arrow serves as a supply
channel partner for nearly 600 suppliers and more than 130,000
original equipment manufacturers, contract manufacturers and
commercial customers through a global network of over 270
locations in 53 countries and territories.
The company operates in France, Spain, Portugal, Denmark,
Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden,
Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands,
United Kingdom, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, China,
Hong Kong, Korea, Philippines and Singapore.
* * *
In a TCR-Europe report on March 30, Moody's affirmed Arrow
Electronics' senior preferred stock at Ba2 and senior
subordinated stock at Ba1.
Arrow Electronics carries Fitch's 'BB+' issuer default rating.
The company's senior unsecured notes and senior unsecured bank
credit facility also carry Fitch's 'BB+' rating. The rating
outlook is positive.
CHROME CORPORATION: Phillips Warren Resigns as Company Secretary
----------------------------------------------------------------
Chrome Corporation Ltd. disclosed that Phillips Warren has
resigned as company secretary.
The Board of Directors would like to thank Mr. Warren for his
contribution to the development of the company.
About Chrome Corp.
Headquartered in Subiaco, Australia, Chrome Corporation Ltd. --
http://www.chromecorp.com/-- is engaged in the development of
chromite ore assets in South Africa. The Company's 74%-owned
subsidiary, Batlhako Mining Ltd, is the owner of the Ruighoek
Chrome Mine on farm Ruighoek 169 JP in the North West Province
of South Africa. Batlhako has also priority applications for
prospecting rights to chrome ore on portions of farms,
Vlakfontein 164 JP, Groenfontein 138 JP, Vogelstruisnek 173 JP
and Bakhoutrandje 204 JP, all located adjacent to the Ruighoek
Mine. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2006, an option was
taken up to acquire a 74% interest in a black empowered
resources group, the holder of applications for chrome
prospecting rights on three farms in the Eastern Bushveld,
Waterkop 113 KT, Zwartkoppies 413 KS and Moeijelijk 412 KS, all
located in the Limpopo Province of South Africa.
The Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific, on April 3, 2007,
listed Chrome Corporation's bond with a 10.000% coupon and a
Feb. 28, 2008, maturity date as distressed.
LAFAYETTE MINING: Board Extends Share Purchase Plan to April 30
---------------------------------------------------------------
The Board of Directors of Lafayette Mining Ltd. has decided to
extend the Company's Share Purchase Plan from April 12 to
April 30, 2007.
As noted in the original letter dated March 13, the board wishes
to provide all shareholders with the opportunity to acquire
shares at attractive prices.
It has been brought to the board's attention that under Class
Order 02/831, if a trustee or nominee is expressly noted on the
register of members as holding shares or interests on account of
another person the beneficiary is taken to be the registered
holder.
Thus, if the trustee or nominee is specifically listed on the
register as holding the shares on behalf of a beneficiary then a
parcel of shares can be issued to the shareholder in respect of
that beneficiary.
If there are several entries in the register in respect of one
shareholder, each identifying a different beneficiary, then an
application can be made in respect of each beneficiary.
The Offer is accordingly extended to permit shareholders whose
holdings are expressly noted in the Company's share register as
being on behalf of a beneficiary to take up the Offer in respect
of each beneficiary so noted.
However, if beneficiaries are not specifically listed on the
Company's share register, the shareholder can only make one
application.
About Lafayette
Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, Lafayette Mining Ltd. --
http://www.lafayettemining.com/-- through its subsidiary
companies and Philippine partners, holds an interest in the
Rapu-Rapu polymetallic project in the Philippines. During the
fiscal year ended June 30, 2006, the Company was engaged in the
development of polymetallic mineral prospects on Rapu Rapu
Island and the production of precious metals and base metals.
The Rapu-Rapu mineral resource supports an eight-year mine life
capable of producing approximately 10,000 tons of copper in
concentrates, 14,000 tons of zinc in concentrates, 50,000 ounces
of gold and 600,000 ounces of silver annually. The project was
suspended by the national government's Department of Environment
and Natural Resources (DENR) after two incidents in 2005 that
resulted in discharges of contaminated liquid.
Going Concern Doubt
The Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific reported that after
reviewing the company's half-year accounts, HLB Mann Judd, the
company's independent auditors, raised significant uncertainty
on the company's going concern "unless its license to operate
the Rapu Rapu polymetallic project on a commercial basis are
fully restored in the near future, and unless ongoing funding
initiatives are successful."
The auditors point out that the balance sheet of the group as of
June 30, 2006 discloses a net working capital deficiency of
AU$89,748,451 and a deficiency in net assets of AU$172,202,840.
The working capital deficiency takes into account a current
liability of AU$88,547,226 being the current portion of
unrealised losses on base and precious metals forward sales
contracts.
LAFAYETTE MINING: Names Steve Wood to Board of Directors
--------------------------------------------------------
The Directors of Lafayette Mining Ltd. disclosed that Steve Wood
has accepted an invitation to join the Board of the Company as a
non-executive director, with immediate effect.
Mr. Wood is currently an executive director of CIMB-Standard
Strategic Asset Advisors, advisors to the South East Asian
Strategic Asset Fund who recently purchased US$15,000,000 of
convertible notes in Lafayette.
"Mr. Wood brings a wealth of technical and commercial experience
to the Board of Lafayette," Reg Gillard, Chairman of Lafayette,
said. "He has a very detailed and relevant knowledge of the
resources industry in the South East Asian area, which we expect
will be very valuable to the Company in the years ahead."
Mr. Wood has professional qualifications including an
undergraduate degree in geophysical engineering and an MBA, and
an extensive track record established over a 20-year period as
both an operator and as an investor in the resources sector in
North and South America, Africa as well as South East Asia.
Mr. Wood's appointment brings the number of directors on the
Board of Lafayette to five, including the Managing Director and
Chief Executive Officer, David Baker, non-executive directors
Robin Widdup and Sonny Dominguez, and non executive Chairman Reg
Gillard.
About Lafayette
Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, Lafayette Mining Ltd. --
http://www.lafayettemining.com/-- through its subsidiary
companies and Philippine partners, holds an interest in the
Rapu-Rapu polymetallic project in the Philippines. During the
fiscal year ended June 30, 2006, the Company was engaged in the
development of polymetallic mineral prospects on Rapu Rapu
Island and the production of precious metals and base metals.
The Rapu-Rapu mineral resource supports an eight-year mine life
capable of producing approximately 10,000 tons of copper in
concentrates, 14,000 tons of zinc in concentrates, 50,000 ounces
of gold and 600,000 ounces of silver annually. The project was
suspended by the national government's Department of Environment
and Natural Resources (DENR) after two incidents in 2005 that
resulted in discharges of contaminated liquid.
Going Concern Doubt
The Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific reported that after
reviewing the company's half-year accounts, HLB Mann Judd, the
company's independent auditors, raised significant uncertainty
on the company's going concern "unless its license to operate
the Rapu Rapu polymetallic project on a commercial basis are
fully restored in the near future, and unless ongoing funding
initiatives are successful."
The auditors point out that the balance sheet of the group as of
June 30, 2006 discloses a net working capital deficiency of
AU$89,748,451 and a deficiency in net assets of AU$172,202,840.
The working capital deficiency takes into account a current
liability of AU$88,547,226 being the current portion of
unrealised losses on base and precious metals forward sales
contracts.
REALOGY CORP: Earns US$365 Million in Full Year 2006
----------------------------------------------------
Realogy Corp. reported US$365 million net income on
US$6.5 billion net revenues for the year ended Dec. 31, 2006,
compared with US$627 million net income on US$7.1 billion net
revenues for the year ended Dec. 31, 2005.
Net revenues decreased US$647 million in 2006, compared with
2005, principally due to a decrease in organic revenues in the
company owned Real Estate Brokerage Services segment, which was
primarily driven by a 20% decline in the number of homesale
transactions. This was partially offset by a 4% increase in the
average price of homes sold and a US$367 million increase in
revenues as a result of acquisitions of larger real estate
brokerage operations subsequent to Jan. 1, 2005.
Total expenses decreased US$213 million principally reflecting a
reduction of US$503 million of commission expenses paid to real
estate agents and a net benefit of US$38 million due to the
resolution of certain tax and legal accruals related to former
parent legacy matters, offset by an increase in expenses of
US$334 million related to larger acquisitions by the company's
wholly owned real estate brokerage business and the acquisition
of title and underwriting companies in Texas by the Title and
Settlement Services segment, as well as the net change in
restructuring costs of US$40 million and separation costs of
US$66 million.
Provision for income taxes was US$237 million in 2006 compared
to provision for income taxes of US$408 million in 2005.
Effective tax rate for both 2006 and 2005 was 39%. Isolated
items affecting the company's 2006 tax rate were a tax benefit
resulting from the favorable settlement of federal income tax
matters associated with Cendant's 1999 shareholder litigation
position, offset by a tax expense related to equity
compensation.
Separation Costs
The company incurred separation costs of US$66 million for the
year ended Dec.31, 2006. These costs were incurred in
connection with the separation from Cendant Corp. and relate to
the acceleration of certain Cendant employee costs and legal,
accounting and other advisory fees. The majority of the
separation costs incurred related to a non-cash charge of US$40
million for the accelerated vesting of certain Cendant equity
awards and a non-cash charge of US$11 million for the conversion
of Cendant equity awards into Realogy equity awards.
2006 Restructuring Program
During the second quarter of 2006, the company committed to
various strategic initiatives targeted principally at reducing
costs, enhancing organizational efficiency and consolidating and
rationalizing existing processes and facilities. The company
recorded restructuring charges of US$46 million in 2006, of
which US$39 million is expected to be paid in cash. As of Dec.
31, 2006, US$16 million of these costs have been paid. These
charges primarily represent facility consolidation and employee
separation costs.
At Dec. 31, 2006, the company's balance sheet showed US$6.7
billion in total assets, US$4.2 billion in total liabilities,
and US$2.5 billion in total stockholders' equity.
The company's balance sheet at Dec. 31, 2006, also showed
strained liquidity with US$2.1 billion in total current assets
available to pay US$2.2 billion in total current liabilities.
Full-text copies of the company's consolidated financial
statements for the year ended Dec. 31, 2006, are available for
free at http://researcharchives.com/t/s?1c89
At Dec. 31, 2006, the company had US$399 million of cash and
cash equivalents, an increase of US$363 million compared to the
balance of US$36 million at Dec. 31, 2005.
During the year ended Dec. 31, 2006, the company received
US$372 million less cash from operations as compared to the same
period in 2005 principally due to weaker operating results.
At Dec. 31, 2006, the company had outstanding borrowings of
US$2.693 billion and available capacity of US$1.079 billion
under the company's borrowing arrangements.
About Realogy Corp.
Headquartered in Parsippany, N.J., Realogy Corporation (NYSE:
H)-- http://www.realogy.com/-- is real estate franchisor and a
member of the S&P 500. The company has a diversified business
model that also includes real estate brokerage, relocation, and
title services. Realogy's world-renowned brands and business
units include CENTURY 21(R), Coldwell Banker(R), Coldwell Banker
Commercial(R), ERA(R), Sotheby's International Realty(R), NRT
Incorporated, Cartus, and Title Resource Group. Realogy has
more than 15,000 employees worldwide. The company operates in
Australia, Brazil and France.
REALOGY CORP: Stockholders Approve Apollo Buyout
------------------------------------------------
Realogy Corporation disclosed that its stockholders approved the
merger agreement providing for the acquisition of Realogy by an
affiliate of Apollo Management, L.P. at a special meeting of
stockholders held March 30.
Stockholder approval satisfies a required condition to the
closing of the transaction.
As previously disclosed, subject to the satisfaction of other
customary conditions to closing, Realogy anticipates that the
transaction will be completed on or about April 10, 2007, after
which time shares of Realogy common stock will no longer be
listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Upon the completion of the merger each outstanding share of
Realogy common stock will be converted into the right to receive
US$30.00 in cash, without interest and less any applicable
withholding taxes.
The parties disclosed the takeover agreement in December 2006,
in a transaction valued at approximately US$9.0 billion,
including the assumption or repayment of approximately
US$1.6 billion of net indebtedness and legacy contingent and
other liabilities of approximately US$750 million.
Terms of the Agreement
Under the terms of the agreement, Realogy stockholders would
receive US$30.00 per share in cash at closing, representing a
premium of 18 percent over Dec. 15, 2006's market closing price
of US$25.50 and a premium of 26 percent over Realogy's average
closing share price since its spin-off from Cendant Corporation
on Aug. 1, 2006. In addition, the total transaction value
represents a multiple of approximately 11 times the mid-point of
the Company's previously released 2006 EBITDA guidance before
restructuring and spin-off-related costs, and approximately 12
times the consensus Wall Street estimate of 2007 Company EBITDA.
On the unanimous recommendation of a special committee of the
Board of Directors comprised entirely of independent and
disinterested directors, the Board of Directors of Realogy
approved the agreement and recommended that Realogy's
stockholders adopt the agreement.
Pursuant to existing contractual arrangements, it is expected
that Henry R. Silverman will continue to serve as Chairman and
CEO until the expiration of his current employment agreement on
December 31, 2007, at which time it is expected that he will be
succeeded as CEO by Richard A. Smith, the company's current vice
chairman and president. Mr. Silverman and the Company have
agreed that he will not be an equity participant with Apollo in
the acquisition, and will receive the same per share
consideration for his shares and in-the-money options as other
stockholders and optionholders under the merger agreement. As
with all other optionholders, all of Mr. Silverman's out-of-the-
money options will be cancelled. No discussions have been held
with other members of senior management regarding management
participation in the transaction, but it is anticipated that the
senior management team will remain with the Company following
the transaction's closing.
There is no financing condition to the obligations of Apollo to
consummate the transaction, and Apollo has already secured
commitments from JPMorgan, Credit Suisse and Bear Stearns to
provide the debt financing for this cash transaction. In
addition, Apollo has committed to provide US$2.0 billion of
equity to complete the transaction.
Headquartered in Parsippany, N.J., Realogy Corporation
(NYSE: H)-- http://www.realogy.com/-- is real estate franchisor
and a member of the S&P 500. The company has a diversified
business model that also includes real estate brokerage,
relocation, and title services. Realogy's world-renowned brands
and business units include CENTURY 21(R), Coldwell Banker(R),
Coldwell Banker Commercial(R), ERA(R), Sotheby's International
Realty(R), NRT Incorporated, Cartus, and Title Resource Group.
Realogy has more than 15,000 employees worldwide. The company
operates in Australia, Brazil and France.
================================
C H I N A & H O N G K O N G
================================
HEXCEL CORP: Good Performance Cues Moody's to Upgrade Ratings
-------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has raised the ratings of Hexcel
Corporation, Corporate Family Rating to Ba3 from B1. The
ratings on Hexcel's senior secured credit facility have been
upgraded to Ba1 from Ba2, while the subordinated notes ratings
were upgraded to B1 from B3. The ratings outlook is Stable.
The ratings reflect Hexcel's strengthening credit profile,
including substantial interest coverage and modest leverage,
resulting from dramatically improved operating performance
during the recent recovery in the commercial aircraft OEM
supplier sector. The ratings are further supported by Hexcel's
strong competitive position in what is expected to be a
continuing robust aircraft OEM supplier environment. The
expectation for sustained credit metrics at levels at or above
those typical for the Ba3 rating outweighs risk associated with
a concentration of revenue on two customers in the commercial
aircraft OEM sector, negative free cash flow generation due to
heavy current levels of expenditures on production capacity, and
moderating but continued uncertainties surrounding the
production and delivery schedule of a major new aircraft
platform -- the Airbus A380.
Moody's also expects that proceeds from the sale of certain
reinforcement product lines will generally be applied to debt
reduction.
The stable rating outlook reflects Moody's expectations for
stable near-term operating margins and modest revenue growth.
The stable outlook also assumes that any near-term developments
relating to the production and delivery schedule of the A380
will have no material negative impact on the company's margins,
working capital requirements, nor will it materially set back
Hexcel's growth projections through 2008.
Ratings or their outlook could be subject to upward revision if
the company were to demonstrate sustained free cash flow
generation of at least 5% of debt while maintaining or improving
operating margins. Reduction of leverage to less than 3.0x
Debt/EBITDA due to better than expected near term operating
results or debt repayment through proceeds from business
divestitures could also positively affect ratings.
Conversely, ratings or their outlook could be lowered if
operating results were to face unexpected deterioration possibly
as the result of further problems regarding the A380 or higher
than expected restructuring costs such that leverage were to
increase above 4.5x Debt/EBITDA and interest coverage were to
fall below 2.0 times. Substantial increases in debt, including
through more permanent revolving credit facility drawings, which
would cause a deterioration of liquidity, could also negatively
affect ratings.
Upgraded:
* Senior secured credit facility, to Ba1, LGD2, 22% from Ba2
* Senior subordinated notes, to B1, LGD5, 74% from B3
* Corporate Family Rating to Ba3 from B1
* Probability of Default Rating to Ba3 from B1
Headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, Hexcel Corporation --
http://www.hexcel.com-- (NYSE/PCX: HXL) develops, manufactures
and markets lightweight, high-performance reinforcement
products, composite materials and composite structures for use
in commercial aerospace, space and defense, electronics, and
industrial applications.
The company has operations in Australia, Brazil, China, France
and Japan, among others.
POLYMER GROUP: Names Veronica Hagen as CEO & Director
-----------------------------------------------------
Polymer Group, Inc. has appointed Veronica "Ronee" M. Hagen as
chief executive officer and as member of the board of directors,
effective April 23, 2007.
