/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRAP

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRAP_Public/070802.mbx T R O U B L E D C O M P A N Y R E P O R T E R A S I A P A C I F I C Thursday, August 2, 2007, Vol. 10, No. 151 Headlines A U S T R A L I A AUSTRALIAN FLORIST: Creditors' Proofs of Debt Due on August 7 DOLSO CONSTRUCTIONS: Members Agree on Voluntary Liquidation FLIGHT CENTRE: Pacific Equity Deal Fails After E&Y Report FLIGHT CENTER: Expands FCm Travel Solutions to Middle East FOOT LOCKER: Kicks Off Plans to Support Business Operations FOOT LOCKER: Taps Lehman to Explore Strategic Options, WSJ Says GAINSBOROUGH STUD: Members' General Meeting Slated for August 18 MARCUS FLIMBY: Commences Liquidation Proceedings MERLOT CONSTRUCTIONS: To Declare Dividend on August 10 ONEIDA LTD: S&P Holds 'B' Corporate Credit Rating SEA SKIFFS: Sets Members' Final Meeting for August 27 STG PACIFIC: To Declare Interim Dividend on August 24 SYDNEY ROAD: Members and Creditors to Meet on August 17 TIMESAVERS-MINUTES: Placed Under Voluntary Liquidation YOUNG DISTRICT: To Declare Priority Dividend on Aug. 24 C H I N A & H O N G K O N G AMERON (HONG KONG): Undergoes Voluntary Liquidation ANDREW CORP: Posts US$96 Million Net Loss in 2007 Third Quarter ASAT HOLDINGS: Receives Nasdaq Compliance Letter BALL CORP: Earns US$105.9 Million in Second Quarter 2007 BALLY TOTAL: Files Voluntary Chapter 11 Petitions BALLY TOTAL: Chapter 11 Database BALLY TOTAL: 50 Largest Unsecured Creditors BALLY TOTAL: Files For Joint Administration of Cases BALLY TOTAL: Files Motion For Authority to Use Cash Collateral BALLY TOTAL: Files Motion For US$292MM Morgan Stanley DIP Loan BOCON INTERNATIONAL: Members to Hold General Meeting on Aug. 29 CHINESE BANK: FC Capital Buys Bad Debts for NT$2.73 Billion CITIC PACIFIC: To Spin Off Wholly Owned Dah Chong Holdings GLOBAL ONE: Taps Lee Siu Yin as Liquidator INH SERVICES: Liquidator to Give Wind-Up Report on August 28 KAM MOON: Contributories to Hold Annual Meeting on Aug. 6 LOYAL BUSINESS: Creditors & Contributories to Meet on August 6 SPIDER TEXTILES: Sets Final Meeting for August 30 SUN WONG: Sets Annual Meeting for August 6 YAT WAH: Court to Hear Wind-Up Petition on Sept. 5 * Rise in Risk Spread to Impede Fund Drives of Weak Banks I N D I A GENERAL MOTORS: Earns US$891 Million in Second Quarter 2007 HMT LIMITED: Discloses Three New Appointments to Board HOUSING URBAN DEV'T: Fitch Affirms BB+ & B Foreign Currency IDRs ICICI BANK: Shareholders OK Securities Offering Up to INR1.5BB INDUSTRIAL DEV'T. BANK: Shareholders Agree to INR1.5 Dividend KDL BIOTECH: Turns Around With INR4.37-Mil. Profit in 1Q FY2008 NAGARJUNA FERTILIZERS: Earns INR71.5 Mil. in Qtr. Ended June 30 ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE: Net Profit Up 48% in 1st Qtr. FY2008 SUN MICROSYSTEMS: Earns US$329 Million in Quarter Ended June 30 I N D O N E S I A AVNET INC: Enters Agreement for Magirus Group Acquisition BANK CENTRAL ASIA: Moody's Reviews Ratings for Possible Upgrade BANK DANAMON: Moody's Reviews Ratings for Possible Upgrade BANK INTERNASIONAL: Moody's Reviews Ratings for Upgrade BANK LIPPO: Moody's Places Ratings on Review for Likely Upgrade BANK MANDIRI: Moody's Reviews Ratings for Possible Upgrade BANK NEGARA: Moody's Reviews Ratings for Likely Upgrade BANK NIAGA: Moody's Puts Ratings on Review for Likely Upgrade BANK PERMATA: Moody's Puts Ratings on Review for Likely Upgrade BANK RAKYAT: Moody's Puts Ratings for Possible Upgrade BANK PANIN: Moody's Reviews Ratings for Possible Upgrade BANK TABUNGAN: Moody's Reviews Ratings for Possible Upgrade EXCELCOMINDO FINANCE: Moody's Places 'Ba3' Bond Rating on Review EXCELCOMINDO: Affirms Ba2 Local Currency Corporate Family Rating INDOSAT: Moody's Reviews Ba3 Bond Rating for Possible Upgrade PERUSAHAAN LISTRIK: Moody's Reviews 'B1' Ratings for Upgrade SAMPOERNA: First Half 2007 Net Profit Up 9.5% to IDR2.07 Tril. * Moody's Puts Indonesia's Ratings on Review for Likely Upgrade J A P A N ALL NIPPON: 1st Quarter Profit Surges on Sale of Hotels BANK OF TOKYO-MITSUBISHI: Decides to Liquidate DC Card Trading GOODWILL GROUP: Comsn Unveils Plan to Hand Over Nursing Care Ops SANYO ELECTRIC: Turns Around w/ JPY2.6BB Profit for 1st Quarter SENSATA TECHNOLOGIES: Moody's Ups B3 Rating on US$450 Mil. Notes K O R E A TONG YANG: Completes Issuance of 19,059,520 Common Shares WOORI TECHNOLOGY: Completes Issuance of 12,744,987 Common Shares YOUNGCHANG SILUP: Shareholders Sell 754,011 Shares M A L A Y S I A AMSTEEL CORP: Bursa Extends Plan Filing Deadline to Oct. 31 FA PENINSULAR: New Plan Filing Deadline Slated for Aug. 31 SETEGAP BERHAD: Bags Golf Resort Dev't Contract for MYR220MM N E W Z E A L A N D ADVANCE FINTUBE: Names Brown and Rodewald as Liquidators ALLUVIAL HOLDINGS: Shareholders Resolve to Liquidate Business BERNSTEIN RESEARCH: Fixes August 6 as Last Day to File Claims FELTEX CARPETS: Liquidator Sues 8 Former Directors for NZ$20MM GORGE PROPERTIES: Commences Liquidation Proceedings HAVEN INTERNATIONAL: Taps Sanson and Fisk as Liquidators KAMU HOLDINGS: Enters Wind-Up Proceedings KUBIK LTD: Shareholders Pass Resolution to Wind Up Firm MONEY MANAGERS: Shareholders Opt to Liquidate Business OREWA HEALTH: Creditors' Proofs of Debt Due on August 4 SPARTACUS PROPERTY: Creditors to Hold Meeting on August 8 P H I L I P P I N E S CHIQUITA BRANDS: S&P Holds Ratings Under Negative CreditWatch COVANTA HOLDING: Earns US$37.7 Million in Quarter Ended June 30 IPVG CORP: Sets Aside PHP1 Bil. for Purchase of 3 Call Centers LODESTAR INVESTMENT: Cyan & Cancorp Sell 35MM Shares to Abacus MARIWASA MFG: Sells 59,651 Square Meters of Land to Filinvest MIRANT CORP: Mirant Lovett Requests Confirmation Rehearing NIHAO MINERAL: OYEZ Takes Up Saprolite's Subscription Commitment NIHAO MINERAL: Appoints Exec. Director; Changes Business Address PHIL REALTY: Ready to Emerge from Rehabilitation by 2009 PHIL REALTY: Appoints 11 New Directors for 2007 SAN MIGUEL: Considers Using Solar Power for Manufacturing Plants SECURITY BANK: Posts PHP658-Mil. Net Income for 2007 2nd Quarter WENDY'S INTERNATIONAL: Earns US$29.2 Mil. in Qtr. Ended June 30 S I N G A P O R E AFFYMETRIX INC: Posts US$1.2-Mil. Net Profit for 2nd Qtr. 2007 INNOVATIVE STRUCTURAL: Commences Wind-Up Proceedings LINDETEVES-JACOBERG: Discloses Changes to Board of Directors PLANET HOLLYWOOD: Court to Hear Wind-Up Petition on August 17 QUANTUM ENERGY: Court Releases Wind-Up Order T H A I L A N D BLOCKBUSTER INC: Reports 2.8% Revenue Decrease in 2nd Qtr. 2007 SIAM CITY BANK: Gov't Pension Fund Acquires 40% Stake in Unit THAI WAH: Chooses Not to Subscribe to Laguna Resorts' New Shares - - - - - - - - ================= A U S T R A L I A ================= AUSTRALIAN FLORIST: Creditors' Proofs of Debt Due on August 7 ------------------------------------------------------------- Australian Florist Sundries Pty Limited is accepting proofs of debt from its creditors until August 7, 2007. The company will declare dividend on August 21, 2007. The company's deed administrator is: Robert Moodie c/o Rodgers Reidy Chartered Accountants Level 8, 333 George Street Sydney, New South Wales 2000 Australia About Australian Florist Australian Florist Sundries Pty Limited, which is also trading as Boxworks, is a distributor of die-cut paper and board. The company is located in Abbotsford, Victoria, Australia. DOLSO CONSTRUCTIONS: Members Agree on Voluntary Liquidation ----------------------------------------------------------- At an extraordinary general meeting held on June 29, 2007, the members of Dolso Constructions Pty Ltd agreed to voluntarily liquidate the company's business. Trevor Mark Pogroske and Paul Andrew Billingham were appointed as the company's liquidators at the creditors' meeting held later that day. The Liquidators can be reached at: Trevor Mark Pogroske Paul Andrew Billingham c/o Grant Thornton Chartered Accountants Level 17, 383 Kent Street Sydney, New South Wales 2000 Australia About Dolso Constructions Dolso Constructions Pty Ltd is involved with nonresidential construction. The company is located in Greenacre, New South Wales, Australia. FLIGHT CENTRE: Pacific Equity Deal Fails After E&Y Report --------------------------------------------------------- Australian travel agency Flight Centre Ltd. has abandoned plans to sell a stake to buyout firm Pacific Equity Partners, the International Herald Tribune reports. This is the second time this year that both companies have failed to complete a deal. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the controlling shareholders of Flight Centre -- led by founder and managing director Graham Turner -- terminated the deal after the release of an independent expert's report that valued the business at AU$300 million to AU$400 million more than the joint bid. The deal involved plans for Flight Centre to sell its assets into a venture with the buyout firm in return for AU1.1 billion, or US$945 million, in cash. According to SMH, Pacific Equity was proposing to pay AU$195 million for Flight Centre's stake and load up the bidding vehicle with AU$960 million of debt. IHT notes that, under the deal, Flight Centre's shareholders would have owned 70% and Pacific Equity 30%. The bid valued the current listed entity at around AU$17 a share. The proceeds would have been used to pay cash to existing investors who did not want to continue holding shares in Flight Centre. SMH says that Flight Centre's move stunned Pacific Equity, which was left perplexed by the timing and the decision by their partners not to engage in talks to keep the offer alive. Flight Centre said in a statement that the Pacific Equity deal was "neither fair nor reasonable," citing the report by Ernst & Young. The accounting firm, IHT recounts, estimated Flight Centre's value at between AU$2 billion dollars and AU$2.1 billion dollars. According to SMH, Pacific Equity and its advisers only found out that Mr. Turner and his fellow founders, who control 57% of Flight Centre, intended to vote down the deal around 20 minutes before the company alerted the stockmarket on Tuesday morning. Egoli News relates that Flight Centre Chairman Bruce Brown said that while the creation of a leveraged joint venture had the potential to deliver significant benefits to the company and its shareholders, it was also a highly complex and costly transaction, and the value proposition had become considerably less attractive for shareholders as a clearer picture of the costs of the transaction emerged. The company explained that costs and tax considerations in particular, were now clearly a major concern and if the transaction had proceeded would, apart from seeing the costs rise to an unacceptable level, prevent the company from returning a sufficient proportion of the cash proceeds to meet the requirements of shareholders, Egoli notes. Meanwhile, IHT points out, Flight Centre said that its board will now examine other options for returning cash to shareholders. Headquartered at Brisbane, in Queensland, Australia, Flight Centre Ltd. -- http://www.flightcentre.com/-- is an Australian owned and New Zealand-run independent retail travel group, guaranteeing the lowest prices on all airfares. It had a turnover in excess of $3 billion worldwide and 18 years of consecutive profits until its shares plunged more than 8% following the announcement of its first ever annual profit decline. The company, which in the past has reported spectacular results, hit the wall in 2004-05 with two profit downgrades. Flight Centre announced 2004-05 profit of AU$67.91 million, down 17% from the previous period. Embattled Flight Centre then launched a restructuring drive aimed at saving costs and began working towards a turnaround in 2005/06 by focusing on ongoing development of its four main networks. It has implemented changes to its customer relations programs, following a comprehensive review of its other company initiatives. FLIGHT CENTER: Expands FCm Travel Solutions to Middle East ---------------------------------------------------------- Flight Centre Limited has extended its network of corporate travel and expense management providers by establishing an FCm Travel Solutions office in Dubai. FCm Travel Solutions, which was established by Flight Centre in 2004, now operates in over 50 countries. Flight Centre is also planning to expand the business to three more major regions including the Asia-Pacific, the UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa region as well as the Americas. "Our presence in Dubai means we are now better placed to meet the corporate travel needs of local businesses and also the needs of international clients with commercial interests in this important commercial hub," said Anthony Grigson, FCm Travel Solutions' global executive general manager. "Working with our existing network partner in the Middle East, our Dubai office will have the capability to manage client needs across all key areas of this region." Headquartered at Brisbane, in Queensland, Australia, Flight Centre Ltd. -- http://www.flightcentre.com/-- is an Australian owned and New Zealand-run independent retail travel group, guaranteeing the lowest prices on all airfares. It had a turnover in excess of $3 billion worldwide and 18 years of consecutive profits until its shares plunged more than 8% following the announcement of its first ever annual profit decline. The company, which in the past has reported spectacular results, hit the wall in 2004-05 with two profit downgrades. Flight Centre announced 2004-05 profit of AU$67.91 million, down 17% from the previous period. Embattled Flight Centre then launched a restructuring drive aimed at saving costs and began working towards a turnaround in 2005/06 by focusing on ongoing development of its four main networks. It has implemented changes to its customer relations programs, following a comprehensive review of its other company initiatives. FOOT LOCKER: Kicks Off Plans to Support Business Operations ----------------------------------------------------------- Foot Locker Inc. has initiated several steps during the second quarter that are designed to strengthen its business operations. Among those actions are: -- Merchandise Inventory Reduced through Aggressive Clearance Strategy -- Additional U.S. Stores Identified for Potential Early Closure -- More Aggressive Store Opening Plans Being Developed for Foot Locker Europe -- Senior Division Management Changes The company updated its financial forecast for its second quarter 2007 primarily to reflect the impact of the merchandise inventory clearance activity. As a result of that and other actions, the company currently expects to report a loss in a range of US$0.17-to-US$0.20 per share. This range reflects increased markdowns in the company's U.S. stores of approximately US$55 million at cost, or approximately US$0.22 per share, versus the same period last year to liquidate slow- selling merchandise. The company's estimate for the second quarter that was provided at the beginning of the period was net income of US$0.15-to-US$0.20 per share. The company also updated its financial forecast for the second quarter to reflect that its comparable-store sales are expected to decrease 7-to-8 percent. "During the second quarter, we made the strategic decision to liquidate slower-selling merchandise in our U.S. stores more aggressively than we had planned at the beginning of the quarter, with an objective of improving our inventory position before the start of the fall season," stated Matthew D. Serra, Foot Locker, Inc.'s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "The financial impact of implementing this important strategy was the primary reason for the projected net loss for the second quarter of 2007. We expect our international units will produce a double-digit division profit increase versus last year's comparable period." The company's financial position continued to strengthen during the second quarter, as its cash position, net of debt, is expected to increase by approximately US$50 million from the same time last year. Merchandise inventory at the end of the second quarter is expected to be lower than at the same period last year. During the first six months of the year, the company repurchased 2.3 million shares of its common stock for US$50 million under a three-year US$300 million share repurchase program. Additional shares may be purchased this year based on market conditions and other factors. Through an extensive review of its store base, the company identified a number of unproductive domestic stores that it is pursuing to close over the next several months. Depending on the success in negotiating settlements with its landlords, a total of up to 250 stores will be closed in 2007. This is approximately twice the number of stores that the company had originally planned to close in 2007 and, as a result of this action, it is expected that the profitability of the company's U.S. store base will be enhanced, beginning in 2008. At the same time, the company is in the process of developing plans to open additional Foot Locker stores more aggressively in the European and surrounding markets. During 2008, the company currently expects to open up to 30 new stores in this region that will be managed by the Foot Locker Europe management team. Three key management changes were also announced, effective Aug. 6, 2007. Keith Daly, currently President and CEO of Foot Locker Europe since 2005, was promoted to President and CEO of Foot Locker U.S. with responsibility for the company's Foot Locker, Footaction and Kids Foot Locker stores in the U.S. Mr. Daly will be replaced by Dick Johnson, who has been President and CEO of Footlocker.com since 2003. An executive search is currently being conducted to identify a suitable candidate to replace Mr. Johnson. Dowe Tillema was promoted to Executive Vice President of Footlocker.com and will continue in his role as Chief Financial Officer of this division. The company also confirmed that it had retained Lehman Brothers as an advisor to work with the company to evaluate strategic alternatives, including inquiries received from private equity firms. Headquartered in New York City, Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE: FL) -- http://www.footlocker-inc.com/-- retails athletic footwear and apparel. The company operates approximately 3,900 athletic retail stores in 17 countries in North America, The Netherlands and Australia under the brand names Foot Locker, Footaction, Lady Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, and Champs Sports. The company also has about 350 Footaction stores in the US and Puerto Rico, which sell footwear and apparel to young urbanites. * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on June 21, 2007, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said its ratings, including the 'BB+' corporate credit rating, on New York City-based specialty footwear retailer Foot Locker Inc. remain on CreditWatch with negative implications. This rating action follows the announcement that Genesco (BB-/Watch Developing/--) accepted an offer from The Finish Line Inc. for US$1.53 billion (US$54.50 per share) on June 18, 2007. Foot Locker made two bids for Genesco earlier this year, but they were subsequently rejected after Genesco's board concluded the proposals were not in the best interest of its shareholders. FOOT LOCKER: Taps Lehman to Explore Strategic Options, WSJ Says --------------------------------------------------------------- Foot Locker Inc. has retained Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. to advise it in strategic alternatives, including inquiries from private-equity firms, The Wall Street Journal said on its Web site yesterday. The company, WSJ says, plans to reduce its U.S. inventory, close more U.S. stores than expected and increase its presence in Europe. "Having taken a closer look, we realize it's something we should do now to enhance our business," a company spokesman was cited by WSJ as saying. Failed Genesco Bid In June 2007, in light of Genesco Inc.'s rejection of its acquisition proposal, Foot Locker disclosed that it was no longer pursuing its proposal. The company confirmed that it had made a proposal to Genesco to acquire all of the outstanding common stock of Genesco for $51 per share. In consultation with its financial advisor, Goldman Sachs & Co., the Board of Directors of Genesco considered the proposal and, following a thorough review, unanimously rejected the proposal having concluded that it was not in the best interests of Genesco's shareholders. The Board of Directors of Genesco invited Foot Locker to participate in the company's process on the same terms as other interested parties to date, but Foot Locker has declined to do so. S&P Takes Action The failed Genesco Bid prompted Standard & Poor's Ratings Services to retain its negative creditwatch on Foot Locker's ratings including the company's 'BB+' corporate credit rating. "The CreditWatch listing continues to reflect Standard & Poor's concern that the range of matters for which Evercore Partners was hired in 2006 could include shareholder-friendly initiatives that could potentially weaken protection measures for bondholders if there are changes in the company's financial policy," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst David Kuntz. About Genesco Inc. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, Genesco Inc. (NYSE:GCO) -- http://www.genesco.com/-- retails branded footwear, licensed and branded headwear, and wholesaler of branded footwear. As of June 9, 2006, it operated a total of 1,773 stores: 1,755 stores throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, and 18 stores in Canada. About Foot Locker Headquartered in New York City, Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE: FL) -- http://www.footlocker-inc.com/-- retails athletic footwear and apparel. The company operates approximately 3,900 athletic retail stores in 17 countries in North America, The Netherlands and Australia under the brand names Foot Locker, Footaction, Lady Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, and Champs Sports. GAINSBOROUGH STUD: Members' General Meeting Slated for August 18 ---------------------------------------------------------------- A general meeting will be held for the members of Gainsborough Stud (Australia) Pty Ltd on August 18, 2007, at 10:30 a.m. The members will receive, at the meeting, a report about the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The company's liquidator is: R. W. Whitton c/o Lawler Partners Charter Accountants Level 7, 1 Margaret Street Sydney, New South Wales 2000 Australia Telephone:(02) 8346 6000 About Gainsborough Stud Gainsborough Stud (Australia) Pty Limited operates mining metal ores. The company is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. MARCUS FLIMBY: Commences Liquidation Proceedings ------------------------------------------------ On July 3, 2007, the members and creditors of Marcus Flimby Pty Limited had a meeting and agreed to voluntarily liquidate the company's business. The company's liquidator is: Danny Vrkic c/o Jirsch Sutherland & Co PO Box 573, Wollongong, New South Wales 2500 Australia About Marcus Flimby Marcus Flimby Pty Limited, which is also trading as Thomas Building & Landscaping, is a manufacturer of farm and garden machineries. The company is located in Hazelbrook, New South Wales, Australia. MERLOT CONSTRUCTIONS: To Declare Dividend on August 10 ------------------------------------------------------ Merlot Constructions Pty Limited, which is in voluntary liquidation, will declare dividend on August 10, 2007. Creditors who cannot file their claims by August 9, 2007, will be excluded from sharing in the company's dividend distribution. The company's liquidator is: P. Ngan c/o Ngan & Co Chartered Accountants Level 5, 49 Market Street Sydney, New South Wales 2000 Australia About Merlot Constructions Merlot Constructions Pty Limited is a general contractor of nonresidential buildings. The company is located in Baulkham Hills, New South Wales, Australia. ONEIDA LTD: S&P Holds 'B' Corporate Credit Rating ------------------------------------------------- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'B' corporate credit rating on Oneida, New York-based Oneida, Ltd. At the same time, Standard & Poor's withdrew the 'B+' and '2' recovery ratings on Oneida's proposed senior secured bank loan due 2014. "This action follows the company's announcement that the deal had been terminated due to market conditions," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Bea Chiem. The outlook is negative. The ratings reflect Oneida's high leverage, aggressive financial policy, weak operating history, and vulnerability to changes in consumer preference and potential declines in the foodservice and/or leisure industries. Leverage following the canceled refinancing and proposed leveraged dividend remains high in the 4x area. S&P expect the company to continue to pursue a more aggressive financial policy over the near to intermediate term and remain concerned with the company's ability to improve operating margins and cash flow. Headquartered in Oneida, New York, Oneida, Ltd. is a leading marketer and distributor of tableware products, including metalware, dinnerware, glassware and other tabletop accessories. The company's key operations are in North America, U.K., Mexico, Australia, and revenue is estimated to be about US$350 million. SEA SKIFFS: Sets Members' Final Meeting for August 27 ----------------------------------------------------- A final meeting will be held for the members of Sea Skiffs Pty Ltd on August 27, 2007, at 10:00 a.m., in PKF, Suite 301, Level 3, 304-318 Kingsway in Caringbah, New South Wales, Australia. Dennis Furey, the company's liquidator, will give at the meeting a report about the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. About Sea Skiffs Sea Skiffs Pty Ltd is involved with manufacturing industries. The company is located in New South Wales, Australia. STG PACIFIC: To Declare Interim Dividend on August 24 ----------------------------------------------------- STG Pacific Pty Ltd, which is in liquidation, will declare an interim dividend on August 24, 2007. Creditors who can file their claims by August 8, 2007, will be included from sharing in the company's dividend distribution. The company's liquidator is: C. Wykes Lawler Partners Level 7, 1 Margaret Street Sydney, New South Wales 2000 Australia Telephone:(02) 8346 6000 About STG Pacific STG Pacific Pty Ltd is a distributor