Ms. Hagen brings over 25 years of extensive operations and
global industrial market experience with large, international
public companies to PGI, a leading engineered materials supplier
with over US$1 billion in sales.
Since 2004, Ms. Hagen has held the position of president and
chief executive officer of Sappi Fine Paper North America, a
US$1.4 billion division of the South African-based global leader
in the pulp and paper industry, Sappi Limited (NYSE: SPP). At
Sappi, she achieved year-over-year improvement in cash flow and
profitability with a strong focus on safety, productivity and
working capital management while also fostering growth by
providing added value to customers.
"As the nominating committee began its search six months ago for
a new CEO, our primary goal was to identify candidates with a
high level of stature and leadership. Flowing from that
criterion was the desire for someone with a record of success,
strong industrial experience in a global marketplace and a
strong focus on the customer," said William B. Hewitt, PGI's
chairperson and interim chief executive officer.
"Hagen meets all of those qualifications and joins PGI with an
outstanding record of performance and expertise in capital-
intensive industrial markets. She has demonstrated the ability
to grow profitability in some very tough businesses, and has
done so with a customer-centric focus. We are confident these
characteristics make her the perfect person to lead PGI into its
next phase of growth, profitability and success," Mr. Hewitt
added.
Prior to working for Sappi, Ms. Hagen served in various
executive roles with Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA), the world's leading
aluminum producer, where she was the first woman to serve as a
business unit president and won numerous global business awards
for her performance. During her tenure at Alcoa, she held
various executive level positions with responsibilities ranging
from full profit and loss accountability for a US$2 billion
division with 21 plants, to chief customer officer charged with
furthering a customer-centric culture. She also served as an
executive vice president at Alumax, Inc., before it was acquired
by Alcoa. Ms. Hagen began her career as an entrepreneur
starting her own business in the metals industry, which she grew
and sold before joining Alumax. She currently serves on the
board of directors for Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM) and
previously for Jacuzzi Brands, Inc., formerly traded on the
NYSE.
"I am pleased to be joining a company with as much potential for
growth as PGI," said Ms. Hagen. "PGI has established itself as
an industry leader and I look forward to leading the company in
its pursuit of higher levels of growth and profitability. I
believe a critical component of the company's success will be
its continued commitment to its customers and innovation. My
goal will be to achieve significant growth by focusing on
collaborative relationships to develop a successful value chain
that will provide customers with what they need to succeed."
Ms. Hagen holds a Bachelor of Science in International Relations
from the University of Southern California and has participated
in an Executive Education program in Finance from the Wharton
School, University of Pennsylvania and an Executive Leadership
program at Harvard University. She will be relocating from
Boston, Mass. to the Charlotte, N.C. area, the site of PGI's
global headquarters.
Mr. Hewitt will remain chairperson of the board of directors of
PGI and continue to serve the company in an advisory capacity to
aid in the transition to Ms. Hagen as CEO. He has served as
interim CEO since September 2006.
Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Polymer Group, Inc.
-- http://www.polymergroupinc.com/-- is a global, technology-
driven developer, manufacturer and marketer of engineered
materials.
The company has manufacturing offices in Argentina, China and
France, among others.
The Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific reported on Nov.
28, 2006, that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services revised its
outlook on Polymer Group Inc. to negative from stable. All
ratings, including the 'BB-' corporate credit rating, were
affirmed.
Moody's Investors Service also changed the rating outlook of
Polymer Group to negative from stable, TCR-AP reported on Nov.
22, 2006. The change in outlook reflects the company's
performance at levels which are below Moody's expectations from
the time of Moody's prior review in Nov. 2005.
SHANGHAI PUDONG: Ji Xiaohui to Replace Jin Yun as Chairman
----------------------------------------------------------
Ji Xiaohui, deputy secretary general of the Shanghai government
and head of the Shanghai Financial Services Office, will become
chairman of the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, succeeding Jin
Yun who will retire soon, People Daily relates, citing Xinhua
News.
Mr. Ji was in charge of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of
China, Shanghai branch, until his move to the Shanghai financial
services office in 2002, reports said.
In addition, Shanghai Pudong's vice president Ma Li, wife of Mr.
Ji, will be transferred to an insurance company, to allow his
husband to take the post, sources told Xinhua.
Market Watch notes that there is no definite time as to when Mr.
Jin will retire.
* * *
Headquartered in Shanghai, China, Shanghai Pudong Development
Bank Co., Ltd. -- http://www.spdb.com.cn/-- is a commercial
bank involved in personal banking, corporate banking, and inter-
bank business. The bank also offers Internet banking and
telephone banking.
Fitch Ratings on March 12, 2007, upgraded the Support ratings of
Shanghai Pudong Development Bank to 3 from 4, reflecting the
improved ability of the government to support domestic financial
institutions and the close relationship between the bank and the
central and local governments.
At the same time, the agency affirmed the bank's individual
rating at D.
The bank also carries Moody's Ba1 rating for its long-term bank
deposits, NP short-term rating and a D bank financial strength
rating.
* Tough 2007 for Taiwan's Bills Finance Companies, Fitch Says
-------------------------------------------------------------
On April 8, 2007, Fitch Ratings commented that Taiwan's bills
finance industry continues to face a challenging operating
environment in 2007 due to the unfavourable yield curve,
concentrated investment portfolio and declining guarantee
business.
Fitch believes that interest rate changes pose the greatest risk
to the bills finance sector's financial soundness, given the
industry's structural asset/liability duration mismatch.
However, despite the challenging earning outlook in 2007, Fitch
views the sector's rating outlook as stable due to its
satisfactory asset quality and adequate capitalization, which
should provide good support for bills finance companies to
withstand the challenging environment.
Taiwan's bills finance industry reported a weak pre-tax return
on equity of 6.9% in 2006, down from 11.5% in 2005. The steep
earning decline was attributed to the reduced interest gapping
profits, due to an abrupt increase in long bond yield from April
to May 2006, and slowing guarantee business amidst growing
competition from commercial banks. Having said that, BFCs have
mostly maintained their Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) in
2006/2007 under the tough operating environment. Three of four
rating changes in 2006 - the upgrade of Hua Nan Bills Finance
Corporation (Hua Nan) (rated 'BBB-' (BBB minus)), the downgrade
of Taishin Bills Finance Corporation (Taishin) (to 'BBB-' (BBB
minus)), and the Negative Outlook on Chinatrust Bills Finance
Corporation (Chinatrust) (rated 'A-' (A minus))- were related to
the changes to Support Ratings. The Support Ratings were
changed respectively to '2' from '3' for Hua Nan, to '3' from
'2' for Taishin, and to Negative Outlook from Stable Outlook for
Chinatrust. The weakened parental supports to Taishin and
Chinatrust were attributed to the increase in credit costs
related to unsecured consumer loans in their affiliate banks in
2006.
Fitch downgraded Great Chinese Bills Finance Corporation's IDR
to 'Restricted Default' in January 2007 when the company faced a
liquidity crisis. Based on evidence of the new partial default
by GCBFC, Fitch Ratings believes that the government's full and
timely support to smaller bills finance companies in need is no
longer assured and the level of government support will depend
on their systemic importance. Consequently, Fitch downgraded
the Support Ratings of the smaller, and independent bills
finance companies to '5' from '4' on 13 March 2007.
In 2006, two bills finance companies, E. Sun and Fubon, were
absorbed by the banking arms of their financial holding
companies. This type of internal consolidation is likely to be
repeated, depending on the parent holding companies' capital
needs, as well as the bills finance subsidiaries' economic
profit contribution and strategic importance to their parent
groups. Fitch also sees little incentive for smaller and
independent bills finance companies to pursue mergers and
acquisitions, due to a lack of compelling consolidation
synergies as the BFCs gradually develop niches in fixed-income
dealing or selected credit segments.
=========
I N D I A
=========
AES CORP: Form 10-K Filing Delay Prompts NYSE Delisting Notice
--------------------------------------------------------------
AES Corporation, on March 19, received a written notice from the
NYSE Regulation, Inc., stating that the company is not in
compliance with the NYSE's continuing listing criteria under
Section 802.01E of the NYSE Listed Company Manual because it had
not timely filed its annual report on Form 10-K for the year
ended Dec. 31, 2006.
Under Section 802.01E, the NYSE will monitor the status of the
company's late filing and related public disclosures for up to a
six-month period. If the company does not file its annual
report within six months from the filing due date, the NYSE may,
in its sole discretion, either delist the company's securities,
which would include the company's common stock (NYSE symbol:
AES) as well as the AES Trust III's Trust Convertible Preferred
Securities (NYSE symbol: AES-PC), or allow the company's
securities to trade for up to an additional six months depending
on the specific circumstances, as outlined in the rule. The
company currently expects to file its annual report before the
expiration of this monitoring period.
The company's subsidiary, the AES Trust VII, received a written
OTCBB delinquency notification from the NASD stating that the
Trust VII is not in compliance with NASD Rule 6530 because the
company did not timely file its report on Form 10-K for the year
ended Dec. 31, 2006, and, therefore, the Trust VII's Trust
Convertible Preferred Securities (OTCCB symbol: AESRO) are
subject to delisting from the OTC Bulletin Board after the
expiration of a grace period, which ends at the close of
business on April 18, 2007.
Although the NASD Notice is dated March 19, 2007, the company
did not receive it until March 29, 2007. If the annual report
is not filed prior to the expiration of the grace period, the
NASD Notice indicates that a hearing may be requested to appeal
the determination of delinquency on or before April 17, 2007.
If the Company is unable to file its annual report prior to the
expiration of the grace period, it intends to request a hearing
on behalf of the Trust VII with the expectation that the
delisting of the Trust Convertible Preferred Securities from the
OTC Bulletin Board would be stayed pending such hearing.
AES Corporation -- http://www.aes.com/-- is a global power
company. The company operates in South America, Europe, Africa,
Asia, and the Caribbean countries. Generating 44,000 megawatts
of electricity through 124 power facilities, the company
delivers electricity through 15 distribution companies.
The company has presence in India, China, and Sri Lanka.
* * *
Fitch affirmed The AES Corporation's Issuer Default Rating at
'B+'. Fitch also affirmed and withdrew the ratings for the
company's junior convertible debt. Fitch said the rating
outlook for all remaining instruments is stable.
In March, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised its
corporate credit rating on diversified energy company The AES
Corp. to 'BB-' from 'B+'. S&P said the outlook is stable.
Moody's affirmed the ratings of The AES Corporation, including
its Ba3 Corporate Family Rating and the B1 rating on its senior
unsecured debt. Moody's said the rating outlook remains stable.
BRITISH AIRWAYS: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Rating
----------------------------------------------------------
In connection with Moody's Investors Service's implementation of
its new Probability-of-Default and Loss-Given-Default rating
methodology for the existing non-financial speculative-grade
corporate issuers in Europe, Middle East and Africa last week,
the rating agency confirmed its Ba1 Corporate Family Rating for
British Airways Plc.
The implementation of the LGD methodology in EMEA follows the
introduction of the methodology in September 2006. Most of the
rating actions Moody's confirmed relate to senior secured loans.
* Issuer: British Airways, Plc
Projected
Old POD New POD LGD Loss-iven
Debt Issue Rating Rating Rating Default
---------- ------- ------- ------ ----------
GBP100-million 10.875%
Sr. Unsec. Regular
Bond/Debenture
Due 2008 Ba2 Ba2 LGD5 84%
GBP250-million 7.25%
Sr. Unsec. Regular
Bond/Debenture
Due 2016, Ba2 Ba2 LGD5 84%
* Issuer: British Airways Finance (Jersey) L.P.
Projected
Old POD New POD LGD Loss-iven
Debt Issue Rating Rating Rating Default
---------- ------- ------- ------ ----------
EUR300-million
Preferred Stock B1 Ba3 LGD6 97%
Moody's explains that current long-term credit ratings are
opinions about expected credit loss, which incorporate both the
likelihood of default and the expected loss in the event of
default. The LGD rating methodology will disaggregate these two
key assessments in long-term ratings. The LGD rating
methodology will also enhance the consistency in Moody's
notching practices across industries and will improve the
transparency and accuracy of Moody's ratings as Moody's research
has shown that credit losses on bank loans have tended to be
lower than those for similarly rated bonds.
Probability-of-default ratings are assigned only to issuers, not
specific debt instruments, and use the standard Moody's
alphanumeric scale. They express Moody's opinion of the
likelihood that any entity within a corporate family will
default on any of its debt obligations.
Loss-given-default assessments are assigned to individual rated
debt issues -- loans, bonds, and preferred stock. Moody's
opinion of expected loss are expressed as a percent of principal
and accrued interest at the resolution of the default, with
assessments ranging from LGD1 (loss anticipated to be 0% to 9%)
to LGD6 (loss anticipated to be 90% to 100%).
* * *
Headquartered in West Drayton, United Kingdom, British Airways
Plc -- http://www.ba.com/-- operates of international and
domestic scheduled and charter air services for the carriage of
passengers, freight and mail, and provides of ancillary
services. The British Airways group consists of British Airways
Plc and a number of subsidiary companies including in particular
British Airways Holidays Limited and British Airways Travel
Shops Limited. BA has offices in India and Guatemala.
BRITISH AIRWAYS: Terminal 5 Set to Open on March 27, 2008
---------------------------------------------------------
British Airways plc and airport operator BAA disclosed that
Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5 will open to the world's
passengers on March 27, 2008.
Terminal 5 will become an exclusive new home for British
Airways, serve around 30 million passengers a year and be a
stunning new gateway to the U.K.
With 366 days to go (leap year in 2008), over 90% of
construction-related work is complete and the project remains on
time and on budget.
An intensive six-month period of proving trials will begin in
September this year, when over 16,000 people will be recruited
to act as volunteer passengers and thoroughly test every aspect
of the building including car parking, check-in, baggage
systems, IT systems and security.
"This is a historic breakthrough which will transform the
airport experience for our customers," said Willie Walsh, chief
executive of British Airways, which will be the sole airline
occupant of T5, said, "T5 will mean less queuing, faster
baggage systems and better punctuality. For comfort and
convenience, it will exceed the best you can find at any other
airport."
"The next twelve months will be extremely busy as we continue
with our preparations for the move. Our plans are on track and
we will be ready for March 27, 2008 when the first flights
begin," Mr. Walsh added.
T5's first passengers will step off a British Airways morning
arrival from Hong Kong and around 40,000 customers will go
through the new terminal on its first day of operation.
"London is a world city, a global financial center and needs a
world class airport," said BAA Heathrow CEO Tony Douglas. "T5
is already a testament to the skill and hard work of the
thousands of people, including architects, planners,
construction workers, airport and airline staff, who have
together made the building happen. With just 366 days to go
there is still much to do, but we're confident we are on track
to deliver a world-class experience that Heathrow's passengers
deserve."
"68 million passengers will fly through Heathrow this year in
aging terminal facilities designed to accommodate around 45
million. When T5 opens and 30 million passengers move out of
existing terminals, for the first time we will have space to
breath in the central terminal area and have a once in a
lifetime opportunity to redevelop the rest of the airport and
bring it up to a comparable standard to T5," Mr. Douglas
continued.
"By 2012, we aim to have either re-built or redeveloped our
existing facilities and returned Heathrow to its rightful status
as the world's leading international airport. We will be proud
to welcome the world's Olympians through our gates," Mr. Douglas
concluded.
The T5 complex features 60 new aircraft stands, two satellite
buildings (the second to be completed by 2010), rail links to
London Underground and Heathrow Express, a new multi-storey car
park and extensive landscaping.
Designed by 2006 Stirling Prize winner the Richard Rogers
Partnership, T5 combines functionality with finesse. The
building's design meets the needs of the passenger from the
moment they arrive at the airport to boarding their aircraft.
It offers space, convenience, comfort and spectacular views
across the airfield for virtually every step of the passenger's
journey.
Construction on the GBP4.3 billion terminal complex began in
2002. Since when, the project has successfully moved 9 million
cubic meters of earth; erected the roof of UK's biggest free-
standing building; transported the 900-tonne top cab of a new
87m high control tower 2km across the airfield; bored over 13km
of tunnels for rail and baggage; diverted two rivers; and
installed over 30,000 sq meters of glass facades. All T5's
footprint is contained within a former sewage works at the
western end of the existing airport, situated between the two
runways, adjacent to the M25.
Features of T5
T5 is the biggest freestanding building in the U.K. The main
terminal building is 40m high, 396m long and 176m wide. Its
single span 18,500-ton roof was lifted into position over eleven
months, and is held up by 22 huge steel leg structures. The
facades are fully glazed with 5,500 glass panels, which lean out
at 6.5 degrees, which combined with the waveform roof, give the
building its distinct shape.
The T5 baggage system is the biggest, single-terminal baggage
handling system in Europe. It is highly sophisticated but has
been designed for performance and reliability so only includes
the best of proven technology. Transfer and any late bags, are
assigned a priority routing through a separate high speed
baggage system and delivered direct to the aircraft stand of the
departing flight.
T5 has is own dedicated railway station with 6 platforms, two
for the Heathrow Express, two for LU Piccadilly Line and two
which are built and safeguarded in advance of a scheme to link
Heathrow by rail to the West (AirTrack, a scheme under
consideration would connect to the west with the main line at
Staines.)
British Airways is moving towards 80% of passengers using online
check-in or using a self-service kiosk when they arrive at the
terminal. The latest technology is also being applied to fast
bag drop facilities. There will be 96 self-service kiosks and
140 customer service desks, including 96 fast bag drops.