of durable goods. The company is located in Rhodes, New South Wales, Australia. SYDNEY ROAD: Members and Creditors to Meet on August 17 ------------------------------------------------------- The members and creditors of Sydney Road Services Pty Limited will meet on August 17, 2007, at 10:00 a.m., to hear the liquidator's report about the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The company's liquidator is: P. Ngan Ngan & Co Level 5, 49 Market Street Sydney, New South Wales 2000 Australia About Sydney Road Sydney Road Services Pty Limited provides business services. The company is located in Seven Hills, New South Wales, Australia. TIMESAVERS-MINUTES: Placed Under Voluntary Liquidation ------------------------------------------------------ On June 29, 2007, the members of Timesavers-Minutes Matter Pty Ltd met and resolved to voluntarily liquidate the company's business. Nicholas Crouch of Crouch Insolvency was appointed as liquidator. The Liquidator can be reached at: Nicholas Crouch c/o Crouch Insolvency, Chartered Accountants Level 28, 31 Market Street Sydney, New South Wales 2000 Australia About Timesavers-Minutes Timesavers-Minutes Matter Pty Ltd, which is also trading as Suncoast Brodie Lighthouse, operates miscellaneous homefurnishings stores. The company is located in Buderim, Queensland, Australia. YOUNG DISTRICT: To Declare Priority Dividend on Aug. 24 ------------------------------------------------------- Young District Producers' Co-Operative Society Limited, which is subject to a deed of company arrangement, will declare dividend for priority creditors on August 24, 2007. The company is accepting proofs of debt from its creditors until August 8, 2007. The company's deed administrator is: S. J. Parbery C. C. Hill MLC Centre, Level 46 19 Martin Place, Sydney, New South Wales 2000 Australia About Young District Young District Producers' Co-Operative Society Ltd is a distributor of dried and dehydrated fruits, vegetables and soup mixes. The company is located in Young, New South Wales, Australia. ================================ C H I N A & H O N G K O N G ================================ AMERON (HONG KONG): Undergoes Voluntary Liquidation --------------------------------------------------- On July 19, 2007, a special resolution was passed to voluntarily wind up the company's operations. Rainier Hok Chung Lam and John James Toohey were appointed as liquidators. The Liquidators can be reached at: Rainier Hok Chung Lam John James Toohey Prince's Building, 22nd Floor Central Hong Kong ANDREW CORP: Posts US$96 Million Net Loss in 2007 Third Quarter --------------------------------------------------------------- Andrew Corporation reported total sales of US$546 million for the third quarter fiscal 2007, compared to US$551 million in the prior year third quarter. Wireless Infrastructure sales were US$523 million, compared to US$524 million in the prior year third quarter, due to ongoing challenges in the North American market, which were partially offset by strong growth in emerging markets. On a GAAP basis, the company reported a net loss of US$96 million, or US$0.61 per share for the third quarter, including US$0.72 per share of significant items, compared to net income of US$7 million, or US$0.04 per share, including US$0.05 per share of significant items in the prior year third quarter. Excluding significant items, non-GAAP earnings were US$0.11 per share for the third quarter, compared to US$0.09 per share for the prior year third quarter. "Andrew continued to benefit from record sales growth in several emerging markets such as India, however, demand in the North American market remained sluggish during our third quarter due to ongoing weaker spending from a key operator and an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) customer in this region," said Ralph Faison, president and chief executive officer, Andrew Corporation. "Consistent with our comments throughout fiscal 2007, we have seen a reduction in sales from these two key customers, and year-to-date, sales to these customers decreased by approximately US$200 million year over year. However, we are confident that we have maintained our market position with these customers and anticipate that they will increase their level of spending in future periods. Overall, we are pleased with the sequential improvement in sales in the quarter, and our book-to- bill as we entered our fourth quarter was positive." Due to the significant losses generated by the Base Station Subsystems segment in the first six months of fiscal 2007, the company had previously determined that an indicator of goodwill impairment existed as of March 31, 2007. Based on the completion of required "step-two" impairment testing, the company recognized a non-cash goodwill impairment loss of US$108 million during the quarter. The Base Station Subsystems segment had approximately US$412 million of goodwill as of March 31, 2007. "Our results in Base Station Subsystems have been significantly impacted by customer consolidation over the past several quarters," said Mr. Faison. "While we believe that our customer relationships and product technology in this segment will help deliver sustainable improvement in future quarters, due to the amount of recorded goodwill, recognizing an impairment loss was required upon completion of our analysis. We continue to strive to generate an adequate return from all of our product lines and anticipate that the pending transaction with CommScope will provide further opportunity to continue to rationalize our overall product portfolio." Third Quarter Financial Summary Wireless Infrastructure sales decreased slightly to US$523 million from US$524 million due to weaker sales of certain base station components, which was partially offset by strong demand for antenna and cable products, the implementation of price increases on cable products and a favorable foreign exchange impact. Total orders of US$568 million decreased 6% from the prior year third quarter due mainly to a reduction in orders for active products, which was partially offset by an increase in orders for antenna and cable products. Orders were down in North America, partially offset by strong orders in Asia Pacific and Latin America. Ending backlog was US$312 million compared to US$367 million in the prior year third quarter. The company completed its transition from the Orland Park facility to its new Joliet, Illinois cable facility during the quarter. Approximately US$5 million of relocation and start-up costs were incurred during the quarter, which reduced gross margin by approximately 90 basis points. The total Joliet relocation and start-up costs in the second and third quarters were below the company's previous forecast by approximately US$3 million due to lower unabsorbed overhead than was originally expected. Gross margin was 20.7% in the third quarter. Excluding these costs, non-GAAP gross margin was 21.6%, compared to 22.1% in the prior year third quarter, primarily as a result of a less favorable product line and geographic sales mix significantly impacted by a year-to-date reduction of approximately US$200 million in revenues from two key North American customers. Operating loss for the quarter was US$85.7 million, or (15.7)% of sales, compared to operating income of US$18.0 million, or 3.3% of sales in the prior year third quarter. Excluding significant items, non-GAAP operating income for the quarter was US$28.0 million, or 5.1% of sales, compared to US$27.6 million, or 5.0% of sales, in the prior year third quarter. Research and development expenses were US$29.0 million, or 5.3% of sales, in the third quarter, compared to US$28.4 million, or 5.2% of sales, in the prior year third quarter. Sales and administrative expenses decreased to US$60.9 million, or 11.1% of sales, in the third quarter, compared to US$65.6 million, or 11.9% of sales, in the prior year third quarter. Sales and administrative expenses decreased in absolute dollars and as a percentage of sales due mainly to the company's sale of its broadband cable business in April 2007, lower provisions for bad debts and reduced incentive compensation. Intangible amortization decreased to US$4.6 million in the third quarter, compared to US$4.7 million in the prior year third quarter and other expenses decreased to US$3.2 million in the third quarter, compared to US$3.8 million in the prior year third quarter. Gain on sale of assets increased to US$6.0 million, compared to US$0.3 million in the prior year third quarter due primarily to a real estate transaction and a gain on the company's sale of its broadband cable business to Andes Industries in April 2007. The reported tax provision for the third quarter was US$6.8 million. The tax provision for the third quarter was unfavorably impacted by losses in the U.S. and Italy for which the company cannot record current tax benefits. Although the company continues to experience losses in the U.S. and Italy, there was a more favorable mix of earnings and losses by taxing jurisdiction during the third quarter compared to the first half of fiscal 2007. The reported tax provision for the prior year third quarter was US$7.3 million. Average shares outstanding decreased to approximately 156 million from approximately 160 million in the prior year third quarter primarily due to shares that have been repurchased by the company. The company has repurchased 4.4 million shares over the last twelve months. Goodwill Impairment As a result of the significant losses generated by Base Station Subsystems in the first six months of fiscal 2007, the company determined that a potential indicator of impairment had occurred and an interim test for impairment was required. The company performed "step one" of the goodwill impairment test, in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards 142, on this reporting unit as of March 31, 2007. Based on that test, the company determined that the fair value of the reporting unit was less than the carrying value of its net assets. The company has completed "step two" of the impairment test and has recognized a non-cash impairment loss of US$108 million in the third quarter to write down the carrying value of goodwill. Balance Sheet & Cash Flow Highlights Cash flow from operations was US$12.2 million in the third quarter, compared to US$24.5 million in the prior year third quarter. Accounts receivable were US$552 million and days' sales outstanding (DSOs) were 89 days at June 30, 2007, compared to US$512 million and 90 days at March 31, 2007. Inventories were US$389 million and inventory turns were 4.5x at June 30, 2007, compared to US$398 million and 4.0x at March 31, 2007. Inventories decreased and inventory turns improved compared to the prior quarter due partially to increased sales and the completed relocation of the company's Orland Park, Illinois facility to Joliet, Illinois. Capital expenditures decreased to US$14.4 million in the third quarter compared to US$17.7 million in the prior year third quarter primarily due to the completion of two significant cable and antenna facility moves during fiscal 2007. Cash and cash equivalents were US$119 million at June 30, 2007, compared to US$127 million at March 31, 2007. Cash and cash equivalents decreased from the prior quarter due mainly to the reduction of approximately US$16 million in outstanding debt. Total debt outstanding and debt to capital were US$351 million and 19.6% at June 30, 2007, compared to US$366 million and 19.5% at March 31, 2007. Fiscal 2007 Sales Outlook Due to the pending acquisition of Andrew by CommScope, Inc. (NYSE:CTV), which was announced on June 27, 2007, the company is providing the following sales guidance, but will not be providing any other guidance. Accordingly, previous estimates of future financial or operational performance should be considered obsolete. Sales are now anticipated to range from US$2.15 billion to US$2.20 billion for fiscal 2007, compared to the previous guidance of US$2.20 billion to US$2.30 billion. The revised sales guidance is primarily due to anticipated continuation of reduced spending by two key customers, compared to previous expectations, in the fourth quarter. About Andrew Corp. Headquartered in Westchester, Illinois, Andrew Corporation (NASDAQ: ANDW) -- http://www.andrew.com/-- designs, manufactures and delivers and essential equipment and solutions for the global communications infrastructure market. The company serves operators and original equipment manufacturers from facilities in 35 countries including China, India, Italy, Czech Republic, Argentina, Bahamas, Belize, Barbados, Bermuda and Brazil. * * * The Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific reported that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services revised its CreditWatch implications on Andrew Corp. to positive from negative. The 'BB' corporate credit and 'B+' subordinated debt ratings were placed on CreditWatch with negative implications on Aug. 10, 2006. ASAT HOLDINGS: Receives Nasdaq Compliance Letter ------------------------------------------------ ASAT Holdings Limited, a global provider of semiconductor package design, assembly and test services, received on July 30, 2007, a letter from the Nasdaq Staff stating that for the prior 30 consecutive business days, the bid price of the company's American Depositary Shares had closed below the minimum US$1.00 per ADS requirement for continued inclusion on the Nasdaq Capital Market as set forth in Nasdaq Marketplace Rule 4310(c)(4). Therefore, in accordance with Marketplace Rule 4310(c)(8)(D), the Company is being provided with 180 calendar days, until January 28, 2008, to regain compliance with the Rule. If at any time before January 28, 2008, the bid price of the Company's ADSs closes at US$1.00 per ADS or more for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days, the Nasdaq Staff will provide written notification that the Company complies with the Rule. If compliance with the Rule cannot be demonstrated by January 28, 2008, the Nasdaq Staff will determine whether the Company meets the initial listing criteria for the Nasdaq Capital Market, other than the bid price requirement. If the Company meets the initial listing criteria, the Nasdaq Staff will notify the Company that it has been granted an additional 180 calendar day period to regain compliance with the Rule. If the Company is not eligible for an additional compliance period, the Nasdaq Staff will provide written notification that the Company's ADSs will be delisted, and, at that time, the Company may appeal the Nasdaq Staff's determination to delist to a Listing Qualifications Panel. ASAT Holdings Limited (Nasdaq: ASTT) -- http://www.asat.com/-- is a global provider of semiconductor package design, assembly and test services. With more than 17 years of experience, the Company offers a definitive selection of semiconductor packages and world-class manufacturing lines. ASAT's advanced package portfolio includes standard and high thermal performance ball grid arrays, leadless plastic chip carriers, thin array plastic packages, system-in-package and flip chip. ASAT was the first company to develop moisture sensitive level one capability on standard leaded products. The Company has operations in the United States, Asia and Europe. Its Asian presence is in Hong Kong and China. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Dec. 15, 2006, lowered its long-term corporate credit rating on ASAT Holdings Ltd. to 'CCC' from 'B-', reflecting heightened liquidity concerns and persistent operating losses. BALL CORP: Earns US$105.9 Million in Second Quarter 2007 -------------------------------------------------------- Ball Corporation reported second quarter earnings of US$105.9 million on sales of US$2.03 billion, compared to US$129.8 million in 2006 when second quarter results included a US$45.2 million after-tax gain for property insurance recovery from a fire in a manufacturing facility in Germany. For the first six months of 2007, Ball's earnings were US$187.1 million on sales of US$3.73 billion. First half 2006 results, which included the property insurance gain, were earnings of US$174.2 million on sales of US$3.21 billion. During the fourth quarter of 2006, Ball changed its method of inventory accounting for certain inventories from the last-in, first-out method to the first-in, first-out method. Results for 2006 have been adjusted to reflect the accounting change. "Operating earnings for both the second quarter and the first half were up compared to a year ago," said R. David Hoover, chairman, president and chief executive officer. "Operating earnings in all business segments except plastic packaging, Americas, were ahead of last year through the first six months." Operation Highlights Earnings for the quarter in the metal beverage packaging, Americas, segment were US$82.6 million on sales of US$816.7 million. The metal food and household products packaging, Americas, segment second quarter results were earnings of US$11.1 million on sales of US$284 million, compared to US$4.8 million on sales of US$295.2 million in 2006. Earnings in the plastic packaging, Americas, segment for the second quarter of 2007 were US$7.1 million on sales of US$198.7 million, compared to US$8.8 million on sales of US$197.5 million in 2006. Earnings in the aerospace and technologies segment were US$15.6 million on sales of US$194.1 million during the second quarter of 2007, compared to US$8.3 million on sales of US$175.4 million in the same period a year ago. Outlook Raymond J. Seabrook, executive vice president and chief financial officer, said it now appears the company's planned fourth quarter payment into its North American pension funds will be smaller than earlier anticipated. "Because of good pension asset performance, we believe the amount needed to fund the North American pension plans to the 95% level will be in the range of US$45 million, or US$27 million after-tax, rather than the US$70 million we initially estimated," Mr. Seabrook said. "We have been focused on free cash flow, as can be seen from our results through the first half, and we now expect adjusted full- year free cash flow to be at least US$400 million," Mr. Seabrook said. "The higher free cash flow estimate includes a forecast of US$300 million for capital spending, net of insurance recoveries. The increase in the capital spending estimate is related in part to 2008 capacity additions for Europe, where we are essentially sold out this year and next." "The first six months of 2007 were the best half-year in Ball Corporation's 127-year history in terms of sales and earnings," Hoover said. "In recent years our second half performance typically has been better than our first half, but this year we do not expect that will be the case, though our overall outlook remains positive. "We will continue business integration activities to improve our metal food and household products packaging segment. We expect both the metal food and household products packaging and the plastic packaging segments to be much better in the second half," Hoover said. "We have several beverage can growth opportunities internationally. Our aerospace and technologies segment has had a stellar first half of 2007, and the long-term outlook for that segment is positive. "We are working hard on the opportunities and challenges in 2007, and when the year is over, we believe that it will be viewed as another excellent year for Ball Corporation," Mr. Hoover said. About Ball Corp. Headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL) -- http://www.ball.com/-- is a supplier of high quality metal and plastic packaging products and owns Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., which develops sensors, spacecraft, systems and components for government and commercial customers. The company employs 15,500 people worldwide. The company employs 15,500 people worldwide including Argentina, Hong Kong, China, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. * * * As of July 30, 2007, the company holds Moody's Ba1 long-term corporate family rating, bank loan debt, senior unsecured debt, and probability of default rating. The outlook is stable. Standard & Poor's rates the company's long-term foreign and local issuer credits at BB+ with a stable outlook. Fitch also rates the company's bank loan debt at BB+ and long- term issuer default rating and senior unsecured debt at BB. The outlook is stable. BALLY TOTAL: Files Voluntary Chapter 11 Petitions ------------------------------------------------- Bally Total Fitness Holding Corporation and 42 of its affiliates has filed for voluntary Chapter 11 petitions on July 31, 2007, to restructure their operations, improve operating results and profitability, and restructure their balance sheet to reduce indebtedness and cash interest expenses. At the same time, Bally filed a joint prepackaged plan of reorganization and accompanying disclosure statement. The Plan of Reorganization, if consummated, will achieve a consensual de-leveraging of Bally's balance sheet and permit the Company to become a private company upon emergence from bankruptcy. The Plan includes, among other things, these key terms: * Bally will obtain a new US$292,000,000 senior secured credit facility. * Each holder of Prepetition Senior Notes would receive their pro rata share of new senior notes in the principal amount of US$247,337,500 with an interest rate of 12-3/8%. On the effective date of the Plan, holders of the Senior Notes would receive a fee equal to 2% of the face value of their notes. The Prepetition Senior Notes Indenture would be amended to, among other things, relax certain covenants and provide the Prepetition Senior Noteholders with a "silent" second lien on substantially all of the Company's assets. * Holders of Prepetition Senior Subordinated Notes would receive, in exchange for their claims: (i) New Subordinated Notes representing approximately 24.8% of their claims, (ii) New Junior Subordinated Notes representing approximately 21.7% of their claims, and (iii) shares of stock representing, in the aggregate, 100% of the equity in reorganized Bally, subject to reduction for common stock to be issued to holders of certain other allowed claims. The New Subordinated Notes and New Junior Subordinated Notes would mature five years and nine months after the effective date of the Plan and would bear interest payable annually at 13 5/8% per annum if paid in kind or 12% per annum if paid in cash, at the option of the Company, subject to a toggle covenant based on specified cash EBITDA and minimum liquidity thresholds. * Holders of Senior Subordinated Notes would receive non- detachable rights to participate in a rights offering of Rights Offering Senior Subordinated Notes in the principal amount equal to roughly 27.9% of their claims, or US$90,000,000 in the aggregate. The Rights Offering Senior Subordinated Notes would rank senior to the New Subordinated Notes and New Junior Subordinated Notes but otherwise have the same terms. Holders of certain other claims against Bally will be given the opportunity to participate in the rights offering, which, if exercised, would generate incremental proceeds beyond the US$90,000,000 to be funded by electing Senior Subordinated Noteholders. * On June 27, 2007, Bally entered into a Subscription and Backstop Purchase Agreement with certain holders of its Senior Subordinated Notes, who have agreed to subscribe for their pro rata share of Rights Offering Senior Subordinated Notes and to purchase any Rights Offering Senior Subordinated Notes not subscribed for. Bally will pay a fee to each backstop provider equal to 4% of its backstop commitment, subject to a rebate of approximately 80% of that amount if the Plan is consummated. * Bally expects to continue normal club operations during the restructuring process. The Plan contemplates the payment in full of claims held by trade creditors in accordance with existing business terms. * All existing equity would be canceled for no consideration. Full-text copies of Bally's Plan and Plan-related Documents are available for free at http://bankrupt.com/bally Alternative Harbinger Proposal On July 4, 2007, Harbinger Capital Partners Master Fund I, Ltd., Harbinger Capital Partners Special Situations Fund, L.P., Liberation Investments, L.P. and Liberation Investments, Ltd. presented Bally with an alternative Chapter 11 restructuring term sheet. The parties engaged in extensive discussions, but ultimately were unable to agree on terms for the Harbinger Capital Documents. In Bally's opinion, the final proposal made by Harbinger Capital contained material conditions precedent to closing as compared to those contained in the existing Plan and related Plan documents, including a financing contingency, an expanded scope of representations, warranties and operating covenants and a broader "material adverse change" condition, as well as a requirement that the Backstop Parties agree to support the Harbinger Capital proposal. Bally Total Fitness reported US$408,546,205 in total assets and US$1,825,941,546 in total liabilities, on a consolidated basis, as of June 30, 2007, according to papers filed in Bankruptcy Court. About Bally Total Fitness Based in Chicago, Illinois, Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp. (NYSE: BFT)(OTC BB: BFTH) -- http://www.ballyfitness.com/-- is a commercial operator of fitness centers in the U.S., with over 375 facilities located in 26 states, Mexico, Canada, Korea, China, the United Kingdom, and the Caribbean under the Bally Total Fitness(R), Bally Sports Clubs(R) and Sports Clubs of Canada (R) brands. Bally offers a unique platform for distribution of a wide range of products and services targeted to active, fitness-conscious adult consumers. BALLY TOTAL: Chapter 11 Database -------------------------------- Bally Total Fitness' Chapter 11 Database Debtor entities filing separate chapter 11 petitions: Entity Case No. ------ -------- Bally Total Fitness of Greater New York, Inc. 07-12395 Bally Total Fitness Holding Corporation 07-12396 Bally Total Fitness of Connecticut Coast, Inc. 07-12397 BTF Cincinnati Corporation 07-12398 BTF Europe Corporation 07-12399 Bally Total Fitness of Connecticut Valley, Inc. 07-12400 BTF Indianapolis Corporation 07-12401 BTF Minneapolis Corporation 07-12402 Bally Total Fitness of Colorado, Inc. 07-12403 BTF/CFI, Inc. 07-12404 Bally Total Fitness of California, Inc. 07-12405 BTFCC, Inc. 07-12406 BTFF Corporation 07-12407 Bally Total Fitness International, Inc. 07-12408 Greater Philly No. 1 Holding Company 07-12409 Bally Total Fitness Franchising, Inc. 07-12410 Greater Philly No. 2 Holding Company 07-12411 Health & Tennis Corporation of New York 07-12412 Bally Total Fitness Corporation 07-12413 Bally Sports Clubs, Inc. 07-12414 Holiday Health Clubs of the East Coast, Inc. 07-12415 Bally ARA Corporation 07-12416 Holiday/Southeast Holding Corp. 07-12417 Bally Fitness Franchising, Inc. 07-12418 Bally Franchise RSC, Inc. 07-12419 Jack LaLanne Holding Corp. 07-12420 Bally Franchising Holdings, Inc. 07-12421 New Fitness Holding Co., Inc. 07-12422 Nycon Holding Co., Inc. 07-12423 Bally Real Estate I LLC 07-12424 Rhode Island Holding Company 07-12425 Bally REFS West Hartford, LLC 07-12426 Tidelands Holiday Health Clubs, Inc. 07-12427 U.S. Health, Inc. 07-12428 Bally Total Fitness of the Southeast, Inc. 07-12429 Bally Total Fitness of the Midwest, Inc. 07-12430 Bally Total Fitness of Toledo, Inc. 07-12431 Bally Total Fitness of Minnesota, Inc. 07-12432 Bally Total Fitness of Rhode Island, Inc. 07-12433 Bally Total Fitness of Upstate New York, Inc. 07-12434 Bally Total Fitness of Philadelphia, Inc. 07-12435 Bally Total Fitness of the Mid-Atlantic, Inc. 07-12436 Bally Total Fitness of Missouri, Inc. 07-12437 Chapter 11 Petition Date: July 31, 2007 Bankruptcy Court: United States Bankruptcy Court Southern District of New York One Bowling Green New York, New York 10004 Tel: (212) 688-2870 Bankruptcy Judge: To be assigned Debtors' Lead Bankruptcy Counsel: David S. Heller, Esq. Richard A. Levy, Esq. Keith A. Simon, Esq. Latham & Watkins LLP 5800 Sears Tower 233 S Wacker Dr. Chicago, Illinois 60606 Tel: (312) 876-7700 Fax: (312) 993-9767 -- and -- Henry P. Baer, Jr., Esq. Joseph Furst, III, Esq. John W. Weiss, Esq. Latham & Watkins LLP 885 Third Avenue, Suite 1000 New York, New York 10022 Tel: (212) 906-1200 Fax: (212) 751-4864 Debtors' Special Counsel: Linda K. Myers, Esq. Kirkland & Ellis 200 East Randolph Drive Chicago, Illinois 60601 Debtors' Management Consultants: AlixPartners Debtors' Financial & Tax Advisors: Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP Debtors' Financial Advisors: Tatum, LLC Debtors' Investment Banker: Jefferies & Company Debtors' Notice, Claims and Balloting Agent: Kurtzman Carson Consultants LLC 1180 Avenue of the Americas Suite 1400 New York, New York 10036 Tel: (866) 381-9100 Fax: (310) 823-9133 Prepetition Agent's Counsel: Kenneth S. Ziman, Esq. Elisha D. Graff, Esq. J.T. Knight, Esq. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP 425 Lexington Avenue New York, New York 10017 Prepetition Noteholders Committee's Counsel: Daniel H. Golden, Esq. David H. Botter, Esq. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP 590 Madison Avenue New York, New York 10022 Prepetition Noteholders Committee's Financial Advisor: Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin Capital, Inc. U.S. Trustee: Diana G. Adams United States Trustee for Region 2 U.S. Department of Justice Office of the United States Trustee 33 Whitehall Street, 21st Floor New York, NY 10004-2111 Tel: (212) 510-0500 Fax: (212) 668-2255 About Bally Total Fitness Based in Chicago, Illinois, Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp. (NYSE: BFT)(OTC BB: BFTH) -- http://www.ballyfitness.com/-- is a commercial operator of fitness centers in the U.S., with over 375 facilities located in 26 states, Mexico, Canada, Korea, China, the United Kingdom, and the Caribbean under the Bally Total Fitness(R), Bally Sports Clubs(R) and Sports Clubs of Canada (R) brands. Bally offers a unique platform for distribution of a wide range of products and services targeted to active, fitness-conscious adult consumers. BALLY TOTAL: 50 Largest Unsecured Creditors ------------------------------------------- Entity Nature of Claim Claim Amount ------ --------------- ------------ HSBC Bank USA, N.A. 9 7/8% Series B&D US$321,618,229 Corporate Trust and Senior Subordinated Loan Agency Notes Indenture Trustee Robert Conrad 452 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10018-2706 U.S. Bank N.A. 10 1/2% Senior US$246,309,375 Indenture Trustee Unsubordinated Patricia J. Kapsch Notes Assistant Vice President 60 Livingston Avenue St. Paul, MN 55107 Tel: (651) 495-3960 Harry Schwartz Professional Fees US$2,096,649 10859 Emerald Coast Parkway West, Unit #4-404 Destin, FL 32550 El Segundo Plaza, L.P. Trade Debt US$1,179,318 11101 Lakewood Boulevard Downey, CA 90241 Grupo Gallegos Trade Debt US$846,312 Julie Beall 401 East Ocean Boulevard 6th Floor Long Beach, CA 90802 Tel: (562) 256-3600 Vornado Forest Plaza, LLC Trade Debt US$705,833 c/o Skyline Mgt. Corp. 600 Old Country Rd, Suite 425 Garden City, NY 11530 750 Sunrise Associates Trade Debt US$640,556 c/o Allan Kozich 1220 Northeast 4th Avenue Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 The Morris Rochlin Trade Debt US$621,866 Trust UAD 3/3/94 613 Rue Du Lac West Bloomfield, MI 48323 Jenner & Block LLP Professional Fees US$618,377 Jody Lucey 330 North Wabash Avenue Chicago, IL 60611 Tel: (312) 222-9350 Rancon Realty Fund V Trade Debt US$600,087 Subsidiary LLC P.O. Box 6022 Hicksville, NY 11802-6022 David Mandelbaum Professional Fees US$500,000 80 Main Street West Orange, NJ 07052-5497 Cuyahoga County Trade Debt US$491,244 Real Estate Tax James Rokakis P.O. Box 94547 Cleveland, OH 44101-4547 California Personal Trade Debt US$421,984 Property Tax P.O. Box 54027 Los Angeles, CA 90054-0027 119 Sixty Street LLC Trade Debt US$393,005 3611 North Kedzie Avenue Chicago, IL 60618 TXU Energy Trade Debt US$380,429 P.O. Box 660161 Dallas, TX 75266-0161 S&T Investments - Trade Debt US$376,144 Clearwater Partnership c/o Boulder Venture 2226 State Road 580 Clearwater, FL 33763 Ozburn-Hessey Logistics Trade Debt US$367,707 Vivian Harris P.O. Box 692192 Cincinnati, OH 45269-2192 Tel: (615) 880-4865 AT&T Corporation Trade Debt US$363,525 Opus Billing Department P.O. Box 198401 Atlanta, GA 30384-8401 Tel: (800) 262-3589 H.E.C. Holding Company Trade Debt US$357,338 c/o Jay Stahler 50 Schrieffer P.O. Box 1526 South Hackensack, NJ 7606 Bluemound Office Company Trade Debt US$347,917 c/o Dennis Klein 16985 West Bluemound Road Brookfield, WI 53005 R.H. Construction and Trade Debt US$347,312 Dal-Tile 11720 Warfield San Antonio, TX 78216 Starcom Worldwide Inc. Trade Debt US$341,278 Division of Leo Burnett USA, Inc. 12076 Collections Center Chicago, IL 60693 State of Texas Trade Debt US$325,000 Department of Licensing and Regulation P.O. Box 12157 Austin, TX 78711 Tel: (512) 463-5522 Standard Funding Corp. Trade Debt US$310,386 P.O. Box 9011 Syosset, NY 11791 Tel: (516) 364-0200 Conedison Solutions Trade Debt US$309,347 Jaf Station P.O. Box 1702 New York, NY 10116-1702 Commonwealth Edison Trade Debt US$283,295 Bill Payment Center Chicago, IL 60668 Woolbright Coral Trade Debt US$281,271 Springs II, LLC c/o American Realty Investors 598 Riverside Drive Coral Springs, FL 33071 BMS Realty Company Trade Debt US$276,722 100 Cedar Avenue Hewlett Bay Park, NY 11557 California SUI Tax Trade Debt US$276,344 Employment Development P.O. Box 82604 Sacramento, CA 94230-6204 Bowne of Chicago Trade Debt US$248,100 P.O. Box 71857 Chicago, IL 60694-1857 Cook County Real Estate Tax Trade Debt US$238,719 Cook County Collector P.O. Box 641547 Chicago, IL 60664-1547 Michigan State Tax Trade Debt US$230,000 P.O. Box 79001 Detroit, MI 48279-1176 Florida Sales Tax Trade Debt US$219,497 5050 W. Tennessee St. Tallahassee, FL 32399-6586 Texas Sales Tax Trade Debt US$216,866 Texas Controller's Office 111 E 17th St. Austin, TX 78774-0100 Ernst & Young LLP Trade Debt US$209,100 Sears Tower, 233 South Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 Federal Taxes - Trade Debt US$204,374 Internal Revenue Service P.O. Box 15083 Atlanta, GA 30348-5083 Southern California Trade Debt US$203,442 Edison Co. P.O. Box 600 Rosemead, CA 91771 Orlando Partnership Trade Debt US$198,376 2226 State Road 580 Clearwater, FL 33763-1126 California Workmans Comp. Trade Debt US$189,387 Barlocker Insurance Co. 1330 S. Bascom Ave. San Jose, CA 95218 Qwest Trade Debt US$187,929 P.O. Box 91155 Seattle, WA 98111-9255 Ohio Workmans Compensation Trade Debt US$181,006 BWC State Insurance Fund Corp BWC State Insurance Fund Corp Processing Dept Columbus, OH 43271-0821 Sentry Insurance Trade Debt US$180,216 P .O. Box 88372 Milwaukee, WI 53288-0372 Washington Sales Tax Trade Debt US$179,308 WA Department of Revenue P.O. Box 34052 Seattle, WA 98124-1052 W.W. Grainger Inc. Trade Debt US$177,982 Rob Rooney Dept C-Pay-28F Palatine, IL 60038-0002 Tel: (404) 496-9994 Pacific Gas & Electric Co. Trade Debt US$157,317 P.O. Box 997300 Sacramento, CA 95899-7300 The Analysis Group Trade Debt US$157,025 111 Huntington Ave Boston, MA 02199 Verizon - Northwest Trade Debt US$153,965 P.O. Box 17577 Baltimore, MD 21297-0513 DTE Energy Trade Debt US$152,820 P.O. Box 2859 Detroit, MI 48260-0001 Randolph Investment, LLC Trade Debt US$151,084 P.O. Box 149 Clayton, OH 45315 FPL Trade Debt US$144,552 P.O. Box 997300 Sacramento, CA 95899-7300 About Bally Total Fitness Based in Chicago, Illinois, Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp. (NYSE: BFT)(OTC BB: BFTH) -- http://www.ballyfitness.com/-- is a commercial operator of fitness centers in the U.S., with over 375 facilities located in 26 states, Mexico, Canada, Korea, China, the United Kingdom, and the Caribbean under the Bally Total Fitness(R), Bally Sports Clubs(R) and Sports Clubs of Canada (R) brands. Bally offers a unique platform for distribution of a wide range of products and services targeted to active, fitness-conscious adult consumers. BALLY TOTAL: Files For Joint Administration of Cases ---------------------------------------------------- Pursuant to Rule 1015(b) of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, the Debtors ask the Court to authorize the joint administration of their Chapter 11 cases under Case No. 07-12395 assigned to Bally Total Fitness of Greater New York, Inc. Rule 1015(b) provides that if two or more petitions are pending in the same court by or against a debtor and its affiliate, the court may order a joint administration of the cases. Don R. Kornstein, interim chairman and chief restructuring officer of Bally Total Fitness Holding Corporation, says that by jointly administering the Chapter 11 Cases: * the Debtors will be able to reduce fees and costs resulting from the administration of their cases, and ease the onerous administrative burden of having to file multiple and duplicative documents; * the Court will be relieved of the burden of entering duplicative orders and maintaining duplicative files; and * supervision of the administrative aspects of the Chapter 11 cases by the Office of the United States Trustee will be simplified. Mr. Kornstein says the rights of the Debtors' creditors will not be adversely affected by the joint administration of the Chapter 11 cases because the Debtors request only administrative, not substantive, consolidation of the estates. Accordingly, all of the Debtors' creditors will benefit from the reduced costs as a result of the joint administration. The Debtors propose that all pleadings and papers filed in their cases will be captioned: UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK _______________________________________ In re: ) Chapter 11 ) BALLY TOTAL FITNESS OF GREATER NEW ) Case No. 07-12395 YORK, INC., et al. ) ) Debtors. ) Jointly Administered ) _______________________________________ The Debtors ask the Court to include docket entries in each of their Chapter 11 cases stating that the docket in Case No. 07- 12395 should be consulted for all matters affecting the their cases. Moreover, in the event that they are required to file reports, the Debtors seek the Court's authority to file monthly operating reports required by the Operating Guidelines and Financial Reporting Requirements promulgated by the U.S. Trustee, on a consolidated basis, if the Debtors determine, after consultation with the U.S. Trustee, that consolidated reports would (i) further result to administrative economy and efficiency without prejudice to any party-in-interest, and (ii) accurately reflect their consolidated business operations and financial affairs. About Bally Total Fitness Based in Chicago, Illinois, Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp. (NYSE: BFT)(OTC BB: BFTH) -- http://www.ballyfitness.com/-- is a commercial operator of fitness centers in the U.S., with over 375 facilities located in 26 states, Mexico, Canada, Korea, China, the United Kingdom, and the Caribbean under the Bally Total Fitness(R), Bally Sports Clubs(R) and Sports Clubs of Canada (R) brands. Bally offers a unique platform for distribution of a wide range of products and services targeted to active, fitness-conscious adult consumers. BALLY TOTAL: Files Motion For Authority to Use Cash Collateral -------------------------------------------------------------- Prior to the Petition Date, Bally Total Fitness Holding Corporation borrowed money under an Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated October 16, 2006, arranged by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent for the lending parties, and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., as syndication agent. As of the Petition Date, the principal amount of the Debtors' Prepetition Obligations was roughly US$284,000,000. Under a Guarantee and Collateral Agreement, dated November 18, 1997, as amended, the Debtors granted JPMorgan for the benefit of the Lenders, perfected, valid and enforceable first priority liens and security interests on substantially all of their assets to secure their obligations under the Prepetition Credit Agreement. According to Don R. Kornstein, Bally's interim chairman and chief restructuring officer, the company is too highly leveraged. As of May 31, 2007, the Debtors' total consolidated debt, excluding trade debt, was more than US$812,641,000: Amount Outstanding ------------------ Prepetition Credit Agreement US$284,000,000 10-1/2% Senior Notes Due 2011 US$235,000,000 9-7/8% Series B Senior Subordinated US$300,000,000 Notes and 9-7/8% Series D Senior Subordinated Notes due 2007 Various capital leases US$8,520,000 Other secured debt US$6,500,000 For the next 30 days following the Petition Date, the Debtors estimate cash receipts and disbursements, net cash gain or loss, and obligations and receivables expected to accrue but remain unpaid, other than professional fees, on a consolidated basis, to be: Estimated Amount ---------------- Cash Receipts US$67,551,000 Cash Disbursements US$62,873,000 Net Cash Gain (Loss) US$4,678,000 Unpaid Obligations US$57,538,00030 Unpaid Receivables Not Applicable The Debtors also expect to incur these expenses during the next 30 days: Estimated Amount ---------------- Payroll to Employees US$22,200,000 Payroll to Directors, Officers US$860,000 Stockholders and Partners Financial Consultants AlixPartners LLP US$375,000 Jefferies & Company US$205,000 Deloitte Financial Advisory US$500,000 Services LLP Deloitte Tax LLP US$250,000 Tatum, LLC US$27,300 Mr. Kornstein says the Debtors require access to their cash and the proceeds of existing accounts receivable to operate their businesses and preserve their value as going concerns. Without immediate access to cash collateral, the Debtors' business operations would grind to an almost immediate halt, which would seriously jeopardize, and may destroy, the going concern value of the Debtors' businesses, Mr. Kornstein explains. Immediate access to cash collateral will enable the Debtors to operate in the ordinary course on a postpetition basis, Mr. Kornstein adds. By this motion, the Debtors seek the Court's authority to use the Prepetition Lenders' Cash Collateral and to provide adequate protection to the Lenders in connection with the use of Cash Collateral. The Debtors also seek permission to use the Cash Collateral on an interim basis pending final approval of their request. Mr. Kornstein notes that the Debtors and JPMorgan have reached an agreement regarding the Debtors' use of Cash Collateral during the period from the date of entry of an interim order until the earliest to occur of: (a) September 14, 2007; (b) consummation of a refinancing with proceeds sufficient to repay the Prepetition Obligations, any unpaid adequate protection obligations and any other unpaid amounts owing under the Interim Order in full; or (c) upon written notice by JPMorgan to the Debtors after the occurrence and continuance of any Event of Default. About Bally Total Fitness Based in Chicago, Illinois, Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp. (NYSE: BFT)(OTC BB: BFTH) -- http://www.ballyfitness.com/-- is a commercial operator of fitness centers in the U.S., with over 375 facilities located in 26 states, Mexico, Canada, Korea, China, the United Kingdom, and the Caribbean under the Bally Total Fitness(R), Bally Sports Clubs(R) and Sports Clubs of Canada (R) brands. Bally offers a unique platform for distribution of a wide range of products and services targeted to active, fitness-conscious adult consumers. BALLY TOTAL: Files Motion For US$292MM Morgan Stanley DIP Loan -------------------------------------------------------------- Don R. Kornstein, interim chairman and chief restructuring officer of Bally Total Fitness Holding Corporation, relates that the Debtors' reorganization efforts hinge on obtaining access to postpetition and exit financing. The Debtors, Mr. Kornstein explains, require additional additional funds for working capital necessary to allow them to, among other things, continue operating their businesses in the ordinary course of business during the Chapter 11 cases. "[T]he Debtors must instill their employees, vendors, service providers and members with confidence in the Debtors' ability to seamlessly transition their business to chapter 11, operate normally in that environment and ultimately to reorganize in a successful and expedient manner," Mr. Kornstein says. Beginning in June 2007, the Debtors and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., commenced negotiation of a proposed postpetition facility to be entered into among Bally Total Fitness Holding, as borrower, the other Debtors, as guarantors, Morgan Stanley or one of its affiliates, as lead arranger and sole bookrunner, and as administrative agent and collateral agent. Morgan Stanley agreed to arrange a US$292,000,000 DIP facility comprised of a US$50,000,000 revolving facility and a US$242,000,000 term loan facility. The Debtors decided to pursue the Morgan Stanley financing proposal after undertaking a rigorous process under which they solicited proposals from several well-known financial institutions. According to Mr. Kornstein, the Morgan Stanley DIP Facility was particularly attractive to the Debtors because it enables them to enter into an exit financing facility upon consummation of their plan of reorganization in an identical amount, with identical pricing, with no additional fees whatsoever. The revolver under the exit facility would have up to a five-year term and the term loans up to a six-year term, Mr. Kornstein says. By this motion, the Debtors seek the Court's authority to obtain postpetition secured financing from Morgan Stanley. Pursuant to a Superpriority Secured Debtor-in-Possession Financing Agreement among the parties, the DIP loan proceeds will be used to: (a) repay obligations owed to the Debtors' prepetition secured lenders under their US$284,000,000 Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated October 16, 2006, with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent for the lenders party, and Morgan Stanley, as syndication agent; and (b) fund the Debtors' working capital and general corporate needs in Chapter 11. The DIP Facility will terminate on the earlier of: (i) March 31, 2008; (ii) the effective date of a plan of reorganization in the Debtors' cases; and (iii) the date on which the acceleration of the loans and the termination of the commitments in accordance with the DIP Facility occurs. The Debtors' obligations under the DIP Facility will be: -- entitled to super-priority claim status in the Chapter 11 cases; -- secured by a perfected first priority lien on all unencumbered property and assets of the Debtors; -- secured by a perfected junior lien on all property and assets of the Borrower that are subject to valid and perfected liens in existence on the Petition Date; and -- secured by perfected senior priming liens on all property and assets of the Debtors that secure obligations under the Prepetition Credit Facility, senior to the liens securing the Prepetition Credit Facility to the extent not repaid, and any liens that are junior to those liens. The DIP Liens, however, are subject to a carve-out for: (a) United States Trustee fees payable pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 1930; (b) fees of the Clerk of the Bankruptcy Court; (c) fees of a Chapter 7 trustee of up to US$350,000 if a chapter 7 trustee is appointed; and (d) the payment of allowed and unpaid professional fees and disbursements incurred by the Debtors, the ad hoc committee of prepetition senior noteholders and prepetition senior subordinated noteholders, and any statutory committees appointed in the Chapter 11 cases. Advances outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility will bear interest, at the Borrower's option, at either (a) the Base Rate plus 100 basis points per annum or (b) at the LIBOR Rate plus 200 basis points per annum. Advances outstanding under the Term Loan Facility will bear interest, at the Borrower's option, at either (a) the Base Rate plus 325 basis points per annum or (b) at the LIBOR Rate plus 425 basis points per annum. The Term Loan Facility will also be subject to original issue discount of 1.5% -- that is, in addition to the interest and fees and the fees set forth in a Fee Letter, US$3,630,000 of the proceeds of the Term Loan Facility will be paid to the Lenders. The Debtors also seek the Court's permission to pay a variety of fees to Morgan Stanley: 1. a letter of credit fee under the Revolving Credit Facility payable quarterly at a rate of 200 basis points per annum times the amount of all outstanding letters of credit, minus a fronting fee; 2. a letter of credit issuance fee -- plus bank issuance charges -- equal to 25 basis points of the face amount of all letters of credit; 3. an Unused Revolving Credit Facility Fee of 0.50% times an amount equal to the difference between (a) US$50,000,000 and (b) the sum of the amount of outstanding advances plus letters of credit issued under the Revolving Credit Facility; 4. additional fees set forth in a Fee Letter dated June 29, 2007, which is filed with the Court under seal. During the continuance of an Event of Default, all obligations will bear interest at the otherwise applicable rate plus 200 basis points per annum. About Bally Total Fitness Based in Chicago, Illinois, Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp. (NYSE: BFT)(OTC BB: BFTH) -- http://www.ballyfitness.com/-- is a commercial operator of fitness centers in the U.S., with over 375 facilities located in 26 states, Mexico, Canada, Korea, China, the United Kingdom, and the Caribbean under the Bally Total Fitness(R), Bally Sports Clubs(R) and Sports Clubs of Canada (R) brands. Bally offers a unique platform for distribution of a wide range of products and services targeted to active, fitness-conscious adult consumers. BOCON INTERNATIONAL: Members to Hold General Meeting on Aug. 29 --------------------------------------------------------------- The members of Bocon International Limited will have their final meeting on August 29, 2007, at 2:00 p.m., to hear the liquidator's report about the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The company's liquidator is: Yuen Shu Tong Malaysia Building, 3rd Floor 50 Gloucester Road Wanchai, Hong Kong CHINESE BANK: FC Capital Buys Bad Debts for NT$2.73 Billion ----------------------------------------------------------- Malaysia's FC Capital Management won an auction to take on bad debts from Taiwan's failed lender, The Chinese Bank, for NT$2.73 billion (US$83 million), Reuters reports, citing Taiwan's top financial regulator. According to the report, FC Capital's Taiwan branch outbid four unidentified rivals in buying Chinese Bank's NT$7.66 billion of non-performing loans. Chinese Bank was delisted from the Taiwan stock exchange earlier this year. Chinese Bank had been taken over by the government after some units of its parent group Rebar Group filed for bankruptcy, Reuters relates. Headquartered in Taiwan, The Chinese Bank is a subsidiary of financially troubled Rebar Asia Pacific Group. Taiwan Ratings Corp. lowered its counterparty credit ratings on The Chinese Bank to SD (selective default) from twB-. The bank is currently under regulatory supervision. The downgrade follows The Chinese Bank's recent default on interest payments of several outstanding subordinated debentures (total outstanding value of NT$806 million) issued after July 2005. The subordinated debt obligations are not under regulatory protection. The Chinese Bank has been placed under regulatory supervision since January 2007. The regulator has assisted the bank to serve most of its obligations, especially deposits, which amounted to NT$177 billion or 95% of its total liabilities at the end of December 2006. An obligor is rated 'SD' (selective default) when it has failed to pay one or more of its financial obligations (rated or unrated). An 'SD' rating is assigned when Taiwan Ratings believes that the obligor has selectively defaulted on a specific issue or class of obligations but it will continue to meet its payment obligations on other issues or classes of obligations in a timely manner. CITIC PACIFIC: To Spin Off Wholly Owned Dah Chong Holdings ---------------------------------------------------------- CITIC Pacific Ltd's wholly owned unit, Dah Chong Hong Holdings Ltd., has taken a key step toward listing on the Hong Kong bourse, submitting an advance booking form for an application to list, Reuters reports. According to the company's statement with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the proposed spin-off will involve the sale of existing shares and new shares of the unit, which is engaged in the motor vehicle and food commodity distribution businesses. BNP Paribas Capital will be the unit's listing sponsor, the statement said. The proposed spin-off is still subject to shareholders' approval and the proceeds from the share sale