Passenger flows have been extensively modeled to ensure there is
minimal queuing at every stage.
Waste heat from the existing combined heat and power station at
Heathrow is being piped to T5 through an underground pipeline
and will provide T5 with 85% of its heat on demand.
Water from T5's rainwater harvesting and groundwater boreholes
is being used for non-potable uses, reducing the demand on the
mains water supply by 70%. The harvesting scheme re-uses up to
85% of the rainfall that falls on the T5 campus.
Prestigious retailers signed up for T5 include Harrods, Paul
Smith, and Tiffany and celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey is opening
his first airport-based restaurant there.
About the Company
Headquartered in West Drayton, United Kingdom, British Airways
Plc -- http://www.ba.com/-- operates of international and
domestic scheduled and charter air services for the carriage of
passengers, freight and mail, and provides of ancillary
services. The British Airways group consists of British Airways
Plc and a number of subsidiary companies including in particular
British Airways Holidays Limited and British Airways Travel
Shops Limited. BA has offices in India and Guatemala.
* * *
In connection with Moody's Investors Service's implementation of
its new Probability-of-Default and Loss-Given-Default rating
methodology for the existing non-financial speculative-grade
corporate issuers in Europe, Middle East and Africa, it has
confirmed its Ba1 Corporate Family Rating for British Airways
Plc.
BRITISH AIRWAYS: Inks Distribution Agreement with Worldspan
-----------------------------------------------------------
British Airways plc and global travel technology provider
Worldspan L.P. disclosed a new three-year, global distribution
agreement. The agreement, which establishes Worldspan as a
preferred distribution channel for the airline, will provide
Worldspan customers worldwide with access to British Airways'
full inventory, availability and fares.
To gain these benefits, Worldspan subscribers in the U.K. and
Ireland will be offered the option of participating in a
Worldspan opt-in program. The program will guarantee these
customers benefit from new Worldspan and British Airways
distribution products, functionality and booking enhancements.
Worldspan will implement the opt-in program on April 10 and will
soon announce its terms and conditions directly to its U.K/ and
Ireland travel agency customers.
All of British Airways' published fares, including fares
distributed by other GDSs and travel distributors, as well as
web fares offered through ba.com, will be accessible across
Worldspan's distribution network serving travel agencies,
corporations and Worldspan-connected travel web sites worldwide.
"We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with
Worldspan," Tiffany Hall, British Airways head of marketing and
distribution, said. "This new deal will reduce the airline's
distribution costs and ensure that our lowest fares can continue
to be distributed through Worldspan's travel agents."
"Worldspan knows our customers require access to airline content
to be competitive, and this agreement provides British Airways
content to them for the next three years," Kevin Ficco, vice
president - Airline Distribution and Business Development for
Worldspan, said. "We are working with British Airways to
accomplish our mutual goals, while ensuring that they and our
valued customers conduct business using the most advanced
technologies."
About Worldspan
Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Worldspan L.P. --
http://worldspan.com/-- is a leader in travel technology
services for travel suppliers, travel agencies, e-commerce sites
and corporations worldwide. Utilizing some of the fastest, most
flexible and efficient networks and computing technologies,
Worldspan provides comprehensive electronic data services
linking thousands of travel suppliers around the world to a
global customer base. Worldspan offers industry-leading Fares
and Pricing technology such as Worldspan e-Pricing(R), hosting
solutions and customized travel products. Worldspan enables
travel suppliers, distributors and corporations to reduce costs
and increase productivity with technology like Worldspan Go!(R)
and Worldspan Trip Manager(R) XE.
About British Airways
Headquartered in West Drayton, United Kingdom, British Airways
Plc -- http://www.ba.com/-- operates of international and
domestic scheduled and charter air services for the carriage of
passengers, freight and mail, and provides of ancillary
services. The British Airways group consists of British Airways
Plc and a number of subsidiary companies including in particular
British Airways Holidays Limited and British Airways Travel
Shops Limited. BA has offices in India and Guatemala.
* * *
Moody's Investors Service's confirmed its Ba1 Corporate Family
Rating for British Airways Plc.
As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific on
March 28, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said that its 'BB+'
long-term corporate credit rating on British Airways PLC remains
on CreditWatch, with positive implications, following a vote on
March 22 by EU ministers approving a proposed "open skies"
aviation treaty with the U.S.
CANARA BANK: To Release FY 2006-07 Financials by June 30
--------------------------------------------------------
Canara Bank informs the Bombay Stock Exchange that the company's
audited financial results for the fiscal year ended March 31,
2007, will be published on or before June 30, 2007.
In that regard the bank advises BSE that its unaudited results
will not be published before April 30, 2007.
For the year ended March 31, 2006, the bank reported a net
profit of INR1.34 billion on revenues of INR100.89 billion.
Headquartered in Bangalore, India, Canara Bank --
http://www.canbankindia.com/-- provides services to a diverse
clientele group with a range of subsidiaries and sponsored
institutions. The bank services include networked automated
teller machines, anywhere banking, telebanking, remote access
terminals Internet, and mobile banking and debit card.
Fitch Ratings gave Canara Bank an individual rating of 'C/D' on
Nov. 9, 2006.
DECCAN AVIATION: Expects to Breakeven in Oct.-Dec. Quarter
----------------------------------------------------------
Deccan Aviation Ltd. expects to breakeven operationally in the
October-December quarter, Reuters reports, citing the airline's
Managing Director G.R. Gopinath.
The airline expects its revenues to pay the bills even without
slashing prices.
"Even if prices stand where they are, rising load factor and
ancillary revenue should take us there," Reuters quotes Mr.
Gopinath as telling reporters.
Deccan Aviation reportedly sees profits at an average yield of
INR2,900 per passenger and 80% load in its planes.
The airline also plans to bring up revenues from ancillary
activities including:
-- on-board advertising;
-- catering and travel services; and
-- sales of hotel booking, car rentals and travel insurance;
As previously reported in the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia
Pacific on Deccan turned around with a net profit of
INR96.4 million in the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2006. Mr.
Gopinath attributed the maiden net profit to a large other
income.
Bangalore, India-based Deccan Aviation Limited --
http://www.deccanair.com/-- is a charter aviation company in
the private sector. Deccan Aviation provides company charters,
tourism, medical evacuation, off-shore logistics and a host of
other services.
The Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific reported on
Mar. 23, 2007, that Deccan Aviation has a stockholder's equity
deficit of US$2.83 million.
DHANALAKSHMI BANK: Board to Consider Rights Issue on April 16
-------------------------------------------------------------
Dhanalakshmi Bank Ltd disclosed in a filing with the Bombay
Stock Exchange, dated April 9, 2007, that it is considering a
rights issue of its equity shares.
To, among others, consider the rights issue, the bank's board of
directors will hold a meeting on April 16.
Dhanalakshmi Bank -- http://www.dhanbank.com/-- is a small
'old' private bank (total assets as at FYE06: INR28.5 bil.) set
up in 1927 in the south Indian state of Kerala. The bank lends
primarily to the small- and medium-sized enterprises (more than
50% of the total advances). About 70% of its deposit and
branches are concentrated in Kerala.
As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific on
Oct. 31, 2006, Fitch Ratings assigned the bank an Individual
rating of 'D/E' and a Support rating of '5'.
ICICI BANK: Allots 891,543 Shares in March 2007 Under ESOS
----------------------------------------------------------
ICICI Bank Ltd has allotted a total of 891,543 equity shares,
each with face value of INR10, for the month of March 2007:
Date of Allotment No. of Shares
----------------- ---------
March 23 70,193
March 22 125,953
March 20 90,736
March 21 81,364
March 16 85,649
March 15 189,050
March 12 170,618
March 05 77,980
--------
891,543
The bank allotted the shares pursuant to its Employees Stock
Option Scheme, 2000.
As previously reported in the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia
Pacific, the bank allotted a total of 61,670 shares, each with
face value of INR10, in February under ESOS.
India-based ICICI Bank Ltd -- http://www.icicibank.com-- is a
diversified financial company that provides a range of banking
and financial services to customers, including retail banking,
project and corporate finance, working capital finance,
insurance, venture capital and private equity, investment
banking, broking, and treasury products and services. The Bank
operates in two business segments: consumer and commercial
banking, and investment banking. As of March 31, 2006, ICICI
Bank had a network of over 614 branches and extension counters
across India.
* * *
ICICI Bank carries Fitch Ratings' 'C' Individual Rating and 'BB'
Subordinated Debt Rating.
On Feb. 5, 2003, Moody's Investors Service gave ICICI Bank's
Long-Term Bank Deposits a 'Ba2' rating.
ICICI BANK: Increases Lending Rates by 1%
-----------------------------------------
ICICI Bank Ltd has increased by 1% its Floating Reference Rate
for consumer loans (including home loans) effective starting
March 31, 2007, a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange states.
The revised FRR will be 12.75% p.a. as against 11.75% at
present. For existing floating rate customers, the increase in
FRR by 1% will be effective from April 1.
The existing fixed rate customers whose loans are fully
disbursed, will, however, not be impacted by the increase and
their contracted rates will remain unchanged.
The bank also hiked its Benchmark Advance Rate by 1%. The
revised I-BAR will be 15.75% p.a. payable monthly as against
14.75% at present.
Bloomberg News noted that the bank made the lending rate
increases after the Reserve Bank of India raised borrowing costs
for the sixth time in 14 months.
On March 30, RBI Governor Yaga Venugopal Reddy increased the
overnight lending rate to a 4 1/2 year high of 7.75%, Bloomberg
relates. RBI also told lenders to raise reserves to 6.5% of
deposits by April 28, the news agency adds.
India-based ICICI Bank Ltd -- http://www.icicibank.com-- is a
diversified financial company that provides a range of banking
and financial services to customers, including retail banking,
project and corporate finance, working capital finance,
insurance, venture capital and private equity, investment
banking, broking, and treasury products and services. The Bank
operates in two business segments: consumer and commercial
banking, and investment banking. As of March 31, 2006, ICICI
Bank had a network of over 614 branches and extension counters
across India.
* * *
ICICI Bank carries Fitch Ratings' 'C' Individual Rating and 'BB'
Subordinated Debt Rating.
On Feb. 5, 2003, Moody's Investors Service gave ICICI Bank's
Long-Term Bank Deposits a 'Ba2' rating.
STATE BANK OF INDIA: May Post Lower Profits, Bloomberg Says
-----------------------------------------------------------
The State Bank of India may report lower profits this fiscal
year because of high lending rates, Ana Varmil of Bloomberg News
reports.
In a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange dated April 9, 2007,
SBI disclosed that it has raised its Benchmark Prime Lending
Rate by 50 basis points to 12.75% per annum. As reported in the
Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific on March 5, the bank
recently hiked its BPLR from 11.50% to 12.25% per annum.
The current rate, which according to Bloomberg is the highest in
eight years, discourages clients from taking out auto and home
loans.
The Reserve Bank of India's requirement of higher cash reserves
will put pressure on the profitability of banks like SBI,
Bloomberg says citing Krishnan Sitaraman at Crisil Ltd.
On March 30, 2007, RBI required lenders to raise reserves to
6.5% of deposits by April 28.
Higher reserve requirements, according to Mr. Sitraman, mean
banks must lock up more funds that otherwise could be deployed
profitably.
SBI says it will be publishing its audited working results for
the year ending March 31, 2007, by June 30.
Headquartered in Mumbai, State Bank of India --
http://www.sbi.co.in/-- is a financial services group operating
primarily in the banking industry. Its core operations include
Treasury Operations, Corporate Banking Group, National Banking
Group and International Banking Group.
* * *
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on March 26, 2007, assigned
ratings to State Bank of India's proposed debt issues under its
US$5 billion medium-term note program. Standard & Poor's rated
SBI's proposed senior unsecured notes 'BBB-', its lower Tier II
subordinated notes 'BB+', and its upper Tier II subordinated
notes and hybrid Tier I notes 'BB'.
As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific on
Feb. 2, 2007, Fitch Ratings affirmed the bank's 'C' individual
rating.
Moody's Investors Service placed a Ba2/Not Prime rating on State
Bank of India's foreign currency bank deposits, a Ba2/Not Prime
Financial Strength Rating in June 2006.
=================
I N D O N E S I A
=================
ALCATEL-LUCENT: Completes Network Project with Gazprom
------------------------------------------------------
Alcatel-Lucent revealed a successful completion of the project
with Gazprom neft, Russia's fastest-growing oil company, for the
transformation of its corporate network at its oil-processing
factory in the city of Omsk. Through the implementation of this
new network, Gazprom neft is focused on improving employee
productivity and increasing the reliability of its
communications capabilities.
Gazprom neft chose Alcatel-Lucent to deliver a state-of-the-art
IP communication solution which will provide IP telephony to
more than 3,000 employees of the oil processing factory. Based
on the Alcatel-Lucent OmniPCX Enterprise IP telephony platform,
the solution includes Alcatel-Lucent's newest VoIP handsets.
All nodes of the network are interconnected to ensure a feature
rich environment and to unite existing systems into a single,
integrated enterprise communication platform. Alcatel-Lucent
also delivered Alcatel-Lucent IP Touch phones, which provide
advanced capabilities to increase employee productivity,
including "dial-by-name," call forwarding for mobility, and
other advanced communications applications.
Constantin Yurganov, Head of Information technologies,
autoimmunization and telecommnunication of Gazprom neft has
commented: "We made our choice in favour of the Alcatel-Lucent
solution due to its flexibility and high reliability. It
improves employee productivity by delivering advanced
communications services, while minimizing downtime. The new
solution will allow our staff to communicate more effectively,
while improving overall productivity."
"We are very honoured to work with Gazprom neft on this network
transformation project," - said Ivan Makharine, Director of
Alcatel-Lucent enterprise activities in CIS. "Gazprom neft is a
perfect example of a forward-thinking corporation, investing in
a future-proof IP based solution that was designed to fully meet
their requirements."
The contract has been signed in 2006 in cooperation with Datatel
company, one of the largest system integrators in Russia and an
Alcatel-Lucent authorised partner in Russia and CIS, which
performed installation and integration of the project.
Implementation of this project will enable Gazprom neft to
significantly enhance the organisation's operating efficiency
and raise levels of quality and employee performance.
The Alcatel-Lucent OmniPCX Enterprise is an integrated,
interactive communications solution for medium-sized businesses
and large corporations. The solution combines traditional
telephone functions with support for Internet-based telephony
and multimedia communication.
About Gazprom Neft
Gazprom neft is one of the largest Russian oil and gaz companies
owned by the Gazprom Group. The core business of the company is
oil and gaz production, surveys, processing and marketing.
Gazprom neft operates in the main oil and gaz regions of Russia:
Khanty-Mansiysky and Yamalp-Nenetsky National Regions, Tomsk and
Omsk Regions, as well as Chukotka Autonomous Area. The main
processing plants are located in Omsk, Moscow and Yaroslavl
Regions. Gazprom Neft distribution network covers the entire
territory of the country.
About Datatel JSC
DATATEL JSC is one of the largest system integrators in Russia,
creating, renovating and maintaining communications networks of
all kinds. DATATEL offers a full spectrum of turn-key services
from network design and equipment delivery to technical support
and customer training. DATATEL delivers the highest quality
services to its customers through a seasoned staff of
manufacturer-certified network specialists, multi-vendor
technical testing and demonstration facilities, transport
logistics, warehousing, and strong relationships with industry
leaders around the globe. DATATEL offers products and solutions
from some of the world's leading network equipment vendors
including: Alcatel S.A., Flex Light, Keymile, Oscilloquartz,
Riverstone Networks, and others. DATATEL maintains a strong
partnership with Svyazinvest, a consortium of Russia's top
service providers, and is responsible for the design and
implementation of some largest networks in Russia including
Golden line, MTU - Inform, Comstar, Neva line, Infotel, Astelit,
Petersburg Transit Telecom, and Northwest Telecom as well as a
number of governmental and commercial organizations.
About Alcatel-Lucent
Headquartered in Paris, France, Alcatel-Lucent
-- http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/-- provides solutions that
enable service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide
to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end
users. Through its operations in fixed, mobile and converged
broadband networking, Internet protocol technologies,
applications, and services, Alcatel-Lucent offers the end-to-end
solutions that enable communications services for people at
home, at work and on the move.
The company has operations in Indonesia.
On Nov. 30, 2006, Alcatel and Lucent Technologies Inc. completed
their merger transaction, and began operations as a
communication solutions provider under the name Alcatel-Lucent
on Dec. 1, 2006.
* * *
As of Feb. 7, 2007, Alcatel-Lucent's Long-Term Corporate Credit
rating and Senior Unsecured Debt carry Standard & Poor's Ratings
Services' BB rating. Its Short-Term Corporate Credit rating
stands at B.
Moody's Investor Services, on the other hand, put a Ba2 rating
on Alcatel's Corporate Family and Senior Debt rating. Lucent
carries Moody's B1 Senior Debt rating and B2 Subordinated debt &
trust preferred rating.
Fitch Ratings rates Alcatel's Issuer Default Rating and Senior
Unsecured Debt rating at BB.
ALCATEL-LUCENT: Completes EUR1.4-Bil. Syndicated Credit Facility
----------------------------------------------------------------
Alcatel-Lucent has successfully completed the signing of a
EUR1.4 billion-syndicated 5-year revolving credit facility,
which will be used for general corporate purposes and will
replace the existing undrawn EUR1.0 billion-syndicated facility
maturing in June 2009.
This early renewal of its revolving credit facility enables
Alcatel-Lucent to benefit from improved terms and conditions
compared to the previous facility.
The Facility, which was originally launched at EUR 1.2 billion
to a selected group of relationship banks, was substantially
oversubscribed and Alcatel-Lucent chose to increase the Facility
amount to EUR 1.4 billion.
The Facility will represent Alcatel-Lucent's core syndicated
facility going forward.
The list of participants are:
Mandated Lead Arrangers
* ABN AMRO Bank N.V.Paris Branch
* BNP Paribas
* Calyon
* Citibank International plc
* HSBC France
* J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A, Paris Branch
* Natixis
* Soci,t, G,n,rale
Arrangers
* Bank of America, N.A Paris Branch
* The Royal Bank of Scotland, plc
Co-Arrangers
* The Bank of Tokyo- Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd
* Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A, Paris Branch
* Commerzbank International S.A
* CM-CIC acting through Cr,dit Industriel et Commercial
* Deutsche Bank Luxembourg S.A.
* Fortis Bank Succursale en France
* HVB Banque Luxembourg Soci,t, Anonyme
* ING Belgium S.A, Succursale en France
* West LB AG Succursale de Paris
Lead Managers
* Cr,dit Suisse International
* Goldman Sachs International Bank
* Merril Lynch International Bank Ltd
* Morgan Stanley Bank International Ltd
* Santander Central Hispano, Succursale de Paris
* UBS Ltd
About Alcatel-Lucent
Headquartered in Paris, France, Alcatel-Lucent
-- http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/-- provides solutions that
enable service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide
to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end
users. Through its operations in fixed, mobile and converged
broadband networking, Internet protocol technologies,
applications, and services, Alcatel-Lucent offers the end-to-end
solutions that enable communications services for people at
home, at work and on the move.
The company has operations in Indonesia.
On Nov. 30, 2006, Alcatel and Lucent Technologies Inc. completed
their merger transaction, and began operations as a
communication solutions provider under the name Alcatel-Lucent
on Dec. 1, 2006.
* * *
As of Feb. 7, 2007, Alcatel-Lucent's Long-Term Corporate Credit
rating and Senior Unsecured Debt carry Standard & Poor's Ratings
Services' BB rating. Its Short-Term Corporate Credit rating
stands at B.
Moody's Investor Services, on the other hand, put a Ba2 rating
on Alcatel's Corporate Family and Senior Debt rating. Lucent
carries Moody's B1 Senior Debt rating and B2 Subordinated debt &
trust preferred rating.
Fitch Ratings rates Alcatel's Issuer Default Rating and Senior
Unsecured Debt rating at BB.
ALCATEL-LUCENT: Wins UMTS Network Equipment Supply Contract
-----------------------------------------------------------
SFR and Alcatel-Lucent wins contract to supply UMTS network
equipment for France. Alcatel-Lucent will deploy UMTS/HSPA
equipment from September 2007 for the SFR network in France,
thus becoming the second 3G supplier for the operator. This new
UMTS contract, the first in Western Europe since the acquisition
of the 3G UMTS activities of Nortel in January 2007, strengthens
Alcatel-Lucent's leading position in the market.
SFR and Alcatel-Lucent will also form a strategic technologic
partnership. This new partnership will allow SFR to have a
privileged access to the Alcatel-Lucent worldwide 3G competence
center based in France and thus to keep offering its customers,
higher broadband and state of the art multimedia services.
SFR is the second mobile operator in France with more than 18
million subscribers. It was the first operator in France to
offer 3G services in 2004 and since then, 3G has become its
strategic business priority. SFR is the leader in France in
terms of number of 3G subscribers with more than 2.7 million
customers and coverage for nearly 65% of the French population.
In the framework of the contract, Alcatel-Lucent will supply its
entire UMTS product portfolio.
"This contract reinforces the leading worldwide position of
Alcatel-Lucent in mobile broadband, enabled by the acquisition
of the 3G/UMTS activities from Nortel. SFR proves its confidence
in our technological know-how, in our innovation capability and
in our teams. Beyond the contract, it is all about a strategic
technologic partnership between two main players in France's
telecoms industry," said Olivier Picard, President of the
Alcatel-Lucent Europe and South activities.
About Alcatel-Lucent
Headquartered in Paris, France, Alcatel-Lucent
-- http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/-- provides solutions that
enable service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide
to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end
users. Through its operations in fixed, mobile and converged
broadband networking, Internet protocol technologies,
applications, and services, Alcatel-Lucent offers the end-to-end
solutions that enable communications services for people at
home, at work and on the move.
The company has operations in Indonesia.
On Nov. 30, 2006, Alcatel and Lucent Technologies Inc. completed
their merger transaction, and began operations as a
communication solutions provider under the name Alcatel-Lucent
on Dec. 1, 2006.
* * *
As of Feb. 7, 2007, Alcatel-Lucent's Long-Term Corporate Credit
rating and Senior Unsecured Debt carry Standard & Poor's Ratings
Services' BB rating. Its Short-Term Corporate Credit rating
stands at B.
Moody's Investor Services, on the other hand, put a Ba2 rating
on Alcatel's Corporate Family and Senior Debt rating. Lucent
carries Moody's B1 Senior Debt rating and B2 Subordinated debt &
trust preferred rating.
Fitch Ratings rates Alcatel's Issuer Default Rating and Senior
Unsecured Debt rating at BB.
GOODYEAR TIRE: Fitch Says Outlook is Positive & Affirms Ratings
---------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed ratings for:
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (GT):
-- Issuer Default Rating (IDR) 'B';
-- US$1.5 billion first-lien credit facility 'BB/RR1';
-- US$1.2 billion second-lien term loan 'BB/RR1';
-- US$300 million third-lien term loan 'B/RR4';
-- US$650 million third-lien senior secured notes 'B/RR4';
-- Senior unsecured debt 'CCC+/RR6'.
Goodyear Dunlop Tires Europe B.V. (GDTE)
-- EUR505 million European secured credit facilities
'BB/RR1'
Fitch also revised the Rating Outlook to Positive from Stable.
GT had approximately US$7.2 billion of debt outstanding at Dec.
31, 2006 prior to the paydown of bank loans in January.
The revision of the rating outlook to Positive follows GT's
announcement in March 2007 that it had reached an agreement to
sell the Engineered Products business for US$1.475 billion. The
company has indicated that it will use part of the proceeds to
reduce debt although specific plans have not yet been announced.
An eventual upgrade of GT's ratings would be dependent on the
amount of debt paid down, improvement in demand for replacement
tires in North America, and GT's ability to realize anticipated
improvements in its cost structure, particularly in North
America. GT has also stated that it may consider issuing equity
that would further support its long-term plan to reduce
leverage.
Rating concerns include raw material costs, competitive pricing
in certain international markets, and substantial cash
requirements for capital expenditures, pension contributions,
and working capital requirements to rebuild inventory following
the labor strike that was resolved at the end of 2006. In
addition, under the terms of its contract with the USW, GT plans
to fund a Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association (VEBA)
trust for US$1 billion, of which up to US$300 million may be
funded by stock. Operating profit in 2006 was significantly
affected by strike costs of approximately US$361 million in
2006, and GT estimates additional strike-related costs in 2007
will be an additional US$205 million-US$240 million.
These concerns could eventually be mitigated by improvements in
GT's free cash flow related to the planned closure of the Tyler,
Texas plant in 2008 and the company's forecast for a decline in
pension contributions after 2007. In addition, interest expense
can be expected to decline as GT reduces debt, and GT estimates
it will realize annual cash savings of US$145 million from the
transfer of OPEB liabilities to the VEBA trust.
GT is currently in the process of amending and extending its
bank facilities for similar amounts under improved terms. The
facilities include a US$1.5 billion first-lien revolver (new
maturity in 2013), a US$1.2 billion second-lien term loan (new
maturity in 2014), and GDTE's EUR505 million first-lien credit
facilities (new maturity in 2012). GT's third-lien bank term
loan is not being amended. The bank facilities are expected to
be completed in April 2007.
Fitch's Recovery Ratings are a relative indicator of creditor
recovery prospects on a given obligation within an issuers'
capital structure in the event of a default. A broad overview
of Fitch's RR methodology as it relates to specific sectors can
be found at http://www.fitchratings.com/recovery
About Goodyear
Headquartered in Akron, Ohio, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
(NYSE: GT) -- http://www.goodyear.com/-- is the world's largest
tire company. The company manufactures tires, engineered rubber
products and chemicals in more than 90 facilities in 28
countries. It has marketing operations in almost every country
around the world, including Indonesia, Australia, China, India,
Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan,
and Thailand. Goodyear employs more than 80,000 people
worldwide.
MEDCO ENERGI: Unit Builds US$600 Million Geothermal Plant
---------------------------------------------------------
PT Medco Energi Internasional Tbk's unit PT Medco Power, in
coordination with Ormat Technologies and Itochu Corp., will
build a US$600 million, 330 megawatts geothermal-powered
electricity generating plant in North Sumatera, Tempo
Interactive reports.
According to the report, the plant project will be constructed
in three phases, with the first phase of the development to
start by 2010 and the second and third phases to be set up by
early and late 2011.
Medco's internal funds will finance 30% of the project and the
rest is loans from a combination of commercial and export-credit
banks, such as Japan Bank International Corporation, the report
notes.
The report says that currently, the plant project is still in
the contract negotiation phase, to be completed on May, with the
owners of the working area namely PT PLN and PT Pertamina.
About Medco Energi
Headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, PT Medco Energi
Internasional Tbk -- http://www.medcoenergi.com/-- is engaged
in the exploration, production of, and support services for oil
and natural gas and other energy industries, including onshore
and offshore drilling. Other activities include production of
methanol and its derivatives and raising funds by issuing debt
securities and marketable securities.
Medco Energy also has operations in the United States and in
Libya.
The Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific stated on Dec. 21,
2006, that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'B+'
corporate credit rating on Medco Energi. The outlook remains
negative.
According to S&P, the negative outlook on Medco reflects the
company's weak financial profile due to its increased debt
burden to fund its aggressive capital expenditure.
In a TCR-AP report on Aug. 16, 2006, Moody's Investors Service
changed the outlook on Medco Energi's ratings to negative from
stable. The ratings affected by the outlook change are:
* B1 local currency corporate family rating -- Medco
* B2 foreign currency long-term rating -- MEI Euro Finance
Ltd (guaranteed by Medco).
=========
J A P A N
=========
LADO INTERNATIONAL OF JAPAN: Files for Bankruptcy
-------------------------------------------------
Lado International College of Japan sought bankruptcy protection
from the Tokyo District Court on April 5, 2007, various reports
say.
The language school reportedly amassed liabilities totaling
JPY1.8 billion.
According to Kyodo News International, Inc., the school has been
suffering from losses in recent years due to fierce competition
from rivals.
Part of the reason for the bankruptcy may have been the high
cost of licensing the Spiderman character and ineffective use of
the character in Lado's marketing, ELT News, a Web Site for
English Teachers in Japan, says, citing inside sources.
Lado International College of Japan, founded in 1983, had run
two English language schools in Tokyo, and one each in Osaka and
Nagoya, with students totaling 4,000.
=========
K O R E A
=========
ARROW ELECTRONICS: Good Performance Cues Fitch to Lift Ratings
--------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has upgraded Arrow Electronics, Inc.'s ratings:
-- Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'BBB-' from 'BB+';
-- Senior unsecured notes to 'BBB-' from 'BB+';
-- Senior unsecured bank credit facility to 'BBB-' from
'BB+'.
The rating outlook is stable. Fitch's action affects
approximately US$1 billion in debt securities.
The upgrade reflects Arrow's improved operating performance,
strong revenue growth that has exceeded its served market, and
Fitch's belief that the company will limit leverage to
approximately 2.5x over the longer term. Arrow's operating
model has improved considerably since 2001, the result of market
share consolidation, growth and maturing of end markets, greater
diversification and improved operating efficiency, which have
all led to solid and consistent free cash flow and enabled Arrow
to reduce debt balances over the past several years. Fitch
estimates that Arrow has improved its return on invested capital
from less than 6% at the end of 2001 to above 11% at the end of
2006.
Fitch expects that Arrow will continue to gain market share,
particularly as consolidation trends continue in Europe and the
company gains share against smaller component distributors in
Asia-Pacific.
Fitch also expects Arrow will continue to benefit from greater
diversification, both geographically and by business segment,
which when combined with solid unit growth in the components and
IT markets, should lead to increasing stability in what is
historically a highly cyclical business model.
Lastly, Fitch views Arrow's increased usage of short-term debt
to fund the recent acquisition of Agilysys Keylink as well as
refinance its 7% senior unsecured notes which matured in January
2007, as a positive. Given the high working capital nature of
the business model, Fitch expects Arrow to maintain the
financial flexibility to reduce short-term debt from working
capital proceeds in an industry downturn.
The Stable Outlook reflects Fitch's belief that Arrow will
maintain its current financial profile with EBIT margins of
approximately 4.5% and cash conversion cycle days within a range
of 60 days to 70 days.
Fitch expects that Arrow will likely continue to make debt
financed acquisitions going forward which at times could push
leverage above 2.5x on a temporary basis. Fitch believes that
Arrow's commitment to using free cash flow to repay additional
debt balances if and when leverage exceeds 2.5x is important to
the maintenance of its current rating. Also incorporated into
the current ratings and outlook is Fitch belief that Arrow will
establish a consistent and modest share repurchase plan into its
capital planning.
The ratings are supported by:
-- Arrow's leading market positions in both component and
enterprise computing distribution worldwide;
-- the ability to generate cash from operations with growth
rates slightly above 10%, as well as significant cash in a
downturn;
-- a highly-diversified supplier and customer base with no
supplier or customer representing greater than 7% or 2%,
respectively, of revenue in 2006;
-- increasing end-market and geographic diversification
driven by higher growth rates in the Asia-Pacific region
and market share consolidation within the Enterprise
Computing Solutions (ECS) business.
In addition, Fitch believes that components distributors are
increasingly important to the electronics supply chain, as
suppliers have increased the percentage of total sales through
the distribution channel to efficiently reach the highly
profitable SMB market.
Ratings concerns include:
-- the thin operating margins for the components
distributors, which Fitch believes have limited upside in
the intermediate future;
-- the significant investment levels required to increase
share in the faster growing Asia Pacific region, including
potentially debt-financed acquisitions;
-- Arrow's exposure to the cyclical demand patterns and cash
flows associated with the semiconductor market (~60% of
sales); and
-- the potential for future debt-financed share repurchase
programs.
Arrow continued to improve its financial profile, along with
maintaining relatively consistent annual free cash flow, over
the past year. Fitch estimates that as of Dec. 31, 2006,
Arrow's leverage ratio was 1.8x, down from 2.6x at the end of
2005 and its interest coverage ratio was 7.5x, up from 6.5x at
the end of 2005. Free cash flow in 2006 was approximately US$55
million. Fitch expects leverage to rise slightly above 2.0x
after accounting for increased debt stemming from Arrow's recent
acquisition of Agilysys Keylink.
As of Dec. 31, 2006, liquidity was sufficient supported by cash
and cash equivalents of approximately US$338 million; an undrawn
US$600 million senior unsecured revolving credit facility
expiring June 2010; and an undrawn US$550 million accounts
receivable securitization facility expiring February 2008.
Consistent annual free cash flow averaging over US$200 million
also has supported liquidity over the past five years.
Total debt was USUS$1.2 billion as of Dec. 31, 2006, and
consisted primarily of:
* US$170 million 7% senior notes due in 2007;
* US$200 million 9.15% senior debentures due 2010;
* US$350 million 6.875% notes due 2013;
* US$200 million 6.875% senior debentures due 2018; and
* US$200 million 7.5% senior debentures due 2027.
In January 2007, Arrow amended its credit facility to increase
the size to US$800 million with an additional US$200 million
term loan and extended the maturity to January 2012. Arrow
subsequently utilized the term loan to refinance the 7% notes,
which matured earlier this year.
Headquartered in Melville, New York, Arrow Electronics --
http://www.arrow.com/-- provides products, services and
solutions to industrial and commercial users of electronic
components and computer products. Arrow serves as a supply
channel partner for nearly 600 suppliers and more than 130,000
original equipment manufacturers, contract manufacturers and
commercial customers through a global network of over 270
locations in 53 countries and territories.
The company operates in France, Spain, Portugal, Denmark,
Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden,
Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands,
United Kingdom, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, China,
Hong Kong, Korea, Philippines and Singapore.
* * *
Arrow Electronics carries Fitch's 'BB+' issuer default rating.
The company's senior unsecured notes and senior unsecured bank
credit facility also carry Fitch's 'BB+' rating. The rating
outlook is positive.
ARROW ELECTRONICS: Completes US$485MM Agilysys KeyLink Takeover
---------------------------------------------------------------
Arrow Electronics Inc. has completed its acquisition of
substantially all of the assets and operations of the Agilysys
KeyLink Systems Group for US$485 million in cash, subject to
final adjustments based upon a closing audit.
Arrow has also entered into a long-term procurement agreement
with the Agilysys Enterprise Solutions Group, Agilysys' value-
added reseller business.
"We are now the leading value-added distributor in the fast
growing segments of storage and security and virtualization
software, as well as the leading value-added distributor of
enterprise products for both International Business Machines
Corp. and Hewlett Packard Company," William E. Mitchell,
chairman, president and chief executive officer of Arrow
Electronics, said. "In the last fifteen months, we have
transformed our industry leading, value-added enterprise
computing business into a much stronger organization with a
broader line card, a more robust customer and supplier base, and
an expanded geographic reach."