would be used to fund future business development, Reuters relates. The company gave no further listing details. Dah Chong Hong operations include motor vehicle sales and vehicle-related services, as well as sales of food and consumer products and the provision of logistics services. Based in Hong Kong, CITIC Pacific Ltd -- http://www.citicpacific.com/-- is engaged in a range of businesses in China and Hong Kong, including steel manufacturing, property development and investment, power generation, aviation, infrastructure, communications and distribution. It is 29% indirectly owned by China International Trust & Investment Corporation. On June 28, 2006, The Troubled Company Reporter-Asia Pacific reported that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term corporate credit rating on CITIC Pacific Ltd to BB+ from BBB-. At the same time, it removed the rating from CreditWatch, where it had been placed with negative implications on April 7, 2006. The outlook is stable. In addition, the TCR-AP also reported that Moody's Investors Service on June 16, 2006, assigned a Ba1 corporate family rating to CITIC Pacific Ltd and has withdrawn its Baa3 issuer rating. The senior unsecured rating for CITIC Pacific Finance (2001) Ltd's bond is downgraded to Ba1 from Baa3. The rating outlook is stable. This concludes the review initiated by the rating agency in April 2006. GLOBAL ONE: Taps Lee Siu Yin as Liquidator ------------------------------------------ At an extraordinary general meeting held on July 23, 2007, a special resolution was passed to voluntarily liquidate Global One Enterprises Limited. Lee Siu Yin was then appointed as liquidator. The Liquidator can be reached at: Lee Siu Yin Henan Building, Room 1102, 11th Floor 90 Jaffe Road, Wanchai Hong Kong INH SERVICES: Liquidator to Give Wind-Up Report on August 28 ------------------------------------------------------------ A final meeting will be held for the members and creditors of INH Services (HK) Limited on August 28, 2007, at 10:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., on the 20th Floor of Prince's Building at 10 Chater Road in Central, Hong Kong. John James Toohey, the company's liquidator, will give at the meeting a report about the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. KAM MOON: Contributories to Hold Annual Meeting on Aug. 6 --------------------------------------------------------- The contributories of Kam Moon Tong Restaurant will have their annual meeting on August 6, 2007, at 5:00 p.m., to receive the liquidator's report about the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The meeting will be held on Unit 301, 3rd Floor of Malaysia Building at 50 Gloucester Road in Wanchai, Hong Kong. LOYAL BUSINESS: Creditors & Contributories to Meet on August 6 -------------------------------------------------------------- The contributories and creditors of Loyal Business Limited will have their annual meeting on August 6, 2007, at 6:00 p.m. and 6:15 p.m., respectively, to receive the liquidator's report about the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The meeting will be held on Unit 301, 3rd Floor of Malaysia Building at 50 Gloucester Road in Wanchai, Hong Kong. SPIDER TEXTILES: Sets Final Meeting for August 30 ------------------------------------------------- Spider Textiles Limited will hold a final general meeting on August 30, 2007, at 10:30 a.m., to receive the liquidator's report about the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The meeting will be held on Level 28 of Three Pacific Place at 1 Queen's Road East, Hong Kong. SUN WONG: Sets Annual Meeting for August 6 ------------------------------------------ Sun Wong Seafood Hotpot Restaurant will hold an annual meeting for its contributories and creditors on August 6, 2007, at 6:00 p.m. and 6:15 p.m., respectively, on Unit 301, 3rd Floor of Malaysia Building at 50 Gloucester Road in Wanchai, Hong Kong. The creditors and contributories will receive, at the meeting, a report about the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. YAT WAH: Court to Hear Wind-Up Petition on Sept. 5 -------------------------------------------------- A petition to wind up the operations of Yat Wah R.M.C. Geotechnology Company Limited will be heard before the High Court of Hong Kong on Sept. 5, 2007, at 9:30 a.m. Pang Hung Po presented the wind-up petition against the company on June 29, 2007. * Rise in Risk Spread to Impede Fund Drives of Weak Banks --------------------------------------------------------- The debt-raising capacity of Taiwan banks should gradually diverge in the second half of 2007 because of rising risk awareness in the debenture market. That's according to a report titled "Financial Institutions Rev Up Taiwan's Debt Markets," published today by Taiwan Ratings Corp., a subsidiary of Standard & Poor's Ratings Services. "The collapse of the Rebar Asia Pacific Group and concerns that the regulator may take over more weak banks led the market to increasingly favor more creditworthy institutions in the first half of 2007," said credit analyst Eunice Fan. "Risk premiums on debenture issues are therefore likely to widen among domestic banks, which in turn will affect their debt-raising capacity and funding costs." After a quiet start, debt issuance by Taiwan's financial institutions is likely to rev up over the remainder of 2007. Banks have largely been absent from the market since 2006, when they aggressively issued subordinated debentures to enhance their capitalization before the implementation of Basel II. But now they're likely to return to boost their capital bases and lock in lower long-term funding costs ahead of possible interest rate hikes. "Financial holding companies have had little need to raise new debt this year, given the dearth of major M&A activity in Taiwan's financial services sector, and that situation isn't likely to change anytime soon," said Ms. Fan. ========= I N D I A ========= GENERAL MOTORS: Earns US$891 Million in Second Quarter 2007 ----------------------------------------------------------- General Motors Corp. has released its preliminary financial results for the 2007 second quarter, marked by record automotive revenue driven by strong sales in key growth markets, improved net income, and solid operating cash flow. GM reported net income of US$891 million for the second quarter of 2007, an improvement of US$4.3 billion compared with a reported net loss of US$3.4 billion in the year-ago quarter. The results for the second quarter 2007 included US$520 million in net special items, including US$374 million in charges associated with GM's support of the bankruptcy and reorganization of Delphi and various GM North America restructuring-related charges. GM posted 2007 second-quarter adjusted net income, excluding special items, of US$1.4 billion compared to US$1.1 billion in the year-ago quarter. "We again saw improved results in sales, income and cash flow this quarter, driven by the continued successful implementation of our business strategies," said GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner. "In particular, our heavy commitment to key growth markets around the world really paid off in strong growth and earnings. In North America we continue to make progress with our focus on great new products, a disciplined sales and marketing strategy, and structural cost reduction, although profitability remains close to break even." GM Automotive Operations GM's global automotive net income from continuing operations totaled US$764 million on an adjusted basis in the second quarter of 2007 (reported net income from continuing operations of US$618 million), compared to an adjusted net income of US$367 million (reported net loss from continuing operations of US$3.48 billion) in the second quarter 2006. Results for GM's automotive operations, specifically GMNA, exclude Allison Transmission which is now classified as a discontinued operation and an asset held for sale, pending the close of the previously- announced sale transaction. GM's global sales volume surpassed 2.4 million units in the second quarter, up marginally from the same quarter a year ago. Global market share was down slightly at 13.3 percent, compared to 13.7 percent in the year-ago period, driven by a softer U.S. market, a reduction in fleet sales, and a disciplined incentive strategy. GM market share outside of North America increased to 9.4 percent in the second quarter 2007, compared to 9.2 percent in the second quarter 2006. GMNA had adjusted net income from continuing operations of US$78 million in the second quarter 2007 (reported net loss from continuing operations of US$39 million), compared to adjusted net loss of US$94 million from continuing operations (reported net loss from continuing operations of US$3.95 billion) in the second quarter 2006. The net income improvements reflect favorable mix and reduced structural costs. These savings were partially offset by lower volume, favorable policy and warranty adjustments in the prior-year period and unfavorable foreign exchange. "It's true that our North America team has made huge improvements, and we appreciate everyone's hard work. But our current earnings clearly demonstrate we've got more to do," Mr. Wagoner said. "We remain focused on growing revenue in North America by introducing great new cars and trucks, and enhancing our revitalized sales and marketing strategy. At the same time, we must continue to address our key areas of cost disadvantage such as healthcare. Going forward, we need to generate adequate profitability and cash flow to fund new product and key technology investments, like bio-fuel and hybrid-powered vehicles, to better position our business for sustainable growth." Mr. Wagoner added. GM Europe posted adjusted net income of US$236 million for the quarter (reported net income of US$217 million), compared to US$143 million in the second quarter of 2006 (reported net loss of US$39 million). The results mark the best quarterly performance for GME since the second quarter of 1996. The improved earnings were driven by favorable pricing, combined with solid structural cost performance associated with the region's ongoing restructuring. Despite industry pressures in Germany, Europe's largest vehicle market, GME set a quarterly sales record of 574,000 units, up five percent over the second quarter 2006. The new Opel Corsa small car and the Chevrolet Captiva compact SUV continued to perform especially well. In addition, GME's multi-brand strategy continues to gain momentum. Chevrolet had record sales of 115,000 units, up 34 percent. GME growth in key Eastern European markets was strong, especially in Russia, where unit sales were up 106 percent over the second quarter 2006, and share was up 3.9 percentage points. GM Asia Pacific recorded adjusted net income of US$237 million in the second quarter (reported net income of US$227 million), which marks a second-quarter net income record for the region, and compares with US$164 million in the same quarter a year ago (reported net income of US$376 million, which included US$212 million from the sale of GM's equity interest in Isuzu). The improvements were largely driven by strong performance at GM Daewoo and GM China. GM enjoyed eight percent sales growth in the Asia Pacific region, and GM China set a new volume record with 234,000 units in the quarter, up over six percent year- over-year. GM sales in South Korea were up 20 percent, and India was up 46 percent aided by the success of the newly- introduced Chevrolet Spark. GM Latin America, Africa and Middle East continued to leverage explosive regional growth and its traditionally strong position in the region. The group posted its best quarterly net income in a decade with adjusted earnings of US$213 million (reported net income also US$213 million), compared to US$155 million in the same quarter last year (reported net income of US$139 million). Improvements in net income were driven primarily by volume growth and favorable pricing. It set a volume record for the quarter, selling over 293,000 units, up 20 percent year-over-year. GM sales performance was highlighted by an all-time sales record in Venezuela, and second quarter records in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, and the Middle East Operations. "As we head into the second half of the year, we're optimistic about continued growth prospects in key emerging markets. In the U.S., the economy and auto market outlook remains challenging, but we'll continue our future product and technology investments, while staying focused on growing our revenue and improving our cost competitiveness," Mr. Wagoner said. "We look forward to the U.A.W. negotiations as an opportunity to continue to address issues that are important to the company, the union and our employees." In addition to strong year-over-year performance in automotive operations, GM also recognized adjusted net income of US$401 million in Corporate Other and Other Financing (reported net income of US$27 million). This represents a US$517 million improvement over the second quarter 2006, principally related to reductions in income tax contingencies. GMAC As a standalone company, GMAC Financial Services reported net income of US$293 million for the second quarter 2007, compared to US$787 million in the second quarter 2006 which included a one-time gain on the sale of a regional homebuilder of US$259 million. GM recognized US$139 million in net income attributable to GMAC as a result of its 49 percent equity interest as well as accrued preferred dividends. Financial performance at GMAC represents a US$598 million improvement over the first quarter 2007, which was significantly affected by pressures in the U.S. nonprime mortgage market. "We're pleased that GMAC returned to profitability in the second quarter, with significantly better results than the first quarter. GMAC's auto financing and insurance businesses continues to post strong results while the company continues to progress in addressing the challenging conditions in the residential mortgage market," Mr. Wagoner said. GMAC's automotive finance, insurance and other operations, excluding Residential Capital, LLC (ResCap), generated more than twice the net income of these same operations in the year-ago period. Despite continued challenges in the residential mortgage industry, ResCap significantly reduced losses in the second quarter. Cash and Liquidity GM generated adjusted operating cash flow of US$1.1 billion in the second quarter of 2007, up from US$600 million in the year- ago quarter, and continues to maintain a strong liquidity position. Cash, marketable securities, and readily-available assets of the Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association trust totaled US$27.2 billion as of June 30, 2007, up from US$24.7 billion on March 31, 2007. The balance includes US$1.4 billion net cash raised through a convertible debt offering in May 2007, which replaced US$1.1 billion in convertible debt that was redeemed in March 2007. As announced in June 2007, the sale of the Allison Transmission business will further bolster GM's liquidity, with proceeds of approximately US$5.6 billion. The sale is expected to close in the third quarter 2007. About General Motors Headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) -- http://www.gm.com/-- was founded in 1908, GM employs about 280,000 people around the world. With global manufactures its cars and trucks in 33 countries, including Brazil, Belgium and India. In 2006, nearly 9.1 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on May 28, 2007, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services placed General Motors Corp.'s corporate credit rating at B/Negative/B-3. At the same time, Moody's Investors Service affirmed GM's B3 Corporate Family Rating and B3 Probability of Default Rating, and maintained its SGL-3 Speculative Grade Liquidity Rating. The rating outlook remains negative, according to Moody's. HMT LIMITED: Discloses Three New Appointments to Board ------------------------------------------------------ In a regulatory filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange, HMT Limited disclosed three new appointments to its board: 1. Dr. Surajit Mitra has been appointed as Part-time Official Director on the board via Presidential Order dated March 6, 2007; 2. K. Kipgen has been appointed as Part-time Non-Official Director on the board vide Presidential Order dated June 26, 2007, for a period of three years with effect from June 26, 2007 or until further orders whichever is earlier. 3. S. K. Kampasi, Group General Manager (Finance), has been appointed as Director (Finance), of the company, vide Presidential Order dated July 12, 2007, for a period of five years with effect from July 12, or until the date of his superannuation, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. As reported yesterday in the Troubled Company Reporter-Asia Pacific yesterday, HMT posted a net loss of INR109.10 million on revenues totaling INR260.60 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2007, HMT Limited -- http://www.hmtindia.com/-- is a public sector engineering conglomerate. The company retains the Tractor's Business, which develops tractors ranging from 25 horsepower to 75 horsepower. It has an installed capacity of 18,000 tractors for manufacturing and assembly operations. The company has three tractor manufacturing units in India located at Pinjore in Haryana, Mohali in Punjab, and Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh. The subsidiaries of the company include HMT Machine Tools Limited, HMT Watches Limited, HMT Chinar Watches Limited, HMT (International) Limited, HMT Bearings Limited and Praga Tools Limited. The principal segments include Machine tools, Watches, Tractors, Bearings and Exports. The company has a Joint Venture with SUDMO HMT Process Engineers (India) Limited, Bangalore. Credit Analysis and Research Limited downgraded HMT's long-term bond issue of INR310 crore to CARE BB(SO) on Feb. 18, 2005. At the same time, the company's medium term bond issue of INR40.40 crore was likewise downgraded to CARE BB(SO). Instruments rated 'Double B' are considered to be speculative, with inadequate protection for interest and principal payments. HOUSING URBAN DEV'T: Fitch Affirms BB+ & B Foreign Currency IDRs ---------------------------------------------------------------- Fitch Ratings, on August 1, 2007, assigned a National Long-term Rating of 'AA(ind)' to the proposed INR35 billion senior bonds to be issued by Housing & Urban Development Corporation Limited (HUDCO), during the financial year to-end March 2008. The agency has also assigned National Short-term Rating of 'F1+(ind)' to the INR10bn short-term debt that HUDCO plans to issue in FY08. In June 2007, Fitch had affirmed HUDCO's Long- term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating at 'BB+', Short-term Foreign Currency IDR at 'B', Support Rating at '3' and Support Rating Floor at 'BB+'. The agency had also affirmed the National Long-term Rating of 'AA(ind)' and the National Short- term Rating of 'F1+(ind)'. The Outlook on the ratings remains Stable. The ratings reflect the expectation of continued support from the government of India, given HUDCO's public policy role in financing urban infrastructure and low-cost housing in India. Over 80% of HUDCO's loans are either issued to state government departments or carry guarantees from state governments; the resulting concentration risk to entities with relatively weak financials results in non-performing loan ratios that are higher than commercial banks in India. Nevertheless, the close working relationship with the government helps in loan recoveries and Fitch understands that HUDCO has not registered any losses on its state government guaranteed portfolio as yet. HUDCO is a wholly-owned enterprise of the Government of India engaged in financing urban infrastructure (65% of total loans at FYE06) and the housing needs of primarily weaker sections of society. ICICI BANK: Shareholders OK Securities Offering Up to INR1.5BB -------------------------------------------------------------- At ICICI Bank Ltd's 13th Annual General Meeting held on July 21, 2007, its shareholders backed up plans to raise funds by offering in the domestic and international markets securities with an aggregate face value not exceeding INR1.5 billion, During the meeting, the shareholders also approved of the bank's declaration of dividend on preference and equity shares, and of these appointments: -- Reappointment of N. Vaghul, Anupam Puri, M. K. Sharma, Prof. Marti G. Subrahmanyam as directors. -- Appointment of BSR & Company, Chartered Accountants, as the company's statutory auditors, to hold office from the conclusion of the meeting until the conclusion of the next AGM. -- Appointment of V. Vaidyanathan, Madhabi Puri-Buch as directors of the company, in respect of whom the company has received notices in writing along with a deposit of INR500 for each notice, from some of its members proposing him as a candidate for the office of directors under the provisions of section 257 of the Companies Act, 1956. -- Appointment of V. Vaidyanathan as a wholetime Director (designated as Executive Director), effective Oct. 24, 2006 up to Oct. 23, 2011. -- Appointment of Madhabi Puri-Buch, as a whole time Director (designated as Executive Director) of the company, effective June 1, 2007, up to May 31, 2012. The shareholders also approved the revision of the company's Articles of Association by requiring a person or group who wants to take in the total holding in the bank to 5% or more to have the Reserve Bank of India's prior approval. About ICICI Bank 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. ICICI has a network of over 741 branches and over 3,300 ATMs in India. The bank has operations in Russia and the United States. * * * Moody's Investors Service, on Apr. 24, 2007, said that ICICI Bank 's Foreign Currency Deposit Rating is unchanged at Ba2. ICICI Bank carries Fitch Ratings' 'C' Individual Rating and 'BB' Subordinated Debt Rating. INDUSTRIAL DEV'T. BANK: Shareholders Agree to INR1.5 Dividend ------------------------------------------------------------- The shareholders of the Industrial Development Bank of India Ltd, at its third annual general meeting, has agreed to the bank's declaration of dividend for the financial year 2006-2007 at INR1.50 per equity share on the fully paid up equity capital, a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange reveals. During the meeting, the members also accorded to the: -- Adoption of the bank's Balance Sheet as at March 31, 2007, and Profit & Loss Account for the year ended on March 31, 2007, of the bank, and the related reports of the directors and auditors. -- Reelection of Hira Lal Zutshi and A. Sakthivel as directors of the company. -- Appointment of M/s. Khimji Kunverji & Co. and M/s. Suresh Chandra & Associates as joint statutory auditors of the bank for the financial year 2007-08. Headquartered in Mumbai, India, Industrial Development Bank of India -- http://www.idbi.com-- is a commercial bank that offers a range of products, including secured loans, such as housing loans, mortgage loans and loan against securities, and unsecured loans, such as personal loans, educational loans and overdrafts to merchant establishments. It also distributes third-party products, such as insurance and mutual fund products to its retail customers. IDBI also offers project financing, film financing, equipment financing, asset credits, corporate loans, working capital loans, direct discounting, the financing of receivables, venture capital funds, bill rediscounting, rehabilitation financing, foreign exchange and merchant banking. * * * As part of the application of Moody's Investors Service's refined joint default analysis and updated bank financial strength rating methodologies, the rating agency, on April 24, 2007, affirms Industrial Development Bank of India's BFSR at D-. Moody's also maintains the bank's Foreign Currency Deposit Rating at Ba2. KDL BIOTECH: Turns Around With INR4.37-Mil. Profit in 1Q FY2008 --------------------------------------------------------------- KDL Biotech Ltd. recorded a net profit of INR4.37 million on revenues of INR352.96 million in the first quarter ended June 30, 2007. The bottom line is a turn around from the net loss of INR20.23 million on revenues of INR276.16 million booked in the same quarter in 2006. The company's expenditures rose from INR263.09 million in the April-June 2006 quarter to INR311.51 million in the latest quarter under review, which brings the operating profit to INR41.45 million. Interest charges of INR19.85 million, depreciation aggregating INR17.17 million and taxes of INR70,000 were booked in the April-June 2007 quarter. A copy of the company's financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2007, is available for free at: http://ResearchArchives.com/t/s?2202 Headquartered in Maharashtra, India, KDL Biotech Ltd. -- http://www.kdlbiotech.com/-- manufactures biotechnology-based products. The Group specializes in Semi-synthetic Penicillin and related Enzymes. KDL Biotech has a joint venture with Synpac Pharmaceuticals to develop Penicillin-related products. On Dec. 9, 2006, Credit Rating Information Services of India Ltd reaffirms the 'D' rating of KDL Biotech's INR6.7-million Non Convertible Debenture Issue. NAGARJUNA FERTILIZERS: Earns INR71.5 Mil. in Qtr. Ended June 30 --------------------------------------------------------------- Nagarjuna Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd. reported a net profit of INR71.5 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2007, a slight decrease from the INR76.9 million earned in the corresponding period last year. Total income rose 2% from INR2.96 billion in the three months ended June 30, 2006, to INR3.02 billion in the April-June 2007 quarter. Expenditures in the current quarter under review total just about the same at INR2.24 billion, bringing the operating profit to INR777.3 million. Expenditures include: (Increase)/Decrease in stock: INR(875.30)million Consumption of raw materials: INR1.18 billion Power and Fuel: INR688.10 million Purchases - Traded Products: INR593.3 million Staff Costs: INR118 million Transport & Handling: INR238 million Other expenditure: INR295 million A copy of the company's financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2007, is available for free at: http://ResearchArchives.com/t/s?2204 Headquartered in Andhra Pradesh, India, Nagarjuna Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd. -- http://www.nagarjunafertilizers.com/-- manufactures and distributes ammonia, urea and several plant protection products that consist of herbicides, insecticides and fungicides. The Company also sells fertilizers, seeds and provides assistance of cultivation practices, pest control and planting destiny. The company's Senior Unsecured Debt and Fixed Deposit carry Credit Analysis and Research Limited's 'D' ratings. ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE: Net Profit Up 48% in 1st Qtr. FY2008 --------------------------------------------------------------- Oriental Bank of Commerce's net profit for the three months ended June 30, 2007, jumped 48% to INR1.39 billion compared to the net profit booked in the same period last year. The improved bottom line is attributable to rising revenues. Total income has increased from INR13.04 billion in the quarter ended June 30, 2006, to INR16.80 billion in the April-June 2007. Expenditures also increased to INR13.55 billion, bringing the bank's operating profit to INR3.25 billion. In a note to quarterly financial results filed with the Bombay Stock Exchange, the bank said that the excess of liabilities over assets taken over amounting to INR12.26 billion of erstwhile Global Trust Bank Ltd. pursuant to amalgamation has been debited to an account titled "Amalgamation Adjustment Account" and included under "Other Assets." OBC has been writing off the intangible asset Amalgamation Adjustment Account equally over a period of five years commencing from the year ended March 31, 2006. Accordingly, the bank has written off INR7.99 billion up to June 30, 2007, and the balance lying in Amalgamation Adjustment Account is INR4.26 billion. A copy of the bank's financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2007, is available for free at: http://ResearchArchives.com/t/s?2205 Headquartered in New Delhi, India, Oriental Bank of Commerce -- http://www.obcindia.com/-- is a scheduled commercial bank. The company's domestic services include deposits, comprised of term deposits, savings accounts, current accounts and the Suvidha deposit scheme; advances, which consist of corporate advances, a range of retail credit products and specialty schemes, and government business, comprised of direct tax collection, pension disbursement and savings bonds. It also provides non-resident Indian banking solutions, including non-resident external accounts, non-resident ordinary accounts, foreign currency non- resident accounts and resident foreign currency accounts. It also offers debit card services. The bank also provides treasury services and merchant banking services. * * * The Troubled Company Reporter-Asia Pacific reported on Aug. 21, 2006, that Fitch Ratings assigned a long-term foreign currency issuer default rating of BB+ to Oriental Bank of Commerce. The Bank's individual rating have been affirmed at C/D. On March 15, 2007, Fitch upgraded the support rating of the bank to '3' from '4'. The company also carries Moody's Investors Service's Ba2 Foreign Currency Deposit Rating. SUN MICROSYSTEMS: Earns US$329 Million in Quarter Ended June 30 --------------------------------------------------------------- Sun Microsystems Inc. reported financial results for its fourth quarter and full fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2007, exceeding its operating margin target, improving gross margin and delivering another sequential quarter of profit. Net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 on a GAAP basis was US$329 million, or US$0.09 per share on a diluted basis. For the full fiscal year, net income was US$473 million, or US$0.13 per share, on a diluted basis, as compared with a net loss of US$864 million, or (US$0.25) per share, for fiscal 2006. Revenues for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 were US$3.835 billion. For the full fiscal year, the Company reported revenues of US$13.873 billion, an increase of 6.2 percent over fiscal year 2006. Total gross margin as a percent of revenues for the fourth quarter was 47.2 percent, and gross margin for the full fiscal year was 45.2 percent, an increase of 2.1 percentage points over fiscal year 2006. Operating margin for the fourth quarter was 8.5 percent. Cash generated from operations for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 was US$564 million, and cash and marketable debt securities balance at the end of the quarter was approximately US$5.9 billion. "With a solid strategy and consistent execution, we delivered on our commitment to achieve at least 4 percent operating margin in the fourth quarter. This milestone marks significant progress toward our longer-term growth plan of at least 10 percent operating margin for the full fiscal year 2009," said Jonathan Schwartz, president and CEO of Sun Microsystems. "The Solaris(TM) 10 Operating System continues to fuel opportunity for us and our partners, allowing customers to leverage built-in virtualization to harvest more value from their datacenters, without the unnecessary expense of separate software licenses." Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ: SUNW) -- http://www.sun.com/-- provides network computing infrastructure solutions that include computer systems, data management, support services and client solutions and educational services. It sells networking solutions, including products and services, in most major markets worldwide through a combination of direct and indirect channels. Sun Microsystems conducts business in 100 countries around the globe India. * * * Moody's Investors Service confirmed its Ba1 Corporate Family Rating for Sun Microsystems Inc. in connection with Moody's Investors Service's implementation of its new Probability-of- Default and Loss-Given-Default rating methodology for the U.S. Technology Hardware sector. Sun Microsystems, Inc.'s 7.65% Senior Notes due Aug. 15, 2009, carry Moody's Investors Service's Ba1 rating and Standard & Poor's BB+ rating. ================= I N D O N E S I A ================= AVNET INC: Enters Agreement for Magirus Group Acquisition --------------------------------------------------------- Avnet Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the European Enterprise Infrastructure Division of value-added distributor Magirus Group. With annual revenues of approximately US$500 million, the acquired business will be integrated into the European operations of Avnet Technology Solutions, the IT distribution group of Avnet, Inc. The agreement covers the distribution of servers, storage systems, software and services of IBM and Hewlett-Packard to resellers in seven European countries and Dubai. With this transaction, Magirus is exiting the IBM and HP enterprise business and will in the future concentrate on building other segments of its business. Subject to customary regulatory approval, the transaction is expected to close in October 2007 and the business integration is expected to be complete by June 2008. This acquisition brings Avnet approximately 140 talented employees responsible for marketing and sales in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Dubai, along with 1300 established value-added reseller customers. The transaction is expected to meet the company's stated return-on- capital-employed goal and should be accretive to Avnet's earnings per share by roughly 8 cents in calendar 2008. Roy Vallee, Avnet's chairman and chief executive officer, commented, 'With this acquisition, Avnet Technology Solutions will be the largest value-added distributor for enterprise solutions in Europe. This strategic investment in our Technology Solutions business in EMEA is consistent with our stated desire to expand our successful TS business model globally.' 'This acquisition significantly expands our presence and product offerings with both IBM and HP in Europe,' said Dick Borsboom, president of Avnet Technology Solutions, EMEA. 'Not only does this acquisition broaden our geographic coverage, it also enhances our market position by combining the strengths of both organizations. For example, whilst Magirus addresses the high- end server market with HP solutions in Germany, Avnet has until now focused on Intel-oriented server resellers, along with storage and monitors in that country. Combining the two organizations gives customers the benefit of being able to select the solution that best meets their needs and gives Avnet a much broader reseller base to grow with. In Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy and Dubai, Avnet will be adding HP to its offerings and will now represent HP in seven European countries. There were already plans at Avnet to build the enterprise, solutions and services business in Scandinavia, and this acquisition creates a good platform for us to start doing so in Denmark and Sweden,' Borsboom added. Manufacturers of enterprise infrastructure solutions will also benefit from the move by making it possible for them to work with fewer large distributors with the services and capital to accelerate growth on a pan-European basis. This will also make it easier and more efficient for them to do business through the channel. The acquisition builds on Avnet's previous transactions in the region, including the acquisition of Belgian auto-ID distributor Printex in March last year; the acquisition of certain assets of the German storage wholesaler Zeta in June, and the acquisition of Sun specialist Access Distribution at the beginning of this calendar year. 'The most critical task after the transaction is closed is integrating the organization without any disruption to our customer and supplier partners,' said John Paget, president, Avnet Technology Solutions, Global. 'We welcome the new employees who we know bring strong technical skills and talents, along with excellent customer and vendor relationships. Their added expertise will help us accelerate growth by offering increased value to the marketplace.' Banc of America Securities LLC acted as a financial advisor and Allen & Overy LLP acted as legal counsel to Avnet in connection with this transaction. About Avnet Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Avnet, Inc. -- http://www.avnet.com/-- distributes electronic components and computer products, primarily for industrial customers. It has operations in the following countries: Australia, Belgium, China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, and Sweden, Brazil, Mexico and Puerto Rico. * * * The Troubled Company Reporter on March 6, 2007, reported that Moody's Investors Service affirmed the Ba1 corporate family and long-term debt ratings of Avnet, Inc. and revised the outlook to positive from stable. BANK CENTRAL ASIA: Moody's Reviews Ratings for Possible Upgrade --------------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investors Service has placed the foreign currency long- term debt and foreign currency long-term deposit ratings of PT Bank Central Asia Tbk on review for possible upgrade. The Not-Prime short-term deposit and bank financial strength ratings of the bank are unaffected. The ratings are detailed below. "This action follows a similar action taken on Indonesia's sovereign ratings on August 1, 2007," says Beatrice Woo, a Moody's VP/Senior Credit Officer. The detailed ratings are: * Ba3 issuer and B2 foreign currency long-term deposit ratings were placed on review for possible upgrade. * Not Prime foreign currency short-term deposit rating, Baa3 global local currency deposit rating and D+ BFSR were unaffected -- these ratings carry a stable outlook; Bank Central Asia Headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, PT Bank Central Asia Tbk -- http://www.klikbca.com/-- offers individual and business products and services. The bank's individual services consist of savings accounts, home loans and car loans, remittance, collection and safe deposit facilities. The bank's business services consist of working capital loans, investment loans and bank guarantee for small and medium-sized enterprises. In addition, it provides export import facilities such as letters of credit, negotiation and discounting. The bank's subsidiaries include PT BCA Finance, BCA Finance Limited and BCA Remittance Limited. It has 772 branches in Indonesia, Singapore and New York, 42,958 EDCs and operates 4,425 ATMs. The bank serves 6.6 million accounts throughout Indonesia. BANK DANAMON: Moody's Reviews Ratings for Possible Upgrade ---------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investors Service has placed the foreign currency long- term debt and foreign currency long-term deposit ratings of PT Bank Danamon Indonesia Tbk on review for possible upgrade. The Not-Prime short-term deposit and bank financial strength ratings of the bank are unaffected. The ratings are detailed below. "This action follows a similar action taken on Indonesia's sovereign ratings on August 1, 2007," says Beatrice Woo, a Moody's VP/Senior Credit Officer. The detailed ratings are: * Ba3 foreign currency subordinated debt and B2 foreign currency long-term deposit ratings were placed on review for possible upgrade. * Not Prime foreign currency short-term deposit rating, Baa3 global local currency deposit rating and D BFSR were unaffected -- the former two ratings carry a stable outlook while the BFSR has a positive outlook. About Bank Danamon Headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, PT Bank Danamon Indonesia Tbk provides a range of products and services, including Consumer Banking, Small to Medium-Sized Enterprise and Commercial, Trade Finance, Treasury Product, Cash Management, Other Services, Financial Planning and e-Banking. Danamon Syariah is the Bank's business unit that provides its customers with syariah banking products and services. The bank also operates Danamon Simpan Pinjam, which caters to micro banking customers. DSP is divided into two groups: DSP to serve and help enterprises in micro and small-scale banking, and DSP for individual customers with fixed income. Bank Danamon is supported by 86 domestic branch offices, 325 domestic supporting branch offices, 25 domestic cash office, 739 supporting branches for DSP, six personal banking branch offices, 10 syariah branch offices and one overseas branch. BANK INTERNASIONAL: Moody's Reviews Ratings for Upgrade ------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investors Service has placed the foreign currency long- term debt and foreign currency long-term deposit ratings of PT Bank Internasional Indonesia Tbk on review for possible upgrade. The Not-Prime short-term deposit and bank financial strength ratings of the bank are unaffected. The ratings are detailed below. "This action follows a similar action taken on Indonesia's sovereign ratings on August 1, 2007," says Beatrice Woo, a Moody's VP/Senior Credit Officer. The detailed ratings are: * Ba3/Ba3 issuer/foreign currency subordinated debt and B2 foreign currency long-term deposit ratings were placed on review for possible upgrade; and * Not Prime foreign currency short-term deposit rating, Baa3 global local currency deposit rating and D BFSR were unaffected -- these ratings carry a stable outlook. About Bank Internasional PT Bank Internasional Indonesia Tbk -- http://www.bii.co.id/-- engages in general banking services and in other banking activities based on Syariah principles. The bank's services are divided into three categories: Personal Services, consisting of Funding, Credit Card Services, Loan, Reksadana and Bancassurance; Corporate Services, consisting of Funding, Credit Card Services, Loan and Investment Banking, and Platinum Services, consisting of Platinum Access, Syariah Platinum Access and Platinum MasterCard. The bank is headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia. BANK LIPPO: Moody's Places Ratings on Review for Likely Upgrade --------------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investors Service has placed the foreign currency long- term debt and foreign currency long-term deposit ratings of PT Lippo Bank Tbk on review for possible upgrade. The Not-Prime short-term deposit and bank financial strength ratings of the bank are unaffected. The ratings are detailed below. "This action follows a similar action taken on Indonesia's sovereign ratings on August 1, 2007," says Beatrice Woo, a Moody's VP/Senior Credit Officer. The detailed ratings are: * Ba3/Ba3 issuer/foreign currency subordinated debt and B2 foreign currency long-term deposit ratings were placed on review for possible upgrade; and * Not Prime foreign currency short-term deposit rating and D BFSR were unaffected -- these ratings carry a stable Outlook. About Bank Lippo Headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, PT Lippo Bank Tbk -- http://www.lippobank.co.id/-- offers two product segments: Consumer Products, comprised of personal accounts, debit cards, distribution cards, VIP banking, credit cards, loans, bancassurance, payment services, loyalty programs and safe deposit boxes, and Corporate Products, consisting of LippoKredit, LippoTrade, LippoGiro, LippoDeposit, e-LippoLink and MFTS. The bank is supported by 134 branch offices, 21 sub branch offices, 238 cash offices and four-payment service offices nationwide. BANK MANDIRI: Moody's Reviews Ratings for Possible Upgrade ---------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investors Service has placed the foreign currency long- term debt and foreign currency long-term deposit ratings of PT Bank Mandiri on review for possible upgrade. The Not-Prime short-term deposit and bank financial strength ratings of the bank are unaffected. The ratings are detailed below. "This action follows a similar action taken on Indonesia's sovereign ratings on August 1, 2007," says Beatrice Woo, a Moody's VP/Senior Credit Officer. The detailed ratings are: * Ba3/Ba3 foreign currency senior/subordinated debt and B2 foreign currency long-term deposit ratings were placed on review for possible upgrade; and * Not Prime foreign currency short-term deposit rating, Baa2 global local currency deposit rating and D- BFSR were unaffected -- these ratings carry a stable outlook. About Bank Mandiri PT Bank Mandiri -- http://www.bankmandiri.co.id/-- is Indonesia's largest and best capitalized bank in terms of assets, loans and deposits, and provides comprehensive financial services to more than six million corporate and individual consumers, as well as small and medium-sized enterprises in Indonesia. BANK NEGARA: Moody's Reviews Ratings for Likely Upgrade ------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investors Service has placed the foreign currency long- term debt and foreign currency long-term deposit ratings of PT Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk on review for possible upgrade. The Not-Prime short-term deposit and bank financial strength ratings of the bank are unaffected. The ratings are detailed below. "This action follows a similar action taken on Indonesia's sovereign ratings on August 1, 2007," says Beatrice Woo, a Moody's VP/Senior Credit Officer. The detailed ratings are: * Ba3/Ba3 foreign currency senior/subordinated debt and B2 foreign currency long-term deposit ratings were placed on review for possible upgrade. * Not Prime foreign currency short-term deposit rating, Baa2 global local currency deposit rating and D- BFSR were unaffected -- these ratings carry a stable outlook; About Bank Negara Headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, PT Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk -- http://www.bni.co.id/-- is a financial institution with products and services that include: Individual, Business, Syariah, Micro Banking, and Online Feature. The Bank has approximately 700 correspondent banks, 914 local branches and five oversea branches located in New York, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore. The bank has five subsidiaries: PT BNI Multi Finance, a financial services company; PT BNI Securities, securities company; PT BNI Life Insurance, an insurance provider; PT BNI Nomura Jafco Manajemen Ventura, a venture capital company, and PT BNJI Ventura Satu, a venture capital company. BANK NIAGA: Moody's Puts Ratings on Review for Likely Upgrade ------------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investors Service has placed the foreign currency long- term debt and foreign currency long-term deposit ratings of PT Bank Niaga Tbk on review for possible upgrade. The Not-Prime short-term deposit and bank financial strength ratings of the bank are unaffected. The ratings are detailed below. "This action follows a similar action taken on Indonesia's sovereign ratings on August 1, 2007," says Beatrice Woo, a Moody's VP/Senior Credit Officer. The detailed ratings are: * Ba3/Ba3 issuer/foreign currency subordinated debt and B2 foreign currency long-term deposit ratings were placed on review for possible upgrade; and * Not Prime foreign currency short-term deposit rating, Baa3 global local currency deposit rating and D BFSR were unaffected -- these ratings carry a stable outlook. About Bank Niaga Headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, PT Bank Niaga Tbk -- http://www.bankniaga.com/-- has a license to operate as a commercial bank, a foreign exchange bank and a bank engaged in activities based on Syariah principles. The bank's products and services include: Funding, Consumer Financing, Business Financing, Credit and Debit Cards, Private Banking, Preferred Circle, e-Banking, Corporate Trust, Bancassurance and Treasury Indicator. The bank's subsidiaries consist of: PT Niaga Aset Manajemen and PT Saseka Gelora Finance. As of January 31, 2006, the Bank operates 54 domestic branches, 145 domestic supporting branches, 22 domestic payment points, seven Syariah units and one overseas branch. BANK PERMATA: Moody's Puts Ratings on Review for Likely Upgrade --------------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investors Service has placed the foreign currency long- term debt and foreign currency long-term deposit ratings of PT Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk on review for possible upgrade. The Not-Prime short-term deposit and bank financial strength ratings (BFSR) of the bank are unaffected. The ratings are detailed below. "This action follows a similar action taken on Indonesia's sovereign ratings on August 1, 2007," says Beatrice Woo, a Moody's VP/Senior Credit Officer. The detailed ratings are: * B2 foreign currency long-term deposit rating was placed on review for possible upgrade; and * Not Prime foreign currency short-term deposit rating, Baa3 global local currency deposit rating and D- BFSR were unaffected -- the former two ratings carry a stable outlook, while the BFSR has a positive outlook. About Bank Permata Headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, PT Bank Permata Tbk's -- http://www.permatabank.com/-- products and services include liabilities, asset, credit card and bancassurance, PermataFOREX, commercial banking, e-channels and preferred banking. The bank has approximately 318 domestic branches, sub branches and cash offices throughout the country. The bank's subsidiaries, which are engaged in the securities industry, the consumer finance and leasing sector, the general insurance business and the banking sector, include PT Bali Securities, PT Bali Tunas Finance, PT Asuransi Permata Nipponkoa Indonesia and Bank Perkreditan Rakyat. BANK RAKYAT: Moody's Puts Ratings for Possible Upgrade ------------------------------------------------------ Moody's Investors Service has placed the foreign currency long- term debt and foreign currency long-term deposit ratings of PT Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk on review for possible upgrade. The Not-Prime short-term deposit and bank financial strength ratings of the bank are unaffected. The ratings are detailed below. "This action follows a similar action taken on Indonesia's sovereign ratings on August 1, 2007," says Beatrice Woo, a Moody's VP/Senior Credit Officer. The detailed ratings are: * Ba3 foreign currency subordinated debt and B2 foreign currency long-term deposit ratings were placed on review for possible upgrade; and * Not Prime foreign currency short-term deposit rating, Baa2 global local currency deposit rating and D+ BFSR were unaffected -- these ratings carry a stable outlook. About Bank Rakyat Indonesia Headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk's -- http://www.bri.co.id/-- services comprise Savings, Credits and Syariah. In addition, the bank divides its financial and business services into three groups: Business Services, consisting of bank guarantees, bank clearance, automatic teller machines and safe deposit boxes; Financial Services, consisting of bill payments, CEPEBRI, INKASO, deposit acceptance, online transactions and transfers, and Other Services, consisting of tax and fine payments, donations, Western Union and zakat contributions. During the year ended December 31, 2005, the bank had one branch office in Cayman Islands and two representative offices in New York and Hong Kong, respectively. BANK PANIN: Moody's Reviews Ratings for Possible Upgrade -------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investors Service has placed the foreign currency long- term debt and foreign currency long-term deposit ratings of PT Bank Pan Indonesia Tbk on review for possible upgrade. The Not-Prime short-term deposit and bank financial strength ratings (BFSR) of the bank are unaffected. The ratings are detailed below. "This action follows a similar action taken on Indonesia's sovereign ratings on August 1, 2007," says Beatrice Woo, a Moody's VP/Senior Credit Officer. The detailed ratings are: * B2 foreign currency long-term deposit rating was placed on review for possible upgrade; and * Not Prime foreign currency short-term deposit rating, Baa3 global local currency deposit rating and D BFSR were unaffected -- the former two ratings carry a stable outlook, while the BFSR has a positive outlook. About Panin Bank Headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, PT Bank Pan Indonesia Tbk's -- http://www.panin.co.id-- products and services include individual, which comprises saving products, consumer credit products, electronic products and service products corporate, and corporate, which consist of saving products, financial service products, loan credit, export and import products, electronic products and service products. The bank has investment in several public listed companies, including PT Clipan Finance Indonesia