"The KeyLink acquisition provides us with significant cross
selling opportunities to further accelerate our growth in the
global enterprise computing solutions market, added Mr.
Mitchell. "With this transaction, we have added more than 800
value-added resellers to our portfolio and gained over 300
highly experienced sales and marketing professionals to ensure
we continue to drive superior levels of service."
"With increased scale and greater levels of operating
efficiency, we will further strengthen our industry leading
financial performance. This acquisition is expected to be
US$0.15 to US$0.17 accretive in 2007, including an estimated
US$0.04 of intangible amortization, while generating US$30
million in operating cash flow annually," Paul J. Reilly, senior
vice president and chief financial officer of Arrow Electronics,
said. "Pro forma sales for the 2007 calendar year, including
revenues associated with the above mentioned procurement
agreement, are expected to be in excess of US$1.2 billion. The
transaction was funded with cash-on-hand plus borrowings under
Arrow's existing committed liquidity facilities."
About Arrow Electronics
Headquartered in Melville, New York, Arrow Electronics --
http://www.arrow.com/-- provides products, services and
solutions to industrial and commercial users of electronic
components and computer products. Arrow serves as a supply
channel partner for nearly 600 suppliers and more than 130,000
original equipment manufacturers, contract manufacturers and
commercial customers through a global network of over 270
locations in 53 countries and territories.
The company operates in France, Spain, Portugal, Denmark,
Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden,
Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands,
United Kingdom, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, China,
Hong Kong, Korea, Philippines and Singapore.
* * *
Arrow Electronics carries Fitch's 'BB+' issuer default rating.
The company's senior unsecured notes and senior unsecured bank
credit facility also carry Fitch's 'BB+' rating. The rating
outlook is positive.
ARROW ELECTRONICS: ECS Unit Brings In New Management Team
---------------------------------------------------------
Arrow Enterprise Computing Solutions, a unit of Arrow
Electronics Inc., appointed a new management team that includes
senior leaders from both Arrow ECS and the legacy KeyLink
Systems Group (KSG).
With this announcement, Arrow ECS has established global
business units to oversee its IBM and software business.
"Through this and our other recent acquisitions, Arrow ECS is
the No. 1 value-added distributor of enterprise products for HP
and IBM, the No. 1 distributor of enterprise storage, and the
No. 1 distributor of security and virtualization software,"
Kevin Gilroy, president of Arrow ECS, said. "One of Arrow ECS'
main attractions to KSG was the people who made that business so
successful. Our new management team reflects a true integration
of the best of both companies."
"The creation of global business units for our IBM and software
business is not only a reflection of the significant
opportunities that exist for Arrow ECS in these areas but also
ensures that Arrow ECS is prepared to meet our partners' future
needs as end-user demand for global service and solutions
increases," Mr. Gilroy added.
Due to the large scope of the global IBM business unit, Arrow
ECS will retain the segmentation of the legacy Arrow ECS and KSG
IBM groups. KSG will be fully integrated into all other
business units across Arrow ECS.
These executives have been appointed to lead Arrow ECS new
global business units, effective immediately:
-- Eric Williams, vice president of the Arrow ECS' IBM group
for Arrow ECS' global IBM business unit;
-- Mark Taylor, vice president of the Arrow KeyLink IBM group
for Arrow ECS' global IBM business unit;
-- Lance Sedlak, director of retail services for Arrow ECS'
global IBM business unit;
-- Matt Reaves, vice president of North American enterprise
software for Arrow ECS' global software business unit; and
-- John Szabo, vice president, Arrow KeyLink group, for Arrow
ECS' customer programs.
Robert Boulet will continue to serve as vice president of Arrow
ECS' storage group, which has been renamed the Arrow ECS North
American storage business unit; Richard Severa will continue to
serve as vice president of Arrow ECS' MOCA group, which has been
renamed the Arrow ECS North American Sun business unit; and
Andrew Bratton will continue to serve as vice president of Arrow
ECS' government group.
Mr. Williams previously served as vice president of the Arrow
ECS' legacy IBM group and was responsible for planning the
strategic direction and overseeing daily operations for Arrow
ECS' IBM business. Prior, he served as vice president of sales
and product for Arrow's former Gates/Arrow division and as vice
president of sales for Arrow/Schweber. He also is the former
vice president of sales for Bell Industries. Mr. Williams will
co-lead supplier, marketing and joint business strategies for
Arrow ECS' IBM business with Mr. Taylor.
As vice president and general manager of the legacy KSG IBM
business group, Mr. Taylor was responsible for field sales,
profit and loss, and the overall growth and strategy for KSG's
IBM business. Mr. Taylor joined Agilysys KSG in 1994 and held
several positions during his tenure.
Mr. Sedlak previously established and served as general manager
for Arrow ECS' legacy software group. Mr. Sedlak joined Arrow
ECS in 2001 after managing the SGI business group for GE Access.
He previously held positions ranging from vice president of
sales to product management roles for Integration Alliance
Corporation. In his new role, Mr. Sedlak will oversee business
initiatives with the legacy KSG point-of-sale and retail
services business.
Mr. Reaves is the former vice president for the legacy KSG
software business unit, where he was responsible for all
software sales, marketing and operations for all non-application
specific products. Mr. Reaves joined Agilysys in 1990 and held
several other positions with the company. Prior, he held
positions at PTXI and Medical Information Systems, a value-added
reseller (VAR). Mr. Reaves also previously owned his own VAR
business.
Mr. Szabo previously served as vice president of sales
operations for KSG. He was with Agilysys for 14 years and has
extensive asset management experience. He held various
management positions within the company including resource
center director and branch operations manager. In his current
role, Mr. Szabo will manage inside sales for legacy KSG
partners.
About Arrow Electronics
Headquartered in Melville, New York, Arrow Electronics --
http://www.arrow.com/-- provides products, services and
solutions to industrial and commercial users of electronic
components and computer products. Arrow serves as a supply
channel partner for nearly 600 suppliers and more than 130,000
original equipment manufacturers, contract manufacturers and
commercial customers through a global network of over 270
locations in 53 countries and territories.
The company operates in France, Spain, Portugal, Denmark,
Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden,
Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands,
United Kingdom, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, China,
Hong Kong, Korea, Philippines and Singapore.
* * *
Arrow Electronics carries Fitch's 'BB+' issuer default rating.
The company's senior unsecured notes and senior unsecured bank
credit facility also carry Fitch's 'BB+' rating. The rating
outlook is positive.
SHINHAN BANK: Sets Eyes into Foreign Market
-------------------------------------------
Shinhan Bank plans to venture into foreign markets and model
itself after internationally successful financial institutions
to emerge as one of the leading commercial banks on the global
stage, The Korea Times relates, citing Chief Executive Officer
Shin Sang-hoon as saying.
According to the report, Mr. Shin said that the bank will learn
about advanced banking techniques and asset management from
globally competitive financial services companies, including
Singapore's DBS, and compete with them to strengthen its
competitiveness.
"It is time for us to look at rivals overseas to study their
know-how as it is meaningless to become the No. 1 by outpacing
only a few domestic competitors. We will also expand our
overseas businesses to develop new earnings sources," Mr. Shin
was quoted by the paper on the one-year anniversary of the
merger between Shinhan and Chohung on April 1.
Lee Hyo-sik, writing for the Times said that Mr. Shin's remarks
are viewed as a response to what new Woori Bank President Park
Hae-choon said that the two banks are rivals.
As a proof of the bank's intent, Mr. Shin has told The Korea
Times for bank employees has been sent to Russia and Kazakhstan
to explore business opportunities there.
* * *
Headquartered in Taepyeong-no, Seoul, Shinhan Bank --
http://www.shinhan.com/-- was established in 1982 with capital
from Korean residents in Japan. It is Korea's fourth largest
bank by assets -- second largest after merging with Chohung Bank
-- holding a 9% share of deposits and 11% of loans. The bank
has developed a strong franchise in the consumer as well as
small and medium-sized enterprise segments. In September 2001,
it formed a holding company, Shinhan Financial Group, under
which it and five other affiliates became stable companies.
Since then, the Shinhan Financial Group has expanded its
organizational structure to include 11 subsidiaries and is now
Korea's second largest financial group.
* * *
The Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific reported on March
16, 2006, that Moody's Investors Service raised Shinhan Bank's
Bank Financial Strength Rating to D+ from D. The revised rating
carries a stable outlook. The higher BFSR reflects the bank's
sustained financial fundamentals upon its merger with affiliate
Chohung Bank.
===============
M A L A Y S I A
===============
ARMSTRONG WORLD: Court Approves Settlement with Former Parent
-------------------------------------------------------------
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved
Armstrong World Industries, Inc.'s settlement with its former
parent Armstrong Holdings, Inc.
Prior to the effective date of AWI's Fourth Amended Plan of
Reorganization dated Feb. 1, 2006, AHI owned all of the stock of
Armstrong Worldwide Inc., which in turn owned all of the stock
of AWI. All AWI stock owned by AHI was cancelled upon AWI's
emergence from Chapter 11 protection on Oct. 2, 2006.
Under the settlement, AHI will receive about US$22,000,000 in
cash, plus 98,697 shares of reorganized AWI common stock worth
about US$5,000,000 based on the closing price on March 30. AHI
believes the proceeds will not be subject to federal or state
income taxes.
AWI will be entitled, for the periods during which it was
affiliated with AHI, to file on behalf of both companies all
federal and state income tax returns that are required to be
filed on a consolidated or combined basis, and to make all
related tax elections and receive all related tax refunds.
AHI previously announced that it would realize a substantial tax
loss from the cancellation of the company's former stock
ownership in AWI pursuant to AWI's Chapter 11 Plan. Because the
settlement gives AWI the authority to make all related tax
elections for the companies' consolidated or combined federal
and state income tax returns for 2006, including the choice
among different carry back and carry forward elections, AHI does
not know at this time what tax loss carry forward it might have
available for post-2006 tax years.
AWI's Reorganization Plan contemplates that AHI would dissolve
following AWI's emergence from Chapter 11 on Oct. 2, 2006.
Since that date, AHI has conducted no business, and has no
operations and no employees.
The Board of Directors of AHI plans to evaluate what future
action is in the best interests of the corporation, including
the issue of dissolution and an evaluation of its assets,
obligations and prospective tax position after giving effect to
the settlement. If a dissolution is authorized, it would be
submitted to shareholders for approval and, if approved, a
distribution to shareholders of AHI's net assets would be
effected as soon as practicable thereafter. The dissolution
process would involve a number of steps, such as noticing any
potential claimants, resolving any viable claims and obtaining
tax clearance from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
AWI's Chapter 11 Plan provides that AWI will pay the reasonable
costs of AHI's dissolution, assuming the AHI's Board and
shareholders determine to pursue that course.
About Armstrong
Based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Armstrong World Industries,
Inc. -- http://www.armstrong.com/-- the major operating
subsidiary of Armstrong Holdings, Inc., designs, manufactures
and sells interior floor coverings and ceiling systems, around
the world.
The company has Asia-Pacific locations in Australia, China, Hong
Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South
Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. It also has locations in
Colombia, Costa Rica, Greece and Iceland, among others.
* * *
The Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific reported that
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'BB' bank loan
rating to the proposed US$1.1 billion senior secured bank
facility of Armstrong World Industries Inc. (D/--/--), based on
preliminary terms and conditions.
As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on Oct. 9, 2006,
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised its corporate credit
rating on Armstrong World Industries Inc. to 'BB' from 'D',
following the Company's emergence from bankruptcy on Oct. 2,
2006. The outlook is stable.
ARMSTRONG WORLD: Earns US$2.2 Million in Fourth Quarter 2006
------------------------------------------------------------
Armstrong World Industries Inc. reported net earnings of
US$2.2 million on net sales of US$817.3 million for the fourth
quarter ended Dec. 31, 2006, compared with net earnings of
US$50.9 million on net sales of US$805.5 million for the same
period in 2005.
Reported operating income from continuing operations increased
to US$16.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2006 from a US$10.1
million loss in the fourth quarter of 2005.
For the full year ending Dec. 31, 2006, net sales were
US$3.4 billion compared to US$3.3 billion reported for 2005.
The sales growth was due to improved price and product mix on
modestly declining volume. All segments grew sales except
Resilient Flooring. Net income in 2006, which includes
reorganization income of US$1,955.5 million as a result of the
company's emergence from Chapter 11 in the fourth quarter of
2006, was US$1,358 million, compared with net income of US$111.1
million in 2005.
Reported operating income for 2006 was US$210.8 million compared
to operating income of US$101.1 million for the same period in
2005.
Cost of goods sold in 2006 was 78.5% of net sales, compared to
79.7% in 2005. This reduction was the result of benefits from
higher selling prices, primarily in Building Products, better
manufacturing performance, mainly in the Resilient and Wood
Flooring businesses, and improvement from sales volume and mix.
Cost of goods sold in 2006 also benefited from a larger U.S.
pension plan credit. These factors more than offset raw
material, energy and freight inflation across all businesses.
SG&A expenses in 2006 were US$561 million, or 16.4% of net sales
compared to US$590 million or 17.7% of net sales in 2005. The
US$29 million decrease was realized despite higher revenue and
included the benefit from a larger U.S. pension plan credit.
Resilient and Wood Flooring and Cabinets reduced spending, while
Building Products grew at less than the rate of growth in
revenue.
Equity earnings, primarily from the WAVE ceiling grid joint
venture with Worthington Industries, were US$46.7 million in
2006, as compared to US$39.3 million in 2005. Interest expense
was US$18.6 million in 2006, compared to US$7.7 million in 2005.
The company did not record contractual interest expense on
prepetition debt during the company's Chapter 11 proceedings.
This unrecorded interest expense was US$57.6 million in 2006 and
US$82.8 million in 2005. Unrecorded interest expense reflects
the amount of interest expense the company would have incurred
under the original maturities of prepetition debt. Included in
the US$18.6 million interest expense in 2006 was US$12.2 million
from debt incurred as part of emerging from Chapter 11.
Other non-operating income of US$11.5 million in 2006 compared
to US$11.8 million in the prior year. The 2005 results included
a US$3.4 million gain on the sale of the company's equity
investment in Interface Solutions Inc.
Net Chapter 11 reorganization income in 2006 was US$1,955.5
million compared to US$1.2 million of income recorded in 2005.
2005 income primarily resulted from income on cash balances and
a reversal of an accrual for professional fees for certain
advisors.
The US$1,955.5 million reorganization income is composed of:
Gain from discharge of liabilities
subject to compromise US$1,510.8 million
Gain from fresh-start reporting 459.9 million
Interest Income, post-Filing 15.0 million
Professional Fees (30.2 million)
----------------
Total US$1,955.5 million
================
During 2006, income tax expense of US$730.4 million compared to
income tax benefit of US$1.2 million in 2005. The effective tax
rate for 2006 as reported was 33.8%. The 2005 tax rate was
lower than 2006 primarily due to certain one-time benefits
recorded during 2005 of approximately US$61.2 million related to
a subsidiary capital restructuring.
The company's balance sheet at Dec. 31, 2006, showed
US$4,170.7 million in total assets, US$2,006 million in total
liabilities, and US$2,164.7 million in total stockholders'
equity.
Full-text copies of the company's consolidated financial
statements for the year ended Dec. 31, 2006, are available for
free at http://researcharchives.com/t/s?1cbc
About Armstrong
Based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Armstrong World Industries,
Inc. -- http://www.armstrong.com/-- the major operating
subsidiary of Armstrong Holdings, Inc., designs, manufactures
and sells interior floor coverings and ceiling systems, around
the world.
The company has Asia-Pacific locations in Australia, China, Hong
Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South
Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. It also has locations in
Colombia, Costa Rica, Greece and Iceland, among others.
* * *
The Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific reported that
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'BB' bank loan
rating to the proposed US$1.1 billion senior secured bank
facility of Armstrong World Industries Inc. (D/--/--), based on
preliminary terms and conditions.
As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on Oct. 9, 2006,
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised its corporate credit
rating on Armstrong World Industries Inc. to 'BB' from 'D',
following the Company's emergence from bankruptcy on Oct. 2,
2006. The outlook is stable.
SUREMAX GROUP: Discloses Proposals Under Restructuring Scheme
-------------------------------------------------------------
Suremax Group Bhd disclosed various proposals it plans to
undertake under the company's reform plan with the Bursa
Malaysia Securities Bhd on March 30, 2007.
Going Concern
On May 16, 2006, the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific
reported that Suremax's audited financial statements for the
year ended August 31, 2005, contained the company's auditors'
modified opinion with emphasis on its ability to continue as a
going concern. Furthermore, the TCR-AP added that based on the
company's six-month period accounts to February 28, 2006,
Suremax's shareholders' equity on a consolidated basis is less
than 50% of its issued and paid-up capital.
Accordingly, Suremax become an affected listed issuer of the
Bursa Securities' Amended Practice Note 17 category, and is
therefore required to implement a plan to regularize its
financial condition.
The Proposals Under the Reform Plan
(i) Proposed Capital Reduction;
(ii) Proposed Amendments;
(iii) Proposed Rights Issue; and
(iv) Proposed Exemption.
Proposed Capital Reduction
Suremax proposes to undertake a capital reduction exercise
involving the cancellation of MYR0.50 of par value of each
existing ordinary share of MYR1.00 each in Suremax and the
reduction of the company's entire share premium balance. As at
February 28, 2007, Suremax has an issued and paid-up share
capital of MYR66,000,000 comprising 66,000,000 ordinary shares
of MYR1.00 each.
The reduction of the issued and paid-up share capital of Suremax
by MYR33,000,000 and the reduction of its entire share premium
balance of MYR18,783,605 would give rise to a credit of
MYR51,783,605, which will be utilized to reduce its accumulated
losses. The audited financial statements of the company for the
financial year ended Aug. 31, 2006, showed accumulated losses of
MYR69,598,382.
Proposed Amendments
Accordingly, the company proposes to amend its Memorandum and
Articles of Association to facilitate the change in the par
value of the company's ordinary shares from MYR1.00 to MYR0.50
resulting from the Proposed Capital Reduction.
Proposed Rights Issue
Upon completion of the Proposed Capital Reduction, Suremax
proposes to implement a renounceable rights issue of 54,000,000
new ordinary shares of MYR0.50 each in Suremax at an issue price
of MYR0.50 per Rights Share on the basis of nine Rights Shares
for every eleven Suremax Shares held after the Proposed Capital
Reduction, to the shareholders of the Company whose names appear
on the Record of Depositors on a date to be determined and
announced later by the Board.
Proposed Exemption
Upon completion of the Proposed Rights Issue, the collective
shareholdings of the Tan Family of 14.8% of the issued and paid-
up share capital of the Company as at February 28, 2007, may
increase up to 53.2% as a result of their entitlement under the
Entitlement Undertakings and their undertaking under the
Additional Undertakings. Accordingly, the Tan Family will be
obliged to undertake a mandatory general offer for all the
remaining Suremax Shares not already held by them.
However, an application will be made to the Securities
Commission to exempt the obligations of the Tan Family.
The Proposed Rights Issue is expected to raise gross proceeds of
MYR27.0 million, which is expected to be utilized to meet the
funding requirement of the Suremax Group's existing and future
construction projects, repay bank borrowings, general working
capital and to defray the expenses in connection with the
Proposed Restructuring Scheme.
Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Suremax Group Berhad is
engaged in property development, construction, trading in
construction materials and sub-contracting works. The firm's
other activities include the provision of property management
services and building construction. The Group is also involved
in the manufacture and sale of ready mixed concrete.
TALAM CORP: Gives Update on Loan Default Status as of March 31
---------------------------------------------------------------
Talam Corporation Berhad disclosed with the Bursa Malaysia
Securities Bhd its default status to various credit facilities
as of March 31, 2007.
In the disclosure, Talam said that a MYR47-million bridging loan
facility granted by AmInvestment Bank Berhad and a MYR3-million
overdraft facility granted by Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional to
Talam have been re-classified under category "G" instead of
category "C" reason being that the AIBB and PDN will reschedule
the loan repayment terms rather than restructuring. In
addition, the term loan facility of MYR100 million granted by TA
First Credit Sdn. Bhd. to Talam has been re-classified under
category "D" instead of category "C".
Further, Talam and its subsidiary companies are still finalizing
with all the lending banks on a restructuring scheme in order to
regularize their financial position, the company said.
Default Status
A. Talam's loan with Hong Leong Bank Berhad will be settled from
the balance of the sale proceeds from the disposal of Talam's
land to Banting Resources Sdn Bhd.
Amt. Outstanding
Subsidiary Lender of Feb/28/2007
---------- ------ ----------------
Zillion Development Hong Leong Bank Bhd MYR1,722,933.00
Sdn Bhd
* Settled on March 27, 2007
B. Europlus Corporation Sdn Bhd has been notified that the
Noteholders have approved and passed the resolution in
writing on the proposed restructuring scheme on September 25,
2006:
Amt. Outstanding
Subsidiary Lender of 02/28/2007
---------- ------ ----------------
Europlus Corp Abrar Discounts Bhd MYR190,000,000
Sdn Bhd
C. These loans with the companies are part of the overall
Financial Restructuring scheme submitted to the respective
financial institutions and has been approved on Feb. 5, 2007.
Amt. Outstanding
Subsidiary Lender of 02/28/2007
---------- ------ ----------------
Abra Development EON Bank Bhd MYR13,451,282
Sdn Bhd
Talam Corp Bhd EON Bank Berhad MYR3,409,244
MYR3,387,276
Pending Approval from Financial Institutions:
Amt. Outstanding
Subsidiary Lender of 02/28/2007
---------- ------ ----------------
Talam Industries Bhd RHB Sakura Merchants MYR12,690,145
Bankers Bhd
Europlus Bhd RHB Sakura Merchant MYR3,499,591
Bankers Bhd
Talam Corp Bhd RHB Sakura Merchant MYR11,629,135
Bankers Bhd MYR17,448,288
MYR7,688,050
MYR5,809,272
D. These companies are in the midst of finalizing the sales and
Purchase agreement for the disposal of the asset to repay the
banking facilities:
Amt. Outstanding
Subsidiary Lender of 02/28/2007
---------- ------ ----------------
Europlus Bhd Affin Bank Bhd MYR9,889,520
MYR2,066,027
Juara Tiasa Affin-ACF Finance Bhd MYR3,489,056
Sdn Bhd
Talam Corp Bhd Affin Bank Bhd MYR3,503,190
MYR5,869,119
Maxisegar Realty TA First Credit Sdn Bhd MYR29,702,152
MYR55,315,058
MYR54,535,393
E. These companies are finalizing the joint venture agreement
with the reputable developers where the joint venture
company will repay the loan:
(i) Joint Venture Agreement finalized on March 5, 2007.
Amt. Outstanding
Subsidiary Lender of 02/28/2007
---------- ------ ----------------
Untung Utama Insas Credit & MYR5,306,956
Sdn Bhd Leasing Sdn Bhd MYR14,701,694
Zhinmun Sdn Bhd Insas Credit & MYR5,284,020
Leasing Sdn Bhd MYR21,874,628
(ii) Pending Finalizing of Joint Venture
Ukay Land Bhd Insas Credit & MYR11,485,673
Leasing Sdn Bhd
F. This company is currently under Section 176 of the Companies
Act, 1965:
Amt. Outstanding
Subsidiary Lender of 02/28/2007
---------- ------ ----------------
Maxisegar Sdn Bhd Abrar Discounts Bhd MYR130,000,000
G. These companies are currently negotiating with financial
institutions to reschedule banking facilities:
Amt. Outstanding
Subsidiary Lender of 02/28/2007
---------- ------ ----------------
Europlus Bhd Aminvestment Bank Bhd MYR6,403,591
Talam Corp Bhd Pengurasan Danaharta MYR2,573,626
* * *
Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Talam Corporation
Berhad is principally engaged in property development. Its
other activities include trading building materials,
manufacturing of ready mixed concrete, provision for higher
educational programs, development and management of hotel, golf
and country club horticulturists, agriculturists and landscaping
designers and contractors and investment holding. Operations of
the group are carried out in Malaysia and China.
* * *
Going Concern
The Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific reported on
Sept. 11, 2006, that based on the Audited Financial Statements
of Talam Corporation for the financial year ended January 31,
2006, Ernst & Young were unable to express their opinion on the
Company's Audited Accounts. As such, the Company is an affected
listed issuer of the Amended Practice Note 17 category.
In accordance with PN 17, the company is required to submit and
implement a plan to regularize its financial condition.
TAP RESOURCES: Posts MYR2.19-Million Net Loss in Third Quarter
--------------------------------------------------------------
Tap Resources Bhd posted a net loss of MYR2.19 million on
MYR826,000 of revenues in the third quarter ended Jan. 31, 2007,
as compared with a MYR1.47 million of net loss on MYR2.63
million of revenues in the same quarter in 2006.
As of Jan. 31, the company's unaudited balance sheet showed
strained liquidity with current assets of MYR3.59 million
available to pay MYR51.47 million of current liabilities.
Tap Resources' total assets as of Jan. 31 amounted MYR71.05
million and liabilities aggregated to MYR51.48 million,
resulting to a shareholders equity of MYR19.56 million.
About the Company
TAP Resources Berhad is principally engaged in property
development. Its other activities include general contracting;
manufacturing and general trading of building materials,
construction chemicals, ready mixed concrete and non-baked
bricks; installing air-conditioners, process control and switch
gear automation; selling of electrical goods; and investment
holding. The Group operates wholly in Malaysia.
The company is classified under the PN17 category because, for
the nine months ended January 31, 2006, its shareholders' equity
on a consolidated basis is equal to or less than 25% of the
issued and paid up capital of the Company and such shareholders
equity is less than the minimum issued and paid up capital as
required under paragraph 8.16A (1) of the Listing Requirements
of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad, plus it has a default in
payments and is unable to provide a solvency declaration.
With Tap's failure to comply with the requirements, Bursa
Securities will commence a suspension and delisting procedure on
the company's securities.
TAP RESOURCES: Discloses Amendments to Proposed Reform Plan
-----------------------------------------------------------
Hwang-DBS Investment Bank Bhd, as advisor to TAP Resources Bhd's
reform plan, has proposed several amendments to the plan, which
was disclosed with the Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd on Feb. 7,
2007.
The Amendments to Various Proposals
A. Proposed Capital Reduction:
It is now proposed under the Planned Capital Reduction to
increase the existing TAP share to MYR0.94 from MYR0.90. It is
also proposed for every five shares of MYR0.06 be consolidated
into three shares of MYR0.10 each.
These will result to a existing share capital of MYR109,155,805
comprising 109,155,805 ordinary shares be reduced and
consolidated into MYR6,549,348 comprising 65,493,483 ordinary
shares.
B. Proposed Rights Issue:
It is now proposed to change the Proposed Rights Issue to five
Rights Shares for every six Tap Shares held after the Capital
Reduction, with one free warrant attached for every Rights Share
subscribed. For the avoidance of doubt, the quantum of the
Rights Shares proposed to be issued remains at 54,577,902 rights
shares.
C. Proposed Private Placement
It is now proposed for the issue price for the Proposed Private
Placement to be fixed at MYR0.11 per share and to attach one
free warrant for every placement share subscribed.
The fixing of the issue price at MYR0.11 is to take into account
the pre-suspension share price of TAP at MYR0.06 and the free
warrants attached. The increase in the proceeds to be raised is
proposed to be utilized for future working capital.
D. Proposed Debt Restructuring
It is now proposed for the debts owing on the redemption of the
outstanding RCSLS to be restructured in these manner:
a. conversion of MYR6,200,000 outstanding on the nominal
value of RCSLS held by ABB into a three-year term loan
and on terms to be agreed between the company and the
lender, instead of MYR6,000,000 previously.
b. Settlement of MYR23,130,290,outstanding on the nominal
value of RCSLS via the issuance of 231,302,900 new TAP
shares of MYR0.10 at, instead of MYR27,088,053
previously.
c. The balance of the debt, together with all accrued
interests, penalties and other charges will completely
waived.
About the Company
TAP Resources Berhad is principally engaged in property
development. Its other activities include general contracting;
manufacturing and general trading of building materials,
construction chemicals, ready mixed concrete and non-baked
bricks; installing air-conditioners, process control and switch
gear automation; selling of electrical goods; and investment
holding. The Group operates wholly in Malaysia.
The company is classified under the PN17 category because, for
the nine months ended January 31, 2006, its shareholders' equity
on a consolidated basis is equal to or less than 25% of the
issued and paid up capital of the Company and such shareholders
equity is less than the minimum issued and paid up capital as
required under paragraph 8.16A (1) of the Listing Requirements
of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad, plus it has a default in
payments and is unable to provide a solvency declaration.
With Tap's failure to comply with the requirements, Bursa
Securities will commence a suspension and delisting procedure on
the company's securities.
TAP RESOURCES: Pola Unik's Vendor Agrees to Payment Scheme
----------------------------------------------------------
Tap Resources Bhd disclosed with the Bursa Malaysia Securities
Bhd that it obtained on April 6, 2007, the approval of Pola Unik
Sdn Bhd's vendor to a payment scheme, which requires the company
to pay in two tranches.
According to the disclosure, Tap will pay the vendor MYR1.5
million each to be paid by Dec. 31, 2008, and June 30, 2009,
respectively.
In addition, Tap also disclosed that both parties have agreed to
extend the completion of the share sale agreement into June 30,
2009.
On July 19, 2005, the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific
reported that Tap entered into a Shares Sale Agreement with
Yusoff bin Berahim for the acquisition of 27,500 ordinary shares
of MYR1.00 each representing 11% of the total issued and paid-up
share capital in Pola Unik for a purchase consideration of
MYR3,000,000.
About the Company
TAP Resources Berhad is principally engaged in property
development. Its other activities include general contracting;
manufacturing and general trading of building materials,
construction chemicals, ready mixed concrete and non-baked
bricks; installing air-conditioners, process control and switch
gear automation; selling of electrical goods; and investment
holding. The Group operates wholly in Malaysia.
The company is classified under the PN17 category because, for
the nine months ended January 31, 2006, its shareholders' equity
on a consolidated basis is equal to or less than 25% of the
issued and paid up capital of the Company and such shareholders
equity is less than the minimum issued and paid up capital as
required under paragraph 8.16A (1) of the Listing Requirements
of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad, plus it has a default in
payments and is unable to provide a solvency declaration.
With Tap's failure to comply with the requirements, Bursa
Securities will commence a suspension and delisting procedure on
the company's securities.
TENGGARA OIL: Jan. 31 Balance Sheet Upside-Down by MYR1.14 Mil.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Tenggara Oil Bhd incurred a net loss of MYR4.91 million on
MYR626,000 of revenues in the fourth quarter ended Jan. 31,
2007, as compared with a net loss of MYR4.04 million net loss on
MYR6.30 million of revenues in the same period in 2006.
According to the company's disclosure, the Group's lower revenue
for the fourth quarter in review as compared to last year was
mainly attributable to lower business activities carried out by
the group. In addition, its net loss in the current quarter was
higher as compared to the loss of last year due to overall
losses incurred by the group.
As of Jan. 31, 2007, the company's unaudited balance sheet also
showed strained liquidity with current assets of MYR8.94 million
available to pay MYR46.38 million of current liabilities.
Tenggara's total assets as of Jan. 31, amounted to MYR47,589,000
and total liabilities aggregated to MYR46,541,000 resulting to a
shareholders' deficit of MYR1.14 million.
About the Company
Tenggara Oil Berhad is undertaking a divestment and
restructuring exercise, which will reposition it as a service-
oriented and trading group from its current resource-based
businesses. Current businesses include investment holding,
supply of ready mixed concrete, property holding, management and
construction. As part of a corporate revamp exercise, the
Company has repositioned itself in the oil and gas business,
which will be its core business.
The Company is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tenggara is in the process of formulating a debt-restructuring
scheme with relevant parties.
TENGGARA OIL: Defaults Due March 31 Reaches MYR29 Million
---------------------------------------------------------
Tenggara Oil Bhd disclosed with the Bursa Malaysia Securities
Bhd its status of default to various credit facilities as of
March 31, 2007.
According to the disclosure, Tenggara and its subsidiary
companies -- Tenggara Lubricant Sdn Bhd, and Tenggara Concrete
Sdn Bhd -- have been unable to pay the amount of principal and
interest in respect of its credit facilities.
Lender Borrower Amount Due
------ -------- ----------------
CIMB Bank Bhd TOB MYR5,499,951.03
(Southern Bank Berhad)
CIMB Bnk Bhd TOB 1,120,595.61
(Bumiputra-Commerce Bank
Bhd)
Malayan Banking Bhd TLSB 8,331,066.51
Malayan Banking Bhd TLSB 1,512,820.36
Malayan Banking Bhd TCSB 12,578,627.51
-------------
Total: MYR29,043,061.02
About the Company
Tenggara Oil Berhad is undertaking a divestment and
restructuring exercise, which will reposition it as a service-
oriented and trading group from its current resource-based
businesses. Current businesses include investment holding,
supply of ready mixed concrete, property holding, management and
construction. As part of a corporate revamp exercise, the
Company has repositioned itself in the oil and gas business,
which will be its core business.
The Company is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tenggara is in the process of formulating a debt-restructuring
scheme with relevant parties.
VANGUARD CAR: Moody's Holds Corporate Family Rating at B1
---------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service is reviewing the ratings of ERAC USA
Finance Company for possible downgrade following the report that
Enterprise has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase
Vanguard Car Rental Group Inc. and its rated subsidiary -
Vanguard Car Rental USA Holdings, Inc. which operates the
"National" and "Alamo" brands. The acquisition is subject to
regulatory approval and is expected to be completed during the
second half of 2007. Financial terms of the transaction have not
been publicly disclosed.
Moody's review of ERAC is focusing on the transaction's ultimate
financial terms and legal structure. Key areas of consideration
will include the amount of debt taken on by Enterprise to fund
the acquisition, and the extent to which the company refinances
or provides supports for Vanguard's existing and future
borrowing requirements. Moody's review will also assess the
operational and strategic benefits that might result from the
acquisition. These potential benefits will be balanced against
any increased debt servicing obligations.
Moody's said that the proposed acquisition does not affect the
ratings of Vanguard. These ratings, which are affirmed,
include:
* corporate family rating, B1
* probability of default, B1
* senior secured bank credit facility, Ba3, LGD3, 37%; and
* speculative grade liquidity, SGL-3.
As a result of change of control language in Vanguard's bank
agreement, it is likely that these obligations will be repaid if
the acquisition is completed. Should this occur, all of
Vanguard's ratings would be withdrawn. In the event that some
portion of Vanguard's bank debt remains outstanding, the ratings
would consider the degree of implicit and explicit support
provided by Enterprise for Vanguard's debt.
Additionally, should no explicit support be provided and
Enterprise not make sufficient financial information regarding
Vanguard available upon which a rating opinion could be based,
the ratings would be withdrawn.
Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company, headquartered in St. Louis,
Missouri, is the leading provider of in-town and insurance
replacement rental cars in US. ERAC USA Finance Company is a
wholly-owned funding vehicle for Enterprise.
Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Vanguard Car Rental Holdings
LLC -- http://www.vanguardcar.com/-- is a car rental company
operator of the National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands.
It has more than 3,200 locations in 83 countries, including the
United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Caribbean, Latin
America, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Pacific Rim, Africa, the
Middle East and Australia.
=====================
P H I L I P P I N E S
=====================
HERTZ CORP: DBRS Rates Senior Subordinated Debt at B (high)
-----------------------------------------------------------
Dominion Bond Rating Service assigned to Hertz Corporation an
issuer rating of BB, a long-term debt rating of BB (low) and a
senior subordinated debt rating of B (high).
The notch differentials between the issuer, long-term debt and
senior subordinated debt ratings reflect the unsecured position
of the long-term debt, the junior position of the senior
subordinated debt and the dominance of the secured debt. The
trends are Stable.
The ratings reflect the Company's strong business franchise and
leading market position in the daily rental business, sizable
cash flow generation ability and strong historical fleet
management. The ratings are restrained by the high leverage,
owed to a large amount of goodwill in the Company's capital
base. The company's exposure to U.S. original equipment
manufacturers continues to negatively pressure the ratings;
however, this exposure has decreased over the past few years.
Further, the company's single concentration in U.S. OEMs, while
still high, compares favorably to its peers.
Hertz's strong franchise has enabled it to be a historical
leader in the premium vehicle rental segment. The company
operates the largest worldwide general-use car rental brand and
the second largest North American equipment rental business,
both based on revenues. Further, the Hertz brand continues to
lead the on-airport rental market. The company's fleet
management model has historically been solid in a highly
seasonal market. The Company has sizable cash flow generation
ability and has demonstrated its ability to navigate well
through seasonal markets and various business cycles, including
the extraordinary events of 9/11, which slowed travel
significantly.
Hertz's capital structure is characterized by large amounts of
acquisition-related debt and goodwill. As such, the company has
a highly levered balance sheet. The company's capital structure
is an underlying restraint on its ratings. Additionally, the
increased interest expense resulting from the large level of
debt has put downward pressure on profitability in an already
fiercely competitive market. Nonetheless, profitability was
respectable in 2006, ending with a strong fourth quarter
characterized by strong revenue gains in the equipment rental
business and expense control initiatives taken by the company.
Finally, Hertz, as the whole industry, is faced with increasing
residual risks as the Company purchases a higher percentage of
risk vehicles, owed to reduced incentives and increased program
vehicle pricing from U.S. OEMs. Consequently, inherent exposure
to used car markets remains a challenge for the company, one
which it has managed well in the past.
Hertz Corp. -- https://www.hertz.com/ -- the largest global car
rental company, participates primarily in the on-airport segment
of the car rental industry. This segment, which generates
approximately 69% of Hertz's consolidated revenues, is heavily
reliant on airline traffic. Demand tends to be cyclical, and
can also be affected by global events such as wars, terrorism,
and disease outbreaks. Hertz has also grown its off-airport
business (12% of consolidated revenues), the segment of the car
rental business that is less cyclical and more profitable, but
which is dominated by 'A-' rated Enterprise Rent-A-Car Co.
Through its Hertz Equipment Rental Corp. subsidiary (HERC, 18%
of consolidated revenues), Hertz also operates one of the larger
industrial and construction equipment renters in the U.S., along
with some European locations. Hertz has operations in Hungary,
Philippines and Peru, among others.
SBARRO INC: Earns US$9.9 Million in Full Year 2006
--------------------------------------------------
Sbarro Inc. disclosed results of operations for the year ended
Dec. 31, 2006. Revenues were US$354.4 million for the year
ended Dec. 31, 2006 as compared to US$348.7 million for the year
ended Jan. 1, 2006. Same-store sales growth was 4.4% for the
year ended Dec. 31, 2006.
Net Income was US$9.9 million, for the year ended Dec. 31, 2006,
as compared to US$1.4 million for the year ended Jan. 1, 2006.
EBITDA was US$55.1 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2006, as
compared to US$49.1 million for the year ended Jan. 1, 2006.
Included as an expense in EBITDA was US$2.8 million and US$0.7
million for 2006 and 2005, respectively related to a long-term
incentive plan for our Chief Executive Officer.
EBITDA as calculated in accordance with the terms of the bank
credit agreement was US$60.3 million for Dec. 31, 2006, as
compared to US$52.1 million for the year ended Jan. 1, 2006.
Peter Beaudrault, Chairman of the Board of Sbarro commented, "We
are pleased with the continuing improvements in both revenues
and EBITDA that our team has achieved in 2006. We look forward
to continuing to improve these trends as the team continues to
capitalize on the improvements made system wide over the last
three years."
On Jan. 31, MidOcean SBR Acquisition Corp., an indirect
subsidiary of MidOcean SBR Holdings, LLC, an affiliate of
MidOcean Partners III, L.P., and certain of its affiliates
merged with and into the company in exchange for consideration
of US$450 million in cash, subject to certain adjustments. Upon
consummation of the Merger, all of the outstanding common stock
of the Company became owned by Sbarro Holdings LLC, a subsidiary
of Holdings.
In addition, the former shareholders received a distribution of
the cash on hand in excess of (i) US$11 million, plus (ii) all
amounts required to be paid in connection with the special event
bonuses.
Upon consummation of the Merger, the Company transferred
interests in certain non-core assets to a newly formed company
owned by certain of our former shareholders. There was no
additional consideration given for the transfer of these assets
as they were treated as a dividend. The assets and related
costs that we transferred were:
-- the interests in 401 Broadhollow Realty Corp. and 401
Broadhollow Fitness Center Corp., which own the corporate
headquarters of the Company, the fitness center and the
assets of the Sbarro Cafe located at the corporate
headquarters;
-- a parcel of undeveloped real property located in East
Northport, New York;
-- the interests in Boulder Creek Ventures LLC and Boulder
Creek Holdings, LLC, which own a 40% interest in a joint
venture that operates 15 steakhouses under "Boulder Creek"
and other names; and
-- the interest in Two Mex-SS, LLC, which owns a 50% interest
in a joint venture that operates two tex-mex restaurants
under the "Baja Grill" name.
Sbarro, Inc. -- http://www.sbarro.com/-- headquartered in
Melville, New York, is a leading quick service restaurant chain
that serves Italian specialty foods. As of April 23, 2006, the
company owned and operated 482 and franchised 491 restaurants
worldwide under brand names such as "Sbarro," "Umberto's," and
"Carmela's Pizzeria". Total revenues for fiscal 2005 were
approximately US$348 million. The company announced on June 19,
2006, its international expansion by opening more than 25
restaurants in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, The Bahamas and
Romania.
As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific on
Feb. 8, 2007, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services revised its
outlook on Sbarro Inc. to negative from stable. At the
same time, Standard & Poor's affirmed the company's 'B-'
corporate credit rating and other ratings.
TCR-AP also reported on Feb. 8 that Moody's Investors Service
assigned the company a B3 corporate family rating while at the
same time assigned Ba3 senior secured ratings to its proposed
bank facility consisting of a US$25-million 1st lien revolver
and a US$150-million 1st lien term loan. Additionally, the
rating agency gave a Caa1 rating on the proposed US$150-million
senior unsecured notes and a SGL-3 speculative grade liquidity
rating.
* Inflation in March Decelerates to 2.2% from 2.6% Last Month
-------------------------------------------------------------
Inflation in March decelerated to 2.2% from 2.6% in February,
the Philippines' central bank says. At this level, inflation
was the same as in January 2000, and the lowest since April
1987.
According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, slower price
increases for all commodity groups except clothing brought the
average inflation for the first quarter 2007 to 2.9%,
significantly lower than the 7.3% recorded in the same period a
year ago. The March inflation outturn was within the BSP's
forecast range of 2.0-2.6%.
Ample supply of major food items, the dropping out of the base
effect of the RVAT on the CPI, and the general strength of the
peso contributed to the continued downtrend in inflation.
Month-on-month, prices declined anew by 0.1% in March, due
mainly to lower prices of fish, fruits and vegetables, and meat.
Core inflation also sustained its downtrend, registering a 0.4
percentage drop to 2.6% year-on-year from 3.0% in the previous
month.
These developments are consistent with the BSP's expectation of
a generally benign inflation outlook over the policy horizon.
This outlook is also supported by moderate demand pressures and
well-contained inflation expectations.
Barring unforeseen external and domestic shocks, average
inflation rates for 2007 and 2008 are expected to fall within
the Philippine Government's target range of 4.0-5.0% and 4.0%
plus/minus 1 percentage point, respectively.
Despite the current low-inflation environment, the BSP will
continue to be watchful of potential upside pressures to the
inflation outlook, particularly those coming from the volatility
in world oil prices and the continued strong growth in domestic
liquidity. This will ensure that the monetary policy stance
remains consistent with the Government's price and growth
objectives.
* * *
Fitch Ratings, on March 5, 2007, affirmed the Republic of the
Philippines' Long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default
ratings at 'BB' and 'BB+', respectively. The agency also
affirmed the Short-term IDR at 'B' and the Country Ceiling at
'BB+'.
On Jan. 10, 2007, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned
its 'BB-' senior unsecured debt rating to the Republic of
Philippines' (foreign currency BB-/Stable/B, local currency
BB+/Stable/B) proposed US$1.0 billion global bond issue maturing
in 2032.
On Nov. 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
=================
AAR CORP: Acquires Brown International Corporation
--------------------------------------------------
AAR Corp. has acquired Brown International Corporation, a
privately held defense contractor that provides engineering,
design, manufacturing and systems integration services, for an
undisclosed amount. The acquired business will operate as part
of AAR's Structures and Systems segment.
"There are excellent synergies between Brown's technical and
systems integration expertise and AAR's mobility products
capabilities," said David P. Storch, Chairman, President and
Chief Executive Officer of AAR CORP. "The Brown acquisition
enables us to provide defense customers with a wider range of
products and services to meet the demand for increasingly
complex and specialized shelter products."
Brown was established in 1985 and has become a leading provider
of innovative products and support for command and control,
communications and intelligence systems. Brown engineers and
equips tactical operations centers, data links and support
trailers, primarily for the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, and
General Dynamics. The acquired business will continue to
operate in Huntsville, Alabama, as part of AAR's Mobility
Systems division.
About AAR Corp.
AAR Corp. (NYSE: AIR) -- http://www.aarcorp.com/-- provides
products and value-added services to the worldwide
aviation/aerospace industry. With facilities and sales
locations around the world, AAR uses its close-to-the-customer
business model to serve airline and defense customers through
Aviation Supply Chain; Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul;
Structures and Systems and Aircraft Sales and Leasing. In Asia
Pacific, the company has offices in Singapore, China, Japan and
Australia.
* * *
As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific on
Oct. 18, 2006, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services upgraded AAR
Corp.'s corporate credit rating from 'BB-' to 'BB'. The outlook
is stable.
The TCR-AP also reported on Dec. 5, 2006, that Moody's upgraded
AAR's corporate family rating and senior notes to Ba3 from B1,
in response to improving financial performance resulting from
the strong commercial and defense aviation supply and repair
environment. The ratings outlook is stable.
AVAGO TECH: Gets US$76.9 Mln from Noteholders in Tender Offer
-------------------------------------------------------------
Avago Technologies disclosed that as of 5:00 p.m., New York City
time, on Thursday, April 5, 2007, approximately US$76.9 million
in aggregate principal amount of the 10-1/8% Senior Notes due
2013 issued by Avago Technologies Finance Pte. Ltd. and two
subsidiary co-issuers have been tendered pursuant to its tender
offer for up to US$100,000,000 aggregate principal amount of the
Notes, as described in the Offer to Purchase, dated March 23,
2007.
The Offer will expire at 12:00 midnight, New York City time, on
April 19, 2007, unless extended.
Holders whose Notes are accepted for payment pursuant to the
Offer will receive a price not less than US$1,040.00 nor greater
than US$1,060.00, plus accrued and unpaid interest up to, but
not including, the date of purchase. In addition, holders whose
Notes are accepted for payment pursuant to the Offer will be
entitled to receive in respect of Notes accepted for payment
which were validly tendered and not validly withdrawn at or
prior to the Early Tender Date a premium of US$30.00 per
US$1,000 principal amount of Notes tendered.
The final purchase price will be determined pursuant to the
Modified Dutch Auction procedure promptly after the Expiration
Date. Under this procedure, Avago will accept tenders in the
order of lowest to highest tender prices specified by tendering
holders within the range specified above and will select the
single lowest price per US$1,000 principal amount of Notes so
specified that would enable Avago to purchase an amount of Notes
equal to the Offer Amount. Avago will pay the same Purchase
Price for all Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn
at or below the Purchase Price, subject to proration. However,
holders will only be entitled to receive the Early Tender
Premium in respect of Notes accepted for payment that were
validly tendered and not validly withdrawn in the Offer at or
prior to the Early Tender Date.
About Avago Technologies
Headquartered both in San Jose, CA, and in Singapore, Avago
Technologies Holdings Pte. Ltd. -- http://www.avagotech.com/--
is a semiconductor company, with approximately 6,500 employees
worldwide. Avago provides an extensive range of analog, mixed-
signal and optoelectronic components and subsystems to more than
40,000 customers. The company's products serve four end
markets: industrial and automotive, wired networking, wireless
communications, and computer peripherals.
It has manufacturing and marketing centers in Singapore, United
States, Italy, Germany, Korea, China, Japan and Malaysia.
Avago Technologies is the successor to the Semiconductor
Products Group of Agilent. Avago Technologies purchased the
business of SPG as of December 1, 2005, for US$2.6 billion in
cash.
* * *
As reported by the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific on
Oct. 2, 2006, Moody's Investors Service has affirmed these
ratings for Avago:
-- US$250 million Senior Secured Revolver due on 2012,
from B1 to Ba2, LGD1, 4%;
-- US$500 million 10.125% Senior Unsecured Notes due on 2013,
from B3 to B2, LGD3, 47%;
-- US$250 million Floating Rate Senior Unsecured Notes due on
2013, from B3 to B2, LGD3, 47%; and
-- US$250 million 11.875% Senior Subordinated Notes due on
2015, from Caa2 to Caa1, LGD6, 91%.
ALLIANCE TECHNOLOGY: Court to Hear Wind-Up Petition on April 20
---------------------------------------------------------------
Ho Ai Lian, Ong Yew Huat, and Seshadri Rajagopalan, in their
capacities as Judicial Managers of Alliance Technology and
Development Limited, filed a wind-up petition against the
company on March 27, 2007.
The High Court of Singapore will hear the petition on April 20,
2007, at 10:00 a.m.
The Applicant's Solicitors are:
Messrs Rajah & Tann
No. 4 Battery Road #15-01
Bank of China Building
Singapore 049908
LIONS OF ASIA: Court to Hear Wind-Up Petition on April 20
---------------------------------------------------------
Ifs Capital Limited filed a wind-up petition against Lions of
Asia Group Pte Ltd. on March 27, 2007.
The High Court Of Singapore will hear the petition on April 20,
2007, at 10:00 a.m.
Ifs Capital's Solicitors are:
Hin Tat Augustine & Partners
20 Upper Circular Road #02-10/12
The Riverwalk
Singapore 058416
MILLENNIUM-WESTMONT: Pays First and Final Dividends to Creditors
----------------------------------------------------------------
Millennium-Westmont Pte Ltd., which is in liquidation
proceedings, paid its first and final dividends to creditors on
April 5, 2007.
The company satisfied creditor claims by paying 6.79 cents to
the dollar.
The company's liquidator address is:
One Raffles Quay
North Tower, Level 18
Singapore 048583
MAGNUM MACHINERY: Court to Hear Wind-Up Petition on April 20
------------------------------------------------------------
Ong Eng Hai (t/a Kimsum Plastic Enterprise) filed a wind-up
petition against Magnum Machinery Enterprises Pte Ltd. on
March 26, 2007.
The High Court of Singapore will hear the petition on April 20,
2007, at 10:00 a.m.
Ong Eng Hai's Solicitors are:
M/s Eng Leong & Partners
10 Anson Road #13-03
International Plaza
Singapore 079903
===============
T H A I L A N D
===============
HANTEX PCL: Posts THB1.68 Billion Net Income for 2006
-----------------------------------------------------
Hantex Public Company Limited has increased the company's paid
up capital from THB5,234,510 to THB144,999,993. In a corporate
disclosure with the Stock Exchange of Thailand, Hantex said it
is in the process of registering the change with the Ministry of
Commerce of Thailand.
The Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific reported that the
Central Bankruptcy Court of Thailand approved the business
rehabilitation plan of Hantex Pcl on September 28, 2006.
According to the report, one of the success indicators of the
rehabilitation plan is the increase in registered capital for
new investors within 180 days of the Court approval date.
The Court had, on March 7, 2007, ordered the company to increase
its registered capital to THB144,999,993. The THB109,765,483
increase was appropriated as:
* THB100,000,000 allocated to Forcon 9 Co., Ltd., as 100
million ordinary shares at THB1 per share, and
* THB9,765,483 for allocated to a debt-to-equity conversion
scheme.
Headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand, Hantex Public Company Ltd,
reported liabilities aggregating THB552 million in 2004, versus
lesser assets totaling THB480.64 million. The company drifted
further to being insolvent in 2005, with THB608 million in
liabilities -- almost double the THB319.86 million in assets
reported.
The company's stocks are currently under Stock Exchange of
Thailand's SP (suspension), NP (notice pending), NC (non
compliance) signs.
* Notice Pending - The issuer failed to submit a quarterly
or annual financial statement to the SET by the specified
time.
* Suspension - Trading in the security is being suspended
for more than one trading session.
* Non-Compliance - The securities of a listed company that
may be delisted.
Going Concern Doubt
On June 16, 2006, Miss Chantra Wongsri-Udomporn of Dharmniti
Auditing Company Limited, the company's independent auditor,
raised significant doubt on the company's ability to continue as
a going concern, citing the following reasons:
* The company has encountered gross losses since 1998 to
2005.
* As of December 31, 2005 and 2004 the company's current
liabilities exceeded its current assets in the amount
THB628.70 million and THB490.62 million, respectively.
* The company's total liabilities exceeded its total assets
THB323.35 million and THB72.50 million, respectively.
* The company has been suffering on retained loss
THB1.21 billion and THB1.03 billion, net loss for the years
ended December 31, 2005, and 2004 in the amount
THB183.51 million and THB195.85 million, respectively.
* Other circumstances, such as:
- The company defaulted repayment in accordance with the
certain debt restructuring contract amounting to
THB420.22 million with 3 financial institutions,
including unable to achieve in negotiate of the debt re-
restructuring agreement with the financial institutions.
- The company also defaulted with another minor certain
creditors such as the Provincial Electricity Authority,
Natural and Resource Development, spare part, raw
material, labor, security, etc. However, the company has
a scheme to raise the money from the capital increase
amounting to THB125 million to solve its significant
liquidity problem.
The auditor also adds that the company has been facing
significant liquidity problems for several years.
KASIKORNBANK: Paying THB1.25 Per Share Dividends for 2006
---------------------------------------------------------
Kasikornbank PCL plans to pay shareholders THB1.25 per share in
final dividend for fiscal year 2006 on April 30, 2007, Reuters
Key Development reports.
The Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific reported on
Jan. 22, 2007 that Kasikornbank's full-year net profit was down
marginally at THB13.66 billion, compared with THB13.93 billion
in 2005. The bank said its loan-loss provisions rose to THB1.53
billion in the quarter, while it had transferred its ample
reserves to cover new provisioning requirements.
Kasikorn Bank Public Company Limited --
http://www.kasikornbank.com/-- otherwise known as the Thai
Farmers Bank, was established in 1945 with registered capital of
THB5 million and has been listed on the Stock Exchange of
Thailand since 1976. It is Thailand's fourth largest bank, with
total assets of THB844 billion (US$22 billion) as at end June
2006.
The bank currently carries Moody's Bank financial strength
rating of D+.
On October 24, 2006, the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia
Pacific, reported that Fitch Ratings affirmed the ratings of
Kasikornbank and removed them from Rating Watch Negative on
which they were placed on September 20, 2006 following the
military coup. The Outlook on their ratings is now Stable.
After the rating action, Kasikorn's ratings are as follows:
* Individual C;
* Support 2;
KUANG PEI: Insolvency and Net Losses Prompt Going Concern Doubt
---------------------------------------------------------------
Kuang Pei San Food Products Public Company Limited reported a
6.58% higher net loss at THB96,434,952.69 for the year ending
December 31, 2006, from a net loss of THB90,483,711.38 reported
a year earlier.
For 2006, the company had higher sales of THB812,734,797.26,
27.88% more than the THB635,533,652.12 in 2005, fuelinga 26.57%
rise in total revenues, which amounted to THB817,724,632.51 for
2006.
Total expenses, however, also grew 24.93% to THB818,284,512.55,
giving the company a loss before interest expense of
THB559,880.04.
Interest expenses for the year amounted to THB95,875,072.65, up
17.56% from a year earlier.
As of December 31, 2006, the company had a shareholders' equity
deficit of THB408,269,091.16 on total assets of
THB568,886,989.98 and total liabilties of THB977,156,081.14.
The company's financials can be obtained for free at:
http://bankrupt.com/misc2/kuangpeifinancials.pdf
Significant Doubt
Wanraya Puttasatiean at S.K. Accountant Services Company
Limited, the company's independent auditors, raised significant
doubt on the company's ability to continue as a going concern.
The auditors point to the company's net losses, insolvency and
illiquidity as of December 31, 2006, when current liabilities
exceeded current assets by THB764.52 million.
About the Company
Kuang Pei San Food Products Public Company Limited manufactures
and distributes tinned foods and canned sardine fish under its
Pompui, Pla Yim and Lap brand names.
KUANG PEI: Annual General Meeting Set for April 26
--------------------------------------------------
Kuang Pei San Food Products Public Company Limited's board of
directors has scheduled the company's annual general meeting of
shareholders on April 26, 2007, the company said in a disclosure
to the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
The agenda includes:
* the approval of the annual report of the committee on the
company progress in the year 2006;
* the approval of the company's balance sheet and income
statements for 2006;
* the election of new directors;
* the addition of one committee and electing Taweesak
Naraipratan to that committee;
* the approval of no dividend payouts for 2006;
* the appointment of Ampol Chamnongwat and/or Wanraya
Puttasatien at S.K. Accountant Services Co.,Ltd. as the
company's auditors for 2007 for a fee of THB635,000; and
* the approval of THB4,200,000 remuneration to the committee.
About the Company
Kuang Pei San Food Products Public Company Limited manufactures
and distributes tinned foods and canned sardine fish under its
Pompui, Pla Yim and Lap brand names.
As of December 31, 2006, the company had a shareholders' equity
deficit of THB408,269,091.16 on total assets of
THB568,886,989.98 and total liabilities of THB977,156,081.14.
Going Concern Doubt
The Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific reported that
Wanraya Puttasatiean at S.K. Accountant Services Company
Limited, the company's independent auditors, raised significant
doubt on the company's ability to continue as a going concern,
citing that:
* the company's net losses of THB96,434,952.69 for the year
ending December 31, 2006, and THB90,483,711.38 reported a
year earlier;
* the company's insolvency, and
* the company's illiquidity as of December 31, 2006, when
current liabilities exceeded current assets by
THB764.52 million
NFC FERTILIZER: M.R. & Associates Raises Going Concern Doubt
------------------------------------------------------------
NFC Fertilizer Public Company Limited reported a THB1,251,084
net loss for the year ended December 31, 2006, wider by 119%
compared to the THB570,242 net loss for the year ended
December 31, 2005.
For 2006, total revenues fell 62% to THB1,615,389 due to a 79%
decrease in net revenues from sales of fertilizer to THB756,238
from THB3,609,367 a year earlier. Total expenses also decreased
27% to THB3,402,692, giving the company a loss before interest
expense of THB1,787,303 for 2006, up 290% from the THB458,250
loss before interest expense a year earlier.
As of December 31, 2006, the company showed an illiquid balance
sheet with total current assets amounting to THB287,414 and
total current liabilities amounting to THB1,120,412. As of the
same date, the company had total assets of THB2,314,197 and
total liabilities of THB1,301,224, giving it a total
shareholders' equity of THB1,012,973.
The company's full financials can be obtained free-of-charge at:
http://bankrupt.com/misc2/NFCFinancials.pdf
Going Concern Doubt
Methee Ratanasrimetha at M.R. & Associates Co., Ltd., the
company's independent auditors, raised significant doubt on the
company's ability to continue as a going concern, saying that
the company's factory is greatly deteriorated and suffers from
lack of maintenance due to strained working capital. The
company needs significant investment funds to repair the
factory.
Mr. Methee added that in order to continue as a going concern,
the company has to succeed in:
a) engaging a financial advisor to study on the alternative
in respect of fertilizer manufacturing business of the
company including the risk assessment in all relevant
aspects,
b) rechecking machines to estimate the production capacity,
manpower skill and capital fund, which are needed to
continue running the factory at its current capacity,
c) carefully continuing producing fertilizer until all raw
materials are utilized or according to the capability of
machines at their safety limit, and
d) considering seeking funds in order to support the
financial liquidity of the company by offering increased
shares under private placement.
No Dividend Payment and AGM Schedule
The company's board of directors, in a corporate disclosure to
the Stock Exchange of Thailand has decided that no dividend will
be paid for the fiscal year 2006.
In addition, the board had schedules the annual general meeting
of shareholders on April 26, 2007.
Headquartered in Bangkok, NFC Fertilizer Public Company Limited
-- http://www.nfc.co.th-- produces chemical fertilizer
containing nitrogen, phosphate, and potash, under its Nation
Fertilizer brand name. Additionally, it imports and distributes
urea, ammonium sulfate, and potassium chloride fertilizers. The
company also distributes phosphoric acid and gypsum, which are
by-products of its fertilizer production.
The company is currently listed under the "Non-Performing Group"
sector of the Stock exchange of Thailand.
* BOND PRICING: For the Week 2 April to 6 April 2007
----------------------------------------------------
Issuer Coupon Maturity Currency Price
------ ------ -------- -------- -----
AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND
-----------------------
Ainsworth Game 8.000% 12/31/09 AUD 0.85
Alinta Networks 5.750% 09/22/10 AUD 6.62
APN News & Media Ltd 7.250% 10/31/08 AUD 5.75
A&R Whitcoulls Group 9.500% 12/15/10 NZD 9.70
Arrow Energy NL 10.000% 03/31/08 AUD 1.71
Babcock & Brown Pty Ltd 8.500% 12/31/49 NZD 7.90
Becton Property Group 9.500% 06/30/10 AUD 1.02
BIL Finance Ltd 8.000% 10/15/07 NZD 9.75
Capital Properties NZ Ltd 8.500% 04/15/07 NZD 9.00
Capital Properties NZ Ltd 8.500% 04/15/09 NZD 7.90
Capital Properties NZ Ltd 8.000% 04/15/10 NZD 9.65
Cardno Limited 9.000% 06/30/08 AUD 5.71
CBH Resources 9.500% 12/16/09 AUD 0.41
Chrome Corporation Ltd 10.000% 02/28/08 AUD 0.01
Clean Seas Tuna Ltd 9.000% 09/30/08 AUD 1.20
Djerriwarrh Investments Ltd 6.500% 09/30/09 AUD 4.30
Evans & Tate Ltd 8.250% 10/29/07 AUD 0.42
Fletcher Building Ltd 8.600% 03/15/08 NZD 9.00
Fletcher Building Ltd 7.800% 03/15/09 NZD 9.00
Fletcher Building Ltd 7.550% 03/15/11 NZD 8.25
Futuris Corporation Ltd 7.000% 12/31/07 AUD 2.50
Hy-Fi Securities Ltd 7.000% 08/15/08 NZD 8.50
Hy-Fi Securities Ltd 8.750% 08/15/08 NZD 10.00
Hutchison Telecoms Australia 5.500% 07/12/07 AUD 0.35
IMF Australia Ltd 11.500% 06/30/10 AUD 0.80
Infrastructure & Utilities
NZ Ltd 8.500% 09/15/13 NZD 8.00
Infratil Ltd 8.500% 11/15/15 NZD 8.20
Kiwi Income Properties Ltd 8.000% 06/30/10 NZD 1.22
Metal Storm 10.000% 09/01/09 AUD 0.14
Minerals Corporation Ltd 10.500% 09/30/07 AUD 0.90
Nuplex Industries Ltd 9.300% 09/15/07 NZD 9.30
Primelife Corporation 10.000% 01/31/08 AUD 1.02
Salomon SB Aust 4.250% 02/01/09 USD 7.44
Sapphire Sec 7.410% 09/20/35 NZD 7.36
Sapphire Sec 9.160% 09/20/35 NZD 9.13
Silver Chef Ltd 10.000% 08/31/08 AUD 1.06
Software of Excellence 7.000% 08/09/07 NZD 1.83
Speirs Group Ltd. 10.000% 06/30/49 NZD 65.00
Structural Systems 11.000% 06/30/07 AUD 1.26
TrustPower Ltd 8.300% 09/15/07 NZD 9.00
TrustPower Ltd 8.300% 12/15/08 NZD 8.30
TrustPower Ltd 8.500% 09/15/12 NZD 8.35
TrustPower Ltd 8.500% 03/15/14 NZD 8.15
CHINA
-----
China Tietong 4.600% 08/18/15 CNY 60.00
Jiangxi Investment 4.380% 09/11/21 CNY 56.84
JAPAN
-----
Japan Funi Muni Ent 1.700% 10/30/08 JPY 2.60
JNR Settlement 2.200% 02/15/08 JPY 1.85
Nara Prefecture 1.520% 10/31/14 JPY 10.07
KOREA
-----
Korea Development Bank 7.350% 01/27/21 KRW 49.85
Korea Development Bank 7.450% 10/31/21 KRW 49.82
Korea Development Bank 7.400% 11/02/21 KRW 49.81
Korea Development Bank 8.450% 12/15/26 KRW 71.23
Korea Electric Power 7.950% 04/01/96 USD 57.26
MALAYSIA
--------
Aliran Ihsan Resources Bhd 5.000% 11/29/11 MYR 0.75
Asian Pac Bhd 4.000% 12/21/07 MYR 0.35
Berjaya Land Bhd 5.000% 12/30/09 MYR 0.94
Bumiputra-Commerce 2.500% 07/17/08 MYR 1.45
Camerlin Group 5.500% 07/15/07 MYR 2.18
Crescendo Corporation Bhd 3.000% 08/25/07 MYR 1.27
Denko Industrial Corp. Bhd 5.000% 03/15/07 MYR 0.69
Eastern & Oriental Hotel 8.000% 07/25/11 MYR 2.19
Eden Enterprises (M) Bhd 2.500% 12/02/07 MYR 0.85
Equine Capital 3.000% 08/26/08 MYR 0.41
EG Industries Bhd 5.000% 06/16/10 MYR 0.55
Greatpac Holdings 2.000% 12/11/08 MYR 0.25
Gula Perak Bhd 6.000% 04/23/08 MYR 0.43
Hong Leong Industries Bhd 4.000% 06/28/07 MYR 0.83
Huat Lai Resources Bhd 5.000% 03/28/10 MYR 0.50
I-Berhad 5.000% 04/30/07 MYR 0.72
Insas Bhd 8.000% 04/19/09 MYR 0.81
Kamdar Group Bhd 3.000% 11/09/09 MYR 0.40
Kosmo Technology Industrial 2.000% 06/23/08 MYR 0.53
Kretam Holdings Bhd 1.000% 08/10/10 MYR 0.71
Kumpulan Jetson 5.000% 11/27/12 MYR 0.64
LBS Bina Group Bhd 4.000% 12/31/07 MYR 0.60
LBS Bina Group Bhd 4.000% 12/31/08 MYR 0.60
LBS Bina Group Bhd 4.000% 12/31/09 MYR 0.60
Media Prima Bhd 2.000% 07/18/08 MYR 1.62
Mithril Bhd 8.000% 04/05/09 MYR 0.29
Mithril Bhd 3.000% 04/05/12 MYR 0.60
Nam Fatt Corporation Bhd 2.000% 06/24/11 MYR 0.75
Pilecon Engineering Bhd 5.000% 12/19/11 MYR 0.29
Pelikan International 3.000% 04/08/10 MYR 1.85
Pelikan International 3.000% 04/08/10 MYR 1.97
Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd 2.500% 11/18/16 MYR 0.88
Ramunia Holdings 1.000% 12/20/07 MYR 0.99
Rashid Hussain Bhd 3.000% 12/23/12 MYR 1.83
Rashid Hussain Bhd 0.500% 12/24/12 MYR 1.83
Rhythm Consolidated Bhd 5.000% 12/17/08 MYR 0.32
Silver Bird Group Bhd 1.000% 02/15/09 MYR 0.33
Senai-Desaru Exp 3.500% 06/07/19 MYR 74.25
Senai-Desaru Exp 3.500% 12/09/19 MYR 72.87
Senai-Desaru Exp 3.500% 06/09/20 MYR 71.49
Senai-Desaru Exp 3.500% 12/09/20 MYR 70.14
Senai-Desaru Exp 3.500% 06/09/21 MYR 68.77
Southern Steel 5.500% 07/31/08 MYR 1.48
Tenaga Nasional Bhd 3.050% 05/10/09 MYR 1.26
Tradewinds Corp. 2.000% 02/08/12 MYR 0.70
Tradewinds Plantations Bhd 3.000% 02/28/16 MYR 0.90
TRC Synergy Berhad 5.000% 01/20/12 MYR 1.35
WCT Land Bhd 3.000% 08/02/09 MYR 1.68
Wah Seong Corp 3.000% 05/21/12 MYR 3.48
YTL Cement Bhd 4.000% 11/10/15 MYR 1.67
SINGAPORE
---------
Sengkang Mall 8.000% 11/20/12 SGD 1.36
*********
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. Andrei Sanchez, Rousel Elaine Tumanda, Valerie
Udtuhan, Francis James Chicano, Tara Eliza Tecarro, Freya
Natasha Fernandez, Frauline Abangan, and Peter A. Chapman,
Editors.
Copyright 2007. 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 US$625 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 US$25 each. For subscription information, contact
Christopher Beard at 240/629-3300.
*** End of Transmission ***