Tbk, PT Asuransi Multi Artha Guna Tbk and PT Panin Sekuritas Tbk. BANK TABUNGAN: Moody's Reviews Ratings for Possible Upgrade ----------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investors Service has placed the foreign currency long- term debt and foreign currency long-term deposit ratings of Bank Tabungan Negara (Persero) on review for possible upgrade. The Not-Prime short-term deposit and bank financial strength ratings of the bank are unaffected. The ratings are detailed below. "This action follows a similar action taken on Indonesia's sovereign ratings on August 1, 2007," says Beatrice Woo, a Moody's VP/Senior Credit Officer. The detailed ratings are: * B2 foreign currency long-term deposit rating was placed on review for possible upgrade; and * Not Prime foreign currency short-term deposit rating, Baa2 global local currency deposit rating and D- BFSR were unaffected -- these ratings carry a stable outlook. About Bank Tabungan Headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, Bank Tabungan Negara (Persero) -- http://www.btn.co.id/-- is a state-owned bank involved in commercial banking. In 1974, Bank Tabungan was appointed as the financing institution for low- to medium-income housing in an effort to support the Government's housing development program. Nonetheless, BTN suffered huge losses from large corporate lending during the 1997 economic crisis. The Government then recapitalized the Bank, and still wholly owns it. EXCELCOMINDO FINANCE: Moody's Places 'Ba3' Bond Rating on Review ---------------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investors Service has placed the Excelcomindo Finance Company B.V.'s Ba3 foreign currency senior unsecured bond rating on review for possible upgrade. The bond is irrevocably and unconditionally guaranteed by PT Excelcomindo Pratama. This rating action follows Moody's decision to review the Indonesia's Ba3 foreign currency bond ceiling for upgrade.' Excelcomindo Fianance Company B..V. is the lone major subsidiary of Excelcomindo Pratama PT. Excelcomindo Pratama provides a wide range of mobile telecommunications services in Indonesia. EXCELCOMINDO: Affirms Ba2 Local Currency Corporate Family Rating ---------------------------------------------------------------- Moody's has affirmed PT Excelcomindo Pratama Tbk's Ba2 local currency corporate family rating with a stable outlook. Headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, PT Excelcomindo Pratama Tbk -- http://www.xl.co.id/-- provides wireless telecommunications services, leased lines and corporate services, which include Internet Service Provider (ISP) and Voice over Internet Protocol services. In addition, Excelcomindo provides voice, data and other value-added cellular telecommunications services. Its product lines include jempol, bebas and xplor. The company also provides services that allow its customers to purchase electronic voucher reloads at all of its centers and outlets, automated teller machines of various major banks and through its all centers. Excelcomindo starter packs and voucher reloads are also sold by independent retailers. INDOSAT: Moody's Reviews Ba3 Bond Rating for Possible Upgrade ------------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investors Service has placed PT Indosat Tbk's 'Ba3' senior unsecured foreign currency rating on review for possible upgrade. The rating action follows Moody's decision to review the Indonesia's Ba3 foreign currency sovereign ceiling for upgrade. At the same time, Moody's has affirmed the Ba1 local currency corporate family rating of Indosat with a stable outlook. PT Indosat Tbk -- http://www.indosat.com/-- is a fully integrated Indonesian telecommunications network and service provider and provides a full complement of national and international telecommunications services in Indonesia. The company provides international long-distance services in Indonesia. It also provides multimedia, data communications and Internet services to Indonesian and regional corporate and retail customers. The company's principal cellular service is the provision of airtime, which measures the usage of its cellular network by its customers. Airtime is sold through postpaid and prepaid plans. It provides a variety of international voice telecommunications services and both international switched and non-switched telecommunications services. MIDI services include high-speed point-to-point international and domestic digital leased line broadband and narrowband services, a high-performance packet-switching service and satellite transponder leasing and broadcasting services. PERUSAHAAN LISTRIK: Moody's Reviews 'B1' Ratings for Upgrade ------------------------------------------------------------ Moody's Investors Service has placed the B1 corporate family rating and senior unsecured bond rating of PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara on review for upgrade. At the same time, Moody's has placed PLN's A1.id national scale rating on review for upgrade. This rating action follows Moody's decision to place the Indonesian government's B1 rating on review for upgrade. "Given PLN's 100% ownership by the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises, its strategic importance as Indonesia's only vertically integrated electricity utility, as well as the ongoing government support through subsidies to ensure its financial viability and operational soundness, Moody's considers PLN's rating to be closely integrated with, and strongly linked to, the government's credit quality," says Moody's lead analyst for the company, Jennifer Wong, adding "Accordingly, an upgrade in the rating of the Indonesian government will result in an upgrade in PLN's rating." About Perusahaan Listrik Indonesian state utility firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara -- http://www.pln.co.id/-- transmits and distributes electricity to around 30 million customers, roughly 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian Government decided to end PLN's power supply monopoly to attract independents to build more capacity for sale directly to consumers, as many areas of the country are experiencing power shortages. SAMPOERNA: First Half 2007 Net Profit Up 9.5% to IDR2.07 Tril. -------------------------------------------------------------- PT Handaya Mandala Sampoerna's first half 2007 net profit increased 9.35% to IDR2.07 trillion, compared to IDR1.89 trillion last year, due to a recovery in consumer spending, Reuters reports. According to the report, a sharp fall in inflation, which hit around six-year highs in late 2005 after the government hiked domestic fuel prices, is helping the country's consumer sector, including tobacco companies. The profit growth came despite its sales revenue slipping by around 1% from a year ago to IDR14.4 trillion, the report notes. Surabaya, East Java-based PT Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna Tbk -- http://www.sampoerna.com/-- manufactures hand rolled and machine rolled clove-blended cigarettes. The company distributes its products in the domestic and international market. Through its subsidiaries, the company also develops properties. HM Sampoerna currently carries Standard and Poor's Ratings Services gave HM Sampoerna's Long Term Foreign Issuer Credit a 'BB+' and a 'B' rating for its Long Term Foreign Issuer Credit * Moody's Puts Indonesia's Ratings on Review for Likely Upgrade --------------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investors Service has placed Indonesia's ratings on review for possible upgrade in light of continuing improvement in key government debt ratios, a strong investment response, and a healthier external payments position. The ratings on review include the B1 foreign- and domestic- currency government bond ratings, the Ba3 foreign currency bond ceiling, and the B2 foreign currency bank deposit ceiling. "The strong improvements in the government's debt burden and fiscal flexibility are underpinned by the government's fiscal prudence as well as the ongoing revival of a broad range of non- oil commodity sectors that have boosted revenues", said Moody's Vice President Aninda Mitra. "Most of Indonesia's government debt ratios are now better than its traditional peer group." On the investment front, Mitra said that Indonesia faces very good prospects for near-term growth in capital formation. He added that "such investment growth would be underpinned by growing foreign direct investment as well as by the government's improving fiscal flexibility that are enabling a prudent increase in its allocations for developmental spending." He also emphasized, however, that more work may be needed on the structural reform front to improve labor regulations, tax administration and legal certainty -- to improve longer-term investment prospects. "Indonesia's improving external payments position was also an important consideration in the decision for a rating review," said Mitra. "The revival of a range of non-oil commodity and manufacturing exports are underpinning healthy growth in external receipts, a key component of improvements in external liquidity, and solvency indicators." Additionally, he said, the country's demonstrated "willingness to pay" as well as authorities' strong track record of managing fiscal and external adjustments also influenced the rating review decision. "The country's political fundamentals have also improved," said Mitra. "This has become evident in declining political interference in the functioning of policy institutions, more traction on several, though, not all, structural reforms; and peaceful settlement of disputes in Aceh. Mitra said that the review would focus on the country's ability to meet its revised fiscal targets, the levels of and prospects for continued increases in investment, and the country's general ability to weather volatility in global capital markets. ========= J A P A N ========= ALL NIPPON: 1st Quarter Profit Surges on Sale of Hotels ------------------------------------------------------- All Nippon Airways Co. said that its first-quarter profit rose 11-fold as it sold a group of hotels, masking a drop in operating profit, Japan Times reports, citing Bloomberg News. The report says that All Nippon's net income increased to JPY87.4 billion in the three months ended June 30, 2007, from the JPY7.68 billion posted a year ago. Operating profit fell 32.3% as fuel costs increased and the airline filled fewer seats. All Nippon had a one-time gain of JPY130 billion from the sale of 13 hotels to Morgan Stanley last month, Japan Times notes. That covered an JPY11.1 billion surge in fuel costs and a drop in the percentage of seats occupied by paying passengers. "It sold the hotel business at a top price, and that gave it a one-off boost," Japan Times cites Mitsushige Akino of Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co. as saying. About All Nippon Headquartered in Tokyo, All Nippon Airways Co., Limited -- http://www.ana.co.jp/eng/-- is Japan's second-largest airline company in terms of revenue. The company, which was founded in 1952, provides these services: 1. Scheduled air transportation business; 2. Nonscheduled air transportation business and business utilizing aircraft; 3. Business of buying, selling, leasing and maintenance of aircraft and aircraft parts; and 4. Aircraft transportation ground support business, including passenger boarding procedures and loading of hand baggage. The Troubled Company Reporter-Asia Pacific reported on June 28, 2007, that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised to 'BB+' from 'BB' its long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on All Nippon Airways Co. Ltd. due to the company generating more stable profits backed by its operational competitiveness, and the faster-than-expected improvement in its financial profile. The outlook on the long-term corporate credit rating is stable. BANK OF TOKYO-MITSUBISHI: Decides to Liquidate DC Card Trading -------------------------------------------------------------- Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. said that The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., a subsidiary of MUFG, has decided to liquidate DC Card Trading Co., Ltd. DC Card Trading is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ NICOS Co., Ltd., which is a subsidiary of BTMU. 1. Outline of DC Card Trading (1) Address: 3-2, Dogenzaka 1-chome, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo (2) Liquidator: Naoyuki Abe (3) Capital: JPY100 million (4) Main business: Sale of marketing materials etc. 2. Reason for liquidation As part of a business reorganization being undertaken following the April 1, 2007 establishment of Mitsubishi UFJ NICOS (which resulted from the merger of DC Card Co., Ltd. and UFJ NICOS Co., Ltd.) the entire operations of DC Card Trading have been transferred to Card Business Services Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ NICOS. It was therefore decided to liquidate DC Card Trading. 3. Timing of liquidation Liquidation is expected to be completed by the end of October 2007. 4. Impact on business forecasts This event is not expected to have any material effect on the previously announced business forecasts for MUFG and Mitsubishi UFJ NICOS for the current fiscal year. About The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. is a Japanese commercial banking company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It provides a range of domestic and international banking services in Japan and worldwide. As of March 31, 2005, the Company's network in Japan included 251 branches, 28 sub-branches, 60 loan plazas, 474 branch automated teller machines (ATMs) and 19,062 convenience store-based, non-exclusive automated teller machines. The company is organized into eight segments: retail banking; commercial banking; global corporate banking; investment banking and asset management; UnionBanCal Corporation; operations services; treasury, and other, including systems services and eBusiness and information technology initiatives. GOODWILL GROUP: Comsn Unveils Plan to Hand Over Nursing Care Ops ---------------------------------------------------------------- Goodwill Group Inc.'s nursing-care business arm, Comsn Inc., revealed on Tuesday that it has submitted to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry a plan to hand over its care operations for the elderly to a number of buyers, Japan Times reports. According to Japan Times, Comsn's plan involves the turn over of its at-home care operations in the 47 prefectures to buyers to be selected in each prefecture. On the other hand, operations related to Comsn-run assisted-living facilities will go to a single buyer. Comsn President Koichi Higuchi told a news conference that the Ministry approved in general the company's plan to hand over these operations. Japan Times recalls that Goodwill Group said in mid-June that it would "pull the plug" on nursing-care operations by its group arms and sell them next April or after to take the blame for the Comsn certification fraud scandal. This after the Ministry revoked the operating licenses of 80% of Comsn's nursing care- related facilities in early June. However, Goodwill later said that it would continue nursing-care services until the end of March 2008 so its existing users won't be inconvenienced. Comsn, the report says, currently runs a network of 1,268 care worker dispatch bases in all 47 prefectures to provide at-home services to 75,406 people, while operating another network of 213 assisted-living facilities for 4,515 people. About Goodwill Group Japan-based The Goodwill Group, Inc. -- http://www.goodwill.com/gwg/english/index.html-- is involved in five business segments. The Staffing segment offers recruitment services for technicians, senior workers and others. The Human Resources-related segment provides employee hiring support services to corporate clients, counseling services to workers and outplacement services to retired and retiring workers. The Nursing-care and Medical Support segment is engaged in the provision of home-care services, care services in facilities and dental examination services at home, as well as the sale of nursing-care goods and equipment, among others. The Senior Residence and Restaurant segment operates nursing home under the name THE BARRINGTON HOUSE, and also operates restaurant in both domestic and overseas markets. The Others segment is engaged in the planning, designing and management of pet care facilities, the operation of pet care shops, the operation and management of nurseries, the provision of baby-sitting services and others. The Troubled Company Reporter-Asia Pacific reported on June 14, 2007, that The Goodwill Group is thinking of selling its home nursing-care services division after the Japanese Government banned it from renewing its licenses due to its involvement in a fraud scandal. The article conveys that the firm allegedly obtained some of the licenses for nursing-care service operators certified under a public insurance program through fraudulent applications, including those with an inflated number of employees. SANYO ELECTRIC: Turns Around w/ JPY2.6BB Profit for 1st Quarter --------------------------------------------------------------- Sanyo Electric Co. turns around with a net profit for its fiscal first quarter on proceeds from the sale of its credit affiliate and other holdings, The Wall Street Journal reports. According to Reuters, for the first quarter, Sanyo Electric recorded a net profit of JPY2.57 billion, a turnaround from the JPY9.67-billion net loss it incurred for the same quarter of the previous fiscal year. The net profit includes a JPY16.31 billion windfall from the sale of assets, half of which came when U.S.-based General Electric Co.'s Japanese unit purchased Sanyo Electric Credit Co. in May, WSJ points out. WSJ's Jay Alabaster, however, cites Sanyo as saying that its overall business performance slumped from a year earlier. Sanyo has had massive losses for the past three fiscal years and the company is attempting to climb back into the black for this fiscal year, under the guidance of U.S.-based Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and its Japan-based partner investors Daiwa Securities Group Inc. and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., which have poured JPY300 billion into the company. Sanyo said that its operating revenue fell across nearly all of its businesses in the fiscal first quarter, WSJ notes. The company posted an operating profit of JPY732 million in the April-June period, down 72% from the JPY2.57-billion operating profit it reported a year earlier, Reuters says. The report notes that the decline is due to sluggish mobile phone sales and higher raw materials prices. "We saw strong digital camera demand in overseas markets. . . but mobile phone sales shrank substantially in Japan because of fierce competition," Reuters quotes Sanyo Executive Vice President Koichi Maeda as stating in a news conference. According to Reuters, Sanyo now expects to sell about 11 million units of mobile phones in the current business to March 2008, down from its initial estimates of 12.5-12.6 million. In addition, Sanyo Electric suffered from slower sales of washing machines, refrigerators and air-conditioners. Mr. Alabaster relates that for the year ending March 2008, Sanyo maintained its earnings outlook for a JPY20-billion net profit and sales of JPY2.23 trillion. Sanyo Electric's earnings are based on U.S. accounting standards. About Sanyo Electric Headquartered in Osaka, Japan, Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. -- http://www.sanyo.com/-- is one of the world's leading manufacturers of consumer electronics products. The company has global operations in Brazil, Germany, India, Ireland, Spain, the United States and the United Kingdom, among others. * * * In March 2007, Fitch Ratings placed SANYO Electric Co. Ltd.'s BB+ long-term foreign and local currency issuer default and senior unsecured ratings on rating watch negative. On May 23, 2006, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its negative BB long-term corporate credit and BB+ senior unsecured debt ratings on SANYO Electric Co. Ltd. At the same time, the ratings were removed from CreditWatch where they were first placed with negative implications on Sept. 28, 2005. SENSATA TECHNOLOGIES: Moody's Ups B3 Rating on US$450 Mil. Notes ---------------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investors Service affirmed Sensata Technologies B.V.'s B2 corporate family rating in response to the company's issuance of EUR141 million (US$195 million) senior subordinate term loan and use of cash on hand to acquire Airpax Holdings, Inc. for US$276 million, including fees and expenses. At the same time, Moody's upgraded Sensata's senior secured credit facility to Ba3 and its US$450 million unsecured notes to B3. The rating of the subordinate notes remains at Caa1. The outlook is negative. Sensata's B2 corporate family rating reflects its strong competitive position, long-standing customer relationships, significant barriers to competitive entry, and stable free cash flow generation. The company continues to benefit from the favorable trends in increased sensor content per unit for many of its customers' products. Yet, these strengths are balanced against the company's high leverage. For 2006 adjusted debt/revenues was almost 200%. While the Airpax acquisition will increase the company's revenue and earnings, it will also increase the company's debt levels. Sensata's increasing levels of debt and cash interest payments could stress its credit metrics and hinder the company's financial flexibility in a downturn. The negative outlook reflects Sensata's willingness to pursue relatively large debt-financed acquisitions that add significantly more incremental debt while increasing the company's overall leverage. This strategy is a departure from Moody's expectations incorporated into the existing B2 corporate family rating, which included small to modest acquisitions. Furthermore, Sensata must contend with integrating a sizeable company in addition to its previous acquisitions while operating as a stand-alone entity. Additionally, correcting material weaknesses identified by management in order to comply with SEC filing requirements adds additional uncertainty. The ratings for the company's debt instruments reflect the overall probability of default of the company, to which Moody's assigns a probability of default rating of B2. The one notch upgrade of the company's senior secured credit facility and unsecured notes reflects a lower expected loss driven largely by the additional junior capital provided by the EUR195 million term loan; on a relative basis, the existing debt has a more senior position in the company's capital structure because of the increase in subordinate debt. The term loan will have substantially the same terms and conditions as the company's existing subordinate notes. Moody's does not rate this term loan. The following ratings/assessments were affected by this action: -- Corporate family rating affirmed at B2; -- Probability-of-default rating affirmed at B2; -- US$1.5 billion (equivalent) senior secured credit facility upgraded to Ba3 (LGD2, 29%) from B1 (LGD3, 33%); -- US$450 million senior unsecured notes due 2014 upgraded to B3 (LGD5, 75%) from Caa1 (LGD5, 82%); Ratings affirmed/LGD assessments revised: -- EUR245 million senior subordinate notes due 2016 at Caa1 (LGD6, 91%) from Caa1 (LGD6, 93%). The company's speculative grade liquidity rating of SGL-2 is unchanged. Headquartered in Attleboro, Massachusetts, Sensata Technologies -- http://www.sensata.com/-- is a supplier of sensors and controls across a range of markets and applications. The company has manufacturing locations in Brazil, Mexico, China, Japan and the Netherlands. Sensata Technologies employs approximately 5,400 people worldwide. ========= K O R E A ========= TONG YANG: Completes Issuance of 19,059,520 Common Shares --------------------------------------------------------- Tong Yang Major Corporation has completed the issuance of 19,059,520 common shares and 922,649 preferred shares at an offer price of KRW 5,000 per share, through a rights issue, which was initially announced on May 25, 2007, Reuters reports. According to the report, the number of shares remaining unclaimed is 2,581,644 of the total allocated shares and the unclaimed shares will not be issued. About Tong Yang Major Headquartered in Seoul, Korea, Tong Yang Major Corporation -- http://www.tongyangmajor.com/-- provides construction services and allied materials. The company also builds apartment complexes, commercial buildings, industrial plants and highways, and offers remodeling and renovation services. Korea Investors Services placed a BB- rating to the company's senior unsecured debt on Jan. 5, 2006. The company's commercial papers also carries Korea Rating's B rating effective on Oct. 18, 2006. The company has been experiencing annual net losses of KRW 7.45 billion in 2005, KRW47.66 billion in 2004, KRW64.89 billion in 2003 and KRW361.49 billion in 2002. As of July 20, 2007, the company had a shareholders' equity deficit of US$86.95 million. WOORI TECHNOLOGY: Completes Issuance of 12,744,987 Common Shares ---------------------------------------------------------------- Woori Technology Inc. has completed issuance of 12,744,987 common shares of the Company at an offer price of KRW 1,550 per share, Reuters reports. According to the report, this brings the total number of the Company's outstanding common shares to 19,431,393. The confirmed listing date of the new shares is July 31, 2007, the report adds. Headquartered in Seoul, Korea, Woori Technology Inc. -- http://www.wooritg.com/-- is a manufacturer specialized in the provision of electronic equipment. The company operates its business through information communication and system divisions. Its information communication business division provides audio visual (AV) receivers, set-top boxes (Stubs), board virtual machine environment (VME), digital versatile disc (DVD) players and other related products. Its system business division offers distributed control systems (DCS), monitoring devices used in nuclear power plants and power management systems. In addition, the company provides robots used in home, cleaning and guiding. Korea Ratings gave the company's KRW2.20 billion straight bond private offering a B- rating with a stable outlook. YOUNGCHANG SILUP: Shareholders Sell 754,011 Shares -------------------------------------------------- Youngchang Silup Co., Ltd. disclosed that Park Suhk and six other persons have sold 754,011 shares of the Company, Reuters reports. As a result, Park Suhk and six other persons do not have any equity stake in the Company, the report adds. Seoul, Korea-based Youngchang Silup Co., Ltd. -- http://www.youngchang.co.kr/main.asp-- is engaged in the manufacturing of leather for shoes, bags, belts, garments, car seats and wheel covers. The company's main clients are Timberland, Rockport, Coach, Brighton, Polo, DKNY, Aigner, Mova, Superior Sungchang, Simmone, Mikwang, Ssamzie, St. John, Nautica Jean, I Blues, Marina Rinaldi and Geiger. It has an affiliated company each in Korea and China. On May 18, 2005, Korea Ratings gave the company's KRW10.00 billion convertible bond and KRW5.00 billion straight bond a BB+ rating with a stable outlook. =============== M A L A Y S I A =============== AMSTEEL CORP: Bursa Extends Plan Filing Deadline to Oct. 31 ----------------------------------------------------------- The Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd has extended the reform plan filing deadline of Amsteel Corporation Bhd to October 31, 2007, after the company appealed an earlier decision of the bourse to delist its securities on July 12, 2007. The bourse also extended until Sept. 30, 2007, the company's deadline to make its requisite announcement regarding its reform plan. On July 3, 2007, the Troubled Company Reporter-Asia Pacific reported that the Bursa Securities decided to delist the company's securities on July 12, after it failed to make the necessary announcement regarding its plan on June 30. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Amsteel Corporation Berhad is involved in the provision of plantation management, property development, management and contractor; hotel operation and food court. The Company is also involved in transportation and logistic services, department stores, nominee services, trading securities, manufacture and sale of tools, dies, tyres, rubber compound, light trucks and buses, financial management; distributes steel products, develops real estate property; cultivation of rubber and oil palm, golf and country club, sale and distribute Suzuki motorcycles, beer brewing and mineral water bottling. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Asia Pacific on May 19, 2006, Amsteel Corporation Berhad was classified under Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad's Amended Practice Note 17 category. The Company was identified as an affected listed issuer because: -- the auditors have expressed a modified opinion with emphasis on the Company's going concern in the Company's latest audited financial statement for the financial year ended June 30, 2005; and -- the Company's consolidated shareholders' equity as of June 30, 2005, represented 17.3% of the issued and paid-up capital of the Company. Pursuant to the PN17 classification, the Company is required to submit and implement a plan to regularize its financial condition. FA PENINSULAR: New Plan Filing Deadline Slated for Aug. 31 ---------------------------------------------------------- At FA Peninsular Bhd's request, the Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd extended until August 31, 2007, the company's deadline to submit its regularization plan to the Securities Commission and other relevant authorities. In addition, the bourse also extended the period for the company to make a requisite announcement of its plan to July 31, 2007. The Troubled Company Reporter-Asia Pacific reported on May 15, 2007, that the Bursa Securities deferred its previous decision to delist the company's securities from its official list after the company submitted an appeal against the decision. FA Peninsular's principal activities are processing and trading cocoa. Other activity includes stock and share-broking. Operations are carried out mainly in Malaysia. The company is currently listed in the Amended PN-17 list of companies in the Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd and is required to submit a regularization plan to stabilize its financial and operational status. FA Peninsular Bhd's unaudited balance sheet as of Dec. 31, 2006, went upside down with total assets of MYR15.86 million and total liabilities of MYR22.08 million, resulting in a shareholders' deficit of MYR6.22 million. SETEGAP BERHAD: Bags Golf Resort Dev't Contract for MYR220MM ------------------------------------------------------------ Setegap Bhd disclosed with the Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd that it has won a contract to construct and complete the "Proposed Mix Development Kuala Rompin Golf Resort" at Mukim Badak, Daerah Rompin, in Pahang Darul Makmur, Malaysia, for Kuala Rompin Golf Resort Sdn. Bhd. Setegap will be the sole and exclusive contractor for the engineering, procurement and construction of the project, which has a contract value of MYR220,000,000.00. Headquartered in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, Setegap Berhad's principal activities consist of the construction and maintenance of roads, railways and building, including services rendered on quarrying. The Company's other activities include manufacturing and selling offroad construction equipment, asphalt plants, mixing plants, asphalt emulsions and premix. The Group also provides mechanical and electrical services, leases machinery and investment holding. Setegap's cash flow and profitability were affected by the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and 1998. Setegap Bhd's unaudited balance sheet as of Dec. 31, 2006, showed total assets of MYR65.71 million and total liabilities of MYR187.85 million, resulting to a shareholders' deficit of MYR122.14 million. ==================== N E W Z E A L A N D ==================== ADVANCE FINTUBE: Names Brown and Rodewald as Liquidators -------------------------------------------------------- Kenneth Peter Brown and Thomas Lee Rodewald were appointed as liquidators for Advance Fintube X-Changers Ltd. on July 2, 2007. The Liquidators can be reached at: Kenneth Peter Brown Thomas Lee Rodewald c/o Rodewald Hart Brown Limited 5 King Street PO Box 541, Hamilton New Zealand Telephone:(07) 848 1586 Website: http://www.rhb.co.nz ALLUVIAL HOLDINGS: Shareholders Resolve to Liquidate Business ------------------------------------------------------------- On July 6, 2007, the shareholders of Alluvial Holdings Ltd. resolved to liquidate the company's business and appointed Paul Alexander Glass as liquidator. The Liquidator can be reached at: Paul Alexander Glass 44 York Place, Dunedin New Zealand Telephone:(03) 477 5432 Facsimile:(03) 474 1564 BERNSTEIN RESEARCH: Fixes August 6 as Last Day to File Claims ------------------------------------------------------------- Bernstein Research Ltd. requires its creditors to file their proofs of debt by August 6, 2007. The company went into liquidation on June 28, 2007. The company's liquidator is: Robert Anthony Elms Jarvie PKF PO Box 1208, Wellington New Zealand FELTEX CARPETS: Liquidator Sues 8 Former Directors for NZ$20MM -------------------------------------------------------------- John Vague, liquidator of Feltex Carpets Limited, notified eight of the carpet manufacturer's former directors that they face legal action totaling more than NZ$20 million, Gareth Vaughan of The Press reports. According to the report, the liquidator has also set a November court date with Feltex Carpet's bank, ANZ Group. The bank, which Feltex then owed AU$119.5 million (NZ$133.8 million), placed the carpet maker in receivership in September, the newspaper relates. The liquidator, however, faced some inconvenience in getting hold of banking records relating to Feltex. The report noted that a court application to obtain ANZ's diary notes is being opposed by the bank. So far, ANZ has got back AU$101.8 million of the money it loaned Feltex, the report adds. About Feltex Headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand, and established over 50 years ago, Feltex Carpets Limited -- http://www.feltex.com/-- has built a reputation for being one of the world's leading manufacturers of superior-quality carpet. The Feltex operation includes a wool scouring plant, six spinning mills, three tufted carpet mills, a woven carpet mill and offices in New Zealand, Australia and the United States. The Company also leads the way in exports, with customers throughout South East Asia, Japan, the United States, the Middle East and other key world markets. Feltex listed on the local stock exchange in mid-2004 in a NZ$254-million initial public offering -- the year's largest in New Zealand. However, the Company fell short of its prospectus earnings projections, reporting a net profit of NZ$11.8 million in the fiscal year to June 30, 2005, about half the forecast NZ$23.9 million. The Company has struggled with losses and earnings downgrades, flogging sales, and a dipping share price. The Company closed plants and in October 2005, axed 235 jobs, mostly in Australia, and by 2006, abandoned merger talks with Australian competitor Godfrey Hirst after it suggested that the apparent "whiteknight" investor was more interested in a reverse takeover. Godfrey Hirst later sold out its nearly 9% stake in the Company. In February 2006, Feltex reported a first-half after tax loss of NZ$11.83 million, down almost 200% compared with the net loss in the previous year. ANZ Bank placed the Company in receivership on September 22, 2006, and named Colin Nicol, Peter Anderson and Kerryn Downey, of McGrathNicol+Partners, as receivers and managers. The TCR-AP reported on October 4, 2006, that Godfrey Hirst acquired Feltex as a going concern, including its assets and undertakings in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States. Proceeds of the sale will be used to ease the company's NZ$128- million debt to ANZ Bank. On December 13, 2006, the High Court in Auckland ruled in favor of an application by the Shareholders Association against Feltex Carpets Limited. The Court had put Feltex into liquidation. John Vague was appointed as liquidator for the company. GORGE PROPERTIES: Commences Liquidation Proceedings --------------------------------------------------- Gorge Properties Ltd. commenced liquidation proceedings on June 30, 2007, through a special resolution passed on that day by the shareholders. The company's liquidator is: Andrew James Stewart Morrison Kent House, Level 19 105 The Terrace, Wellington New Zealand Telephone:(04) 472 0020 Facsimile:(04) 472 7017 HAVEN INTERNATIONAL: Taps Sanson and Fisk as Liquidators -------------------------------------------------------- Craig Alexander Sanson and John Howard Ross Fisk were appointed as liquidators of Haven International Ltd. on July 2, 2007. Creditors must file their claims by Sept. 3, 2007, to be included in the company's dividend distribution. The company's liquidators can be reached at: Craig Sanson John Howard Ross Fisk c/o PricewaterhouseCoopers 113-119 The Terrace PO Box 243, Wellington New Zealand Telephone:(04) 462 7000 Facsimile:(04) 462 7492 KAMU HOLDINGS: Enters Wind-Up Proceedings ----------------------------------------- Kamu Holdings Ltd. entered wind-up proceedings on July 2, 2007, and Gordon L. Hansen was appointed as liquidator. Creditors who were not able to file their claims by July 24, 2007, will be excluded from sharing in the company's dividend distribution. The company's liquidator is: Gordon L. Hansen Goldsmith Fox PKF PO Box 13141, Christchurch New Zealand Telephone:(03) 366 6706 Facsimile:(03) 366 0265 KUBIK LTD: Shareholders Pass Resolution to Wind Up Firm ------------------------------------------------------- On July 4, 2007, the shareholders of Kubik Ltd. passed a resolution to wind up the company's operations and appointed Neville Petrie Fagerlund as liquidator. Mr. Fagerlund is accepting proofs of debt from its creditors until August 7, 2007. The Liquidator can be reached at: Neville Petrie Fagerlund c/o HFK Limited PO Box 5071, Papanui, Christchurch New Zealand Telephone:(03) 352 9189 MONEY MANAGERS: Shareholders Opt to Liquidate Business ------------------------------------------------------ On June 25, 2007, the shareholders of Money Managers Matrix Ltd. decided to liquidate the company's business and appointed Gregory Robert Rudings as liquidator. The Liquidator can be reached at: Gregory Robert Rudings 19 George Gee Drive, Korokoro Lower Hutt 5012 New Zealand Telephone:(04) 499 0083 Facsimile:(04) 499 0085 OREWA HEALTH: Creditors' Proofs of Debt Due on August 4 ------------------------------------------------------- The creditors of Orewa Health Care Centre (2003) Ltd. are required to file their claims by August 4, 2007. Failure to file claims by the due date will exclude a creditor from sharing in the company's dividend distribution. The company's liquidators are: Paul Graham Sargison Gerald Stanley Rea c/o Gerry Rea Associates PO Box 3015, Auckland New Zealand Telephone:(09) 377 3099 Facsimile:(09) 377 3098 SPARTACUS PROPERTY: Creditors to Hold Meeting on August 8 --------------------------------------------------------- The creditors of Spartacus Property Ltd. will meet on August 8, 2007, at 10:00 a.m., to receive an update about the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The company's liquidators are: Paul Graham Sargison Gerald Stanley Rea c/o Gerry Rea Associates PO Box 3015, Auckland New Zealand Telephone:(09) 377 3099 Facsimile:(09) 377 3098 ===================== P H I L I P P I N E S ===================== CHIQUITA BRANDS: S&P Holds Ratings Under Negative CreditWatch ------------------------------------------------------------- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said that the ratings on Cincinnati, Ohio-based Chiquita Brands International Inc. remain on CreditWatch with negative implications following reports that the company, in addition to other banana import companies, received a Statement of Objections from the European Commission. The document concerns an ongoing EC investigation regarding potential violations of European competition laws in the banana industry. Based on Chiquita's voluntary notification and cooperation with the investigation, the EC granted the company conditional immunity from any fines related to the conduct, subject to customary conditions. The ratings were initially placed on CreditWatch with negative implications on May 2, 2007, following weak first-quarter operating results due to high purchased fruit and other industry costs and lower local banana prices in Europe. "We will review Chiquita's operating and financial plans with management before resolving the CreditWatch listing, as well as developments in this EC investigation, and assess the potential for regulatory sanctions and/or financial penalties as part of our review," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Alison Sullivan. Cincinnati, Ohio-based Chiquita Brands International, Inc. (NYSE: CQB) -- http://www.chiquita.com/-- markets and distributes fresh food products including bananas and nutritious blends of green salads. The company markets its products under the Chiquita(R) and Fresh Express(R) premium brands and other related trademarks. Chiquita employs approximately 25,000 people operating in more than 70 countries worldwide, including Colombia, Panama and the Philippines. COVANTA HOLDING: Earns US$37.7 Million in Quarter Ended June 30 --------------------------------------------------------------- Covanta Holding Corporation had net income of US$37.7 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2007, as compared with US$51.2 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2006. Total operating revenues that grew 6% to US$355 million for the three months ended June 30, 2007, up from US$334 million in the prior year comparative period. The company's domestic waste and energy operating revenues grew 5% to US$301 million, driven primarily by contractual service fee escalations, construction revenues related to the Hillsborough County facility expansion and two facilities added to the company's portfolio this year; the Harrisburg Energy- from-Waste facility and the Holliston transfer station. International revenues of US$52 million grew by 17% primarily due to higher electricity sales at both Indian facilities. Six Months Results For the six months ended June 30, 2007, total company operating revenues rose 7% to US$685 million. Covanta Energy's net income for the six months ended June 30, 2007, was US$19.8 million. At June 30, 2007, the company listed US$4.3 billion total assets, US$3.4 billion total liabilities, US$43.6 million minority interest, and US$895.3 million stockholders' equity. A full-text copy of the company's second quarter report is available for free at http://ResearchArchives.com/t/s?21d6 "The second quarter was marked by solid operating performance and tangible progress on our growth initiatives that position us to take advantage of promising opportunities around the world," said Anthony Orlando, president and chief executive officer of Covanta. "Notably, we signed a 10 year agreement to operate the Harrisburg Energy-from-Waste facility, completed our joint venture to enter the Energy-from-Waste market in China, announced the acquisition of two biomass renewable energy facilities in California, and received a Letter of Intent to design, build and operate a 1,700 ton per day Energy-from-Waste facility in Dublin, Ireland." About Covanta Headquartered in Fairfield, New Jersey, Covanta Energy Corp. (NYSE: CVA) -- http://www.covantaenergy.com/-- is a publicly traded holding company whose subsidiaries develop, own or operate power generation facilities and water and wastewater facilities in the United States and abroad. Covanta has operations in the Philippines, China, Costa Rica, India, and Bangladesh. * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on Jan. 24 2007, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned a 'BB-' corporate credit rating to Covanta Holding Corp. and a 'B' issue rating to the company's US$325 million senior unsecured convertible bonds. At the same time, Standard & Poor's also raised the corporate credit rating on subsidiary Covanta Energy Co., to 'BB-' from 'B+' and assigned a 'BB-' issue rating, with a '2' recovery rating (reflecting 80% to 100% of recovery in a default scenario) to its proposed US$1.3 billion credit facilities consisting of a US$680 million, first-lien secured term loan, USUS$320 million in funded LOCs, and US$300 million in revolving credit facilities. S&P said the outlook remains stable. Moody's Investors Service also assigned a Ba2 rating to Covanta Energy Corp.'s new US$1.3 billion senior secured credit facility and a B1 rating to Covanta Holding Corp.'s US$325 million convertible debentures. The Ba2 rating assigned to the new credit facility is effectively a two-notch upgrade from the B1 rating assigned to Covanta's current first lien credit facility. With the convertible debenture offering, Moody's has reassigned the Corporate Family Rating to Covanta Holding Corp. from its subsidiary, Covanta Energy Corp. Concurrently, the CFR has been upgraded to Ba2 from Ba3. IPVG CORP: Sets Aside PHP1 Bil. for Purchase of 3 Call Centers -------------------------------------------------------------- IPVG Corp. is planning to acquire three call centers within this year and has allotted PHP1 billion for the purchases, IPVG Chief Executive Officer Enrique Gonzalez told the Philippine Star. However, Mr. Gonzalez refused to reveal the names of the target companies. The company also revealed through a disclosure with the Philippine Stock Exchange that it has executed on Monday a loan agreement with the Malayan Bank Savings & Mortgage Bank for a PHP50-million term loan for the partial financing of its acquisition of a call center. The loan will have a term of one year and is extendable for another six months, the company said. IPVG Corporation -- http://www.ipvg.com/-- is engaged in the information technology and communications business with interests in Information Technology and Telecommunications; On- line Gaming; and Business Process Outsourcing. IPVG reaches its customers through collaboration with international corporations that have proven to be market leaders in their respective geographic markets and industries. Its current partners include Fortune 1000 companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange, such as Pacific Century Cyberworks Inc. and IDT. The company can offer established product and proprietary business knowledge to the Philippine market by pairing each of its business subsidiaries with strategic partners. The TCR-AP reported on May 15, 2007 that the corporation posted a net loss of PHP102.1 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2006, the company's third consecutive annual net loss after PHP43.0 million in 2005 and PHP6.2 million in 2004. LODESTAR INVESTMENT: Cyan & Cancorp Sell 35MM Shares to Abacus -------------------------------------------------------------- Cyan Management Corp. and Carcorp Makati Inc., major shareholders of Lodestar Investment Holdings Corp., sold their collective holdings in the company to Abacus Securities Corp. On July 30, the former shareholders entered into a memorandum of agreement with Abacus for the sale of 35,032,643 shares, which represents 93.91% of the issued and outstanding shares of the company. The shares were sold for PHP2.50 per share, aggregating PHP87.581 million. The company had requested the Philippine Stock Exchange to suspend trading of its securities effective July 30, according to a disclosure dated July 27. Headquartered in Quezon City, Philippines, Lodestar Investment Holdings Corporation (LIHC) was originally incorporated as a mining and natural resources exploration company. Due to the unsuccessful ventures in this field, the company decided to discontinue operations in October 1991. On 03 October 2003, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the amendment of the LIHC's Articles of Incorporation and By-laws, changing the company's corporate name from Lodestar Mining Corporation to what is known today as well as its primary purpose to that of an investment holding company. As of Dec. 31, 2006, Lodestar had a capital deficiency of PHP598,853. With virtually no operations, the company didn't report any profit and loss statements for the year. MARIWASA MFG: Sells 59,651 Square Meters of Land to Filinvest ------------------------------------------------------------- Mariwasa Manufacturing Inc.'s Board of Directors approved the sale of about 59,651 square meters in aggregate area of land parcels located in Pasig City to Filinvest Land Inc. During a special meeting held on July 26, the Board approved the sale of land parcels with transfer certificate of title nos. 12252 (191163), 12253 (253963), 12254 (254090), 12255 (370737) and 12256 (382301) and original certificate of title no. 0049. The Board also allowed Mariwasa's wholly owned subsidiary, Mariwasa-Siam Ceramics Inc., to sell parcels of land in Pasig City with TCT Nos. PT-135373 and PT-135395. The parcels hold an aggregate area of 3,707 square meters. Pasig City, Philippines-based Incorporated on November 5, 1963, Mariwasa Manufacturing Corporation -- http://www.mariwasa.com/- - manufactures and sells glazed ceramic floor tiles in various sizes, colors and designs via a distribution network that spans the whole archipelago. The company has 76 distributors and a significant number of exclusive distributors nationwide. Aside from the local market, Mariwasa tiles also exports to foreign markets such as the United States and Hong Kong, among others. Going Concern Doubt After auditing the company's financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2006, Aileen L. Saringan at Sycip Gorres Velayo & Co. raised significant doubt on Mariwasa's ability to continue as a going concern, citing the company's recurring net losses and capital deficiency. Ms. Saringan also said that "in addition, the parent company and its major subsidiary have not complied with certain loan covenants with creditor banks." The company posted a net loss of PHP201.37 million for the year ending December 31, 2006, after posting a PHP17.92 million net income a year earlier. The company also posted a capital deficiency of PHP38.01 million. MIRANT CORP: Mirant Lovett Requests Confirmation Rehearing ---------------------------------------------------------- Mirant Lovett, LLC, and Mirant Corporation, as co-proponent to Mirant Lovett's Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization, asks the Hon. D. Michael Lynn of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas to establish procedures to recommence the adjourned Confirmation Hearing so that the Court may consider confirmation of the Mirant Lovett Plan. Specifically, Mirant Lovett and Mirant Corp. ask the Court to issue an order: (a) approving a proposed form of notice of recommencement of confirmation in connection with Mirant Lovett's Chapter 11 case; (b) finding that the Mirant Lovett Plan does not alter in any respect the treatment of the holders of unsecured claims against Mirant Lovett; therefore, all votes cast by the unsecured claimholders in respect of the confirmed Joint Plan of Reorganization filed by the New Mirant Entities will be deemed votes cast in respect of the Mirant Lovett Plan; (c) finding that the Mirant Lovett Plan fully incorporates the settlement agreement between Mirant Lovett, Mirant New York, Inc., and Mirant Bowline, LLC, on the one hand, and Haverstraw, Stony Point, Rockland County, the Haverstraw-Stony Point School District and Haverstraw Village, on the other hand -- the New York Settlement -- and that, therefore, Tax Jurisdictions with claims against Mirant Lovett are unimpaired under the Mirant Lovett Plan; and (d) setting a status conference on the Mirant Lovett Plan and establishing a deadline to file objections to the Plan. Jeff P. Prostok, Esq., at Forshey & Prostok, LLP, in Miami, Florida, states that the proposed Recommencement Notice establishes September 19, 2007, as the date on which the Confirmation Hearing will recommence, and September 12, 2007, as the last day for filing objections to the Mirant Lovett Plan. Mirant Lovett will serve the Recommencement Notice on all of their creditors. The Recommencement Notice will also be published in (i) The Wall Street Journal, and (ii) The Journal News, no less than 25 days prior to the recommencement of the Confirmation Hearing. Mr. Prostok asserts that no further disclosure is required in connection with the Mirant Lovett Plan because the Plan treats holders of unsecured claims against Mirant Lovett as if they were "MAG Debtor Class 5 - General Unsecured Claims" or "MAG Debtor Class 7 - Convenience Claims," as appilcable under the Mirant Plan. As a result, the treatment of holders of unsecured claims against Mirant Lovett under its Plan is identical to the treatment the holders would have received under the confirmed Mirant Plan. Under these circumstances, Mr. Prostok continues, there is no need for holders of unsecured claims to receive any disclosures over and above what was received under the Original Disclosure Statement. The votes cast by the holders in respect of the confirmed Mirant Plan should also be deemed votes cast in favor of the Mirant Lovett Plan, he adds. Mr. Prostok reminds the Court that Section 1124 of the Bankruptcy Code provides that a class of claims or interests is unimpaired if the plan "leaves unaltered the legal, equitable, and contractual rights to which such claim of interest entitles the holder of such claim or interest." Section 1126(f) further provides that a class of claims that is unimpaired under a plan is conclusively presumed to have accepted the plan. The Mirant Lovett Plan classifies all claims against Mirant Lovett arising from the New York Settlement as "Class 1 - Tax Jurisdiction Settlement Claims," which are unimpaired since the the Claims will "receive the treatment specified in the New York Settlement." The Class 1 Claimholders will receive all their legal, equitable and contractual rights under the New York Settlement without modification, and should conclusively be deemed to have accepted the Mirant Lovett Plan, Mr. Prostok asserts. The Court will convene a hearing on the Debtors' request on August 8, 2007. Objections are due August 3, at 4:00 p.m. About Mirant Corp. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Mirant Corporation (NYSE: MIR) -- http://www.mirant.com/-- is an energy company that produces and sells electricity in North America, the Caribbean, and the Philippines. Mirant's investments in the Caribbean include three integrated utilities and assets in Jamaica, Grand Bahama, Trinidad and Tobago and Curacao. Mirant owns or leases more than 18,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity globally. Mirant Corporation filed for chapter 11 protection on July 14, 2003 (Bankr. N.D. Tex. 03-46590), and emerged under the terms of a confirmed Second Amended Plan on Jan. 3, 2006. Thomas E. Lauria, Esq., at White & Case LLP, represented the Debtors in their successful restructuring. When the Debtors filed for protection from their creditors, they listed $20,574,000,000 in assets and $11,401,000,000 in debts. The Debtors emerged from bankruptcy on Jan. 3, 2006. On March 7, 2007, the Court entered a final decree closing 46 Mirant cases. Mirant NY-Gen LLC, Mirant Bowline LLC, Mirant Lovett LLC, Mirant New York Inc., and Hudson Valley Gas Corporation, were not included. On Feb. 15, 2007, Mirant NY-Gen filed its Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization and on Feb. 22 filed a Disclosure Statement explaining that Plan. The Court approved the adequacy of Mirant NY-Gen's Disclosure Statement on March 22, 2007, and confirmed the Amended Plan on May 7, 2007. Mirant NY-Gen emerged from chapter 11 on May 7, 2007. On July 13, 2007, Mirant Lovett filed its Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization. (Mirant Bankruptcy News, Issue No. 127 Bankruptcy Creditors' Service Inc., http://bankrupt.com/newsstand/or 215/945-7000) * * * The ratings of Mirant Corp. (Issuer Default Rating of 'B+') and its subsidiaries remain on Fitch's Rating Watch Negative following the company's announced plans to pursue alternative strategic options including a possible purchase of Mirant by a third party. NIHAO MINERAL: OYEZ Takes Up Saprolite's Subscription Commitment ---------------------------------------------------------------- OYEZ!!! Corp. will now subscribe to any offered shares of NiHAO Mineral Resources International Inc. that would be left unsubscribed after the second round of its offering. OYEZ!!! took up the commitment from Saprolite Mining Inc. In view of this, GEOGRACE Resources Philippines Inc. revoked its guarantee to Saprolite, and will now guarantee OYEZ!!! instead. Formerly known as Magnum Holdings Inc., Pasig City, Philippine- based NiHAO Mineral Resources Inc. was originally organized to engage in mining exploration. On June 28, 2007, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the change in its Magnum Holdings Inc.'s name to NiHAO Mineral Resources, Inc. After auditing the company's annual report for 2006, Napoleon Calderon at MCJ & Co. raised significant doubt on the company's ability to continue as a going concern, citing the company's: * losses of PHP920,708 and capital deficit of PHP4.82 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2006; * losses of PHP788,695 and capital deficit of PHP3.90 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2005; and * losses of PHP691,286 and capital deficit of PHP3.11 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2004. NIHAO MINERAL: Appoints Exec. Director; Changes Business Address ---------------------------------------------------------------- Francis Tan will now act as Executive Director of NiHAO Mineral Resources International Inc. for the year 2007. The company's Board of Directors approved Mr. Tan's appointment during a meeting held on July 31. During the meeting, the Board also approved the change of address from 17 General Malvar St., Barangay Santo Antonio in Pasig City, to the 20th Floor of the Peak Tower, located at 107 LP Leviste St., Salcedo Village, in Makati City. Formerly known as Magnum Holdings Inc., Pasig City, Philippine- based NiHAO Mineral Resources Inc. was originally organized to engage in mining exploration. On June 28, 2007, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the change in its Magnum Holdings Inc.'s name to NiHAO Mineral Resources, Inc. After auditing the company's annual report for 2006, Napoleon Calderon at MCJ & Co. raised significant doubt on the company's ability to continue as a going concern, citing the company's: * losses of PHP920,708 and capital deficit of PHP4.82 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2006; * losses of PHP788,695 and capital deficit of PHP3.90 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2005; and * losses of PHP691,286 and capital deficit of PHP3.11 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2004. PHIL REALTY: Ready to Emerge from Rehabilitation by 2009 -------------------------------------------------------- Philippine Realty and Holdings Corp. is up and ready to exit rehabilitation within the next two years, President Amador Bacani told the Philippine Daily Inquirer on July 31. Mr. Bacani told reporters after the company's annual stockholders meeting that completion of rehabilitation will be spurred by its flagship 2.8-hectare condominium project in New Manila, Quezon City. The flagship, dubbed Andrea North Skyline Tower, is planned to resume construction by the second half of ths year and will be completed by 2009, with expenses estimated to be about PHP900 million, the article relates. The Troubled Company Reporter-Asia Pacific also reported on July 13, 2007, that the company now has only PHP100 million left unpaid out of its PHP2 billion debt to creditors. "This would signal our return to normalcy, that we are developing again instead of just negotiating with creditors," Mr. Bacani said. Headquartered in Quezon City, Philippine Realty and Holdings Corporation is one of the leading real estate developers in the country. It was incorporated on July 13, 1981, but development activities began only in 1986 when capitalization was increased to PHP100 million from the initial PHP2 million to accommodate the entry of new stockholders. The company's main real estate activity since it started operations has been the development and sale of residential/office condominium projects and to a limited extent, the lease of commercial and office spaces. In December 2002, the Parent Company's Board of Directors resolved to file a petition for a corporate rehabilitation with the Regional Trial Court in Quezon City. A Stay Order was granted on December 16, 2002, after the petition was deemed sufficient both in form and in substance. On February 6, 2003, the Court conducted a series of hearings for the purpose of receiving various inputs from the company, the creditors and the rehabilitation receiver as well. In the course of the proceedings, the Court noted that all the creditor banks were in agreement that the company is susceptible to rehabilitation as it is solvent and its business is viable. The objectives of the rehabilitation plan are: 1. to pay all of Philippine Realty's creditors in a fair and just manner; 2. to complete and deliver the Andrea Skyline Condominium units to its existing buyers; and 3. to protect the investments of the shareholders, particularly the small public investors, by keeping the business viable and profitable. At December 31, 2006, the parent company's total debts stood at PHP829.49 million. PHIL REALTY: Appoints 11 New Directors for 2007 ----------------------------------------------- Philippine Realty and Holdings Corp. appointed 11 new directors for the year 2007 during its annual stockholders' meeting held on July 31. These individuals were appointed as directors: * Gerardo O. Lanuza Jr. * Juan Antonio Lanuza * Antonio O. Olbes * Walter W. Brown * Annabelle P. Brown * Amador C. Bacani * Miguel M. Ortigas Jr. * Mariano C. Ereso Jr. * Eduardo Gaspar * Ramon CF Cuervo III (Independent) * Manuel Orros (Independent) Headquartered in Quezon City, Philippine Realty and Holdings Corporation is one of the leading real estate developers in the country. It was incorporated on July 13, 1981, but development activities began only in 1986 when capitalization was increased to PHP100 million from the initial PHP2 million to accommodate the entry of new stockholders. The company's main real estate activity since it started operations has been the development and sale of residential/office condominium projects and to a limited extent, the lease of commercial and office spaces. In December 2002, the Parent Company's Board of Directors resolved to file a petition for a corporate rehabilitation with the Regional Trial Court in Quezon City. A Stay Order was granted on December 16, 2002, after the petition was deemed sufficient both in form and in substance. On February 6, 2003, the Court conducted a series of hearings for the purpose of receiving various inputs from the company, the creditors and the rehabilitation receiver as well. In the course of the proceedings, the Court noted that all the creditor banks were in agreement that the company is susceptible to rehabilitation as it is solvent and its business is viable. The objectives of the rehabilitation plan are: 1. to pay all of Philippine Realty's creditors in a fair and just manner; 2. to complete and deliver the Andrea Skyline Condominium units to its existing buyers; and 3. to protect the investments of the shareholders, particularly the small public investors, by keeping the business viable and profitable. At December 31, 2006, the parent company's total debts stood at PHP829.49 million. SAN MIGUEL: Considers Using Solar Power for Manufacturing Plants ---------------------------------------------------------------- San Miguel Corp. is considering the use of solar power as an energy source for its manufacturing plants and facilities in the Philippines and across the Asia Pacific region, the Manila Bulletin reports. SMC President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon Ang said that "the high cost of electricity is always one of SMC's concerns and. . . it's high time that we look beyond our sponsorship of Sinag this early and study how we could practically apply the use of solar power in a commercial environment." Manila Bulletin explains that Sinag is the first Philippine solar car project being executed by De La Salle University students and faculty members. Mr. Ang is a member of the project's board of trustees. The Philippines is home to Sunpower, the world's largest solar panel firm. However, use of solar power is limited only to remote, low income areas that conventional electricity sources are unable to reach. "The opportunity is there so we might as well look at it at this point," Mr. Ang added. Headquartered in Manila, Philippines, San Miguel Corporation -- http://www.sanmiguel.com.ph/-- through its subsidiaries, operates food, beverage and packaging businesses. The company's products include beer, wine and spirits, soft drinks, mineral water, chicken and pork products. San Miguel markets its products both in the domestic and overseas markets. The company also manufactures glass, metal, plastic, paper and composites packaging products. A Troubled Company Reporter-Asia Pacific report on Oct. 12, 2006, stated that Moody's Investors Service affirmed its Ba1 corporate family rating. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services gave San Miguel Corp. a 'BB' foreign currency corporate credit rating and a 'B' rating to its proposed five-year benchmark non-callable, non-cumulative, non- voting, perpetual preferred shares to be issued by San Miguel Capital Funding. The company's ratings have been placed on S&P's CreditWatch with a Negative outlook on May 17, 2007. SECURITY BANK: Posts PHP658-Mil. Net Income for 2007 2nd Quarter ---------------------------------------------------------------- Security Bank Corp.'s consolidated income statements showed that the bank has a net income of PHP658.34 million for the three months ended June 30, 2007. For the April-June period, the group earned a net interest income of PHP1.217 billion, comprising of PHP2.442 billion minus interest expense of PHP1.225 billion. The group also earned PHP1.774 billion operating income while incurring operating expenses of PHP979.557 million. As of June 30, 2007, the group had PHP145.666 billion in assets and PHP132.715 billion in liabilities, resulting in an equity of PHP12.95 billion. The bank's second-quarter financials can be viewed for free at: http://www.pse.com.ph/html/ListedCompanies/pdf/2007/SECB_200713814_07302007_2 .pdf Makati City-based Security Bank Corporation -- http://www.securitybank.com.ph/-- offers a wide variety of financial products and services. The bank's services include peso, dollar and third currency deposits, domestic and international fund transfers, deposit pick-up and payroll services, and ancillary services. Security Bank also provides working capital financing, term arrangements and loan syndication services. Fitch Ratings gave Security Bank a 'BB' Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating, a 'BB' Long-Term Local Currency Issuer Default Rating, a 'D' Individual Rating and a '4' Support Rating. WENDY'S INTERNATIONAL: Earns US$29.2 Mil. in Qtr. Ended June 30 --------------------------------------------------------------- Wendy's International Inc. reported net income of US$29.2 million in the second quarter of 2007, compared to a net loss of US$29.1 million in the second quarter of 2006. Total revenues were US$632.9 million in the second quarter of 2007, down 0.2%, compared to US$634.1 million in the second quarter of 2006. Sales were 558.3 million in the second quarter of 2007, compared to US$557.8 million in the second quarter of 2006. Sales are up slightly due to positive same-store sales, but Wendy's had 31 fewer company-operated restaurants open at the end of the second quarter of 2007 compared to the same quarter a year ago. Franchise revenues were US$74.6 million in the second quarter of 2007, compared to US$76.3 million in the second quarter of 2006. The year-over-year decrease is due primarily to fewer open franchise restaurants compared to 2006. Average same-store sales were up 0.7% for U.S. company-operated restaurants and 0.4% for U.S. franchise restaurants. Wendy's(R) has now produced 13 consecutive months of positive same-store sales. The company and its franchisees opened a total of 39 new Wendy's restaurants during the second quarter of 2007. The total number of systemwide Wendy's restaurants at the end of the second quarter in 2007 was lower at 6,661, compared to 6,673 at year- end 2006 and 6,743 at the end of the second quarter in 2006, reflecting closures of underperforming restaurants. As of June 30, 2007, total assets were US$1.8 billion, total liabilities were $1 billion, and total stockholders' equity was US$766.4 million. Management's Comments "We delivered significantly improved results versus a year ago," said chief executive officer and president Kerrii Anderson. "Our income and EBITDA results are encouraging and store operating margins continue to expand as we execute our strategic plan." "We are revitalizing the Wendy's brand with innovative product introductions, a new advertising campaign and improving operations," said Mr. Anderson. "Our U.S. company-operated restaurant EBITDA margin improvement was the result of strategic initiatives we began implementing this year - an effective menu management strategy and more efficient operations. We believe that price increases, which are impacting transactions in the short term, will position us to produce profit expansion in the longer term. We have good momentum in the business as we focus on improving profits in every restaurant in the Wendy's system." "We are very encouraged by the positive consumer reaction to our new 'That's Right' advertising campaign, and we're stepping up the creative use of our 'Red Wig' icon in our marketing efforts - TV advertising, on-line, in-store and more," said Wendy's chief marketing officer Ian Rowden. "After only six weeks, national consumer research shows more than half of the respondents can play back the 'I deserve a hot, juicy burger' line from our advertising campaign and immediately associate the 'Red Wig' with Wendy's. This is a key reason our core hamburger business is growing." Other Highlights Wendy's completed its spinoff of Tim Hortons(R) in the third quarter of 2006 and completed the sale of Baja Fresh(R) Mexican Grill during the fourth quarter of 2006. As a result of its 2006 spinoff of Tim Hortons, the company, now accounts for its 50% share of the restaurant real estate joint venture with Tim Hortons, Wendy's and Tim Hortons' combination units, under the equity method of accounting, rather than consolidating the results of the joint venture in the company's financial statements. This change in accounting for the Company's joint venture with Tim Hortons resulted in an overall reduction to second-quarter 2007 operating income of $2.2 million compared to the second quarter 2006. During the second quarter of 2007, the company also entered into a definitive agreement to sell Cafe Express. 118th Consecutive Dividend The Board of Directors approved a quarterly dividend of 12.5 cents per share, payable August 20 to shareholders of record as of August 6. The dividend payment will represent the company's 118th consecutive dividend. About Wendy's Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Wendy's International Inc. (NYSE: WEN) -- http://www.wendysintl.com/-- and its subsidiaries operate, develop, and franchise a system of quick service and fast casual restaurants in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, and the Philippines, among others. * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on June 21, 2007, Moody's Investors Service lowered all ratings of Wendy's International, Inc. and placed all ratings on review for further possible downgrade. Affected ratings include the company's Ba2 corporate family rating which was lowered to Ba3 and its (P)B1 preferred stock shelf rating which was lowered to (P)B2. Additionally, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on Wendy's International Inc. to 'BB-' from 'BB+'. All ratings remain on CreditWatch with negative implications, where they were placed on April 26, 2007. ================= S I N G A P O R E ================= AFFYMETRIX INC: Posts US$1.2-Mil. Net Profit for 2nd Qtr. 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------- Affymetrix Inc. reported a net income of approximately US$1.2 million in the second quarter of 2007, a turnaround from the US$10-million net loss recorded in the second quarter of the prior year. The company reported total revenue for the second quarter of US$88.3 million, as compared to a total revenue of US$80.1 million in the second quarter of 2006. Product and product related revenue was US$81.2 million, product sales to Perlegen Sciences, Inc. were US$4.4 million and royalties and other revenue were US$2.7 million for the second quarter of 2007. "We are pleased with the sequential and year-over-year top-line revenue growth driven by the strong adoption of our new SNP 6.0 genotyping product," said Kevin M. King, president of Affymetrix Life Sciences. "The successful launch of this product has resulted in a number of important new global commercial agreements." Second quarter sales included GeneChip consumable revenue of US$67.2 million, consisting of array revenue of US$41.0 million, reagent revenue of US$14.2 million, genotyping services revenue of US$7.6 million and US$4.4 million of Perlegen revenue. Additionally, the company reported instrument revenue of US$8.8 million in the second quarter of 2007. Affymetrix shipped 38 GeneChip systems in the quarter, bringing its cumulative systems shipped to around 1630 at the end of the second quarter. Cost of product sales and product related revenue were US$34.7 million in the second quarter of 2007 compared to US$27.1 million in the same period of 2006. Product and product related gross margin was 57.3% in the second quarter of 2007 compared to 64.1% in the second quarter of 2006. Operating expenses were US$54.8 million for the second quarter of 2007, which includes restructuring charges of US$1.8 million, as compared to US$61.0 million in the second quarter of 2006. Financial Outlook for 2007 For fiscal 2007, the company projects total revenue in the range of US$365 million to US$385 million. For the full year the company expects gross margins around 60%, dependent upon revenue mix. The company is forecasting total operating expenses of US$220 million as well as total restructuring charges of US$15 million for the full-year. As of June 30, 2007, the company's balance sheet recorded total assets of US$788.6 million and total liabilities of US$220.5 million of total liabilities resulting in a shareholders' equity of US568 million. Quarterly Highlights DNA Analysis -- Affymetrix announced the launch of its Genome-Wide Human SNP Array 6.0, a single microarray that simultaneously measures more than 1.8 million genetic markers. Developed in collaboration with the Broad Institute of Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the new array offers industry-leading performance which enables researchers to increase the size and scope of their experiments. -- The Children's Research Institute and Affymetrix have entered a five year alliance to screen genetic information of up to 25,000 patients. The study will use Affymetrix products to generate genetic data for use in developing novel diagnostics and screening tests for complex diseases affecting children. -- The Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium completed the world's largest whole-genome association project. The research team used GeneChip microarray technology to analyze the genetic information of more than 17,000 individuals to find genes associated with seven common complex human diseases. Study details were published in the June 7, 2007 issue of Nature. -- The National Genome Research Network (NGFN) in Germany has selected the Affymetrix SNP Arrays 5.0 and 6.0 to genotype more than 17,000 individuals. With this genetic information, researchers will develop treatments for 25 complex diseases, including Alzheimer's, epilepsy, and Parkinson's. -- The Republic of Korea's National Institute of Health and Center for Disease Control and Prevention will use the Affymetrix SNP Array 5.0 for the Korean Association Resource project. This genome-wide association study is designed to identify the genetic causes of lifestyle- related complex diseases that are prevalent in Korea by genotyping 10,000 individuals. -- The Genetic Association Information Network will use the recently launched SNP Array 6.0 for a series of studies designed to identify the genetic causes of common, complex diseases such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. GAIN researchers will use the Affymetrix technology to analyze 8,000 samples with a diverse range of ethnic origins. -- Children's Hospital of Philadelphia will use the Affymetrix SNP Array 6.0 for whole-genome association studies of 7,000 individuals. "The increased genetic coverage, expanded content and affordability of the Affymetrix SNP Array 6.0 enables us to perform highly powered association and copy number studies, which will provide us with a better understanding of the role of genes and genetic variants in complex diseases," said Hakon Hakonarson, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Center for Applied Genomics at Children's Hospital. RNA Analysis -- A team from Affymetrix Laboratories has successfully used the company's Tiling Arrays to help redefine the structure of the human genome as part of the Encyclopedia Of DNA Elements project. Organized by the National Human Genome Research Institute, the ENCODE pilot-phase project was a four-year set of studies designed to identify the functional elements present in one percent of the human genome. The results of the project were published in a set of papers in the June 14th issue of Nature and the June issue of Genome Research. Molecular Diagnostics -- Affymetrix Clinical Services Laboratory has signed a co- marketing agreement with DOCRO Inc., a leading contract research organization that specializes in the commercialization of in vitro diagnostic biomarker technologies. The two companies will work together to help customers gain clearance or approval of IVD products from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and bring those products to market faster than before. -- Partners HealthCare and Affymetrix have extended their translational research collaboration. Under the terms of the agreement, Affymetrix will create custom microarrays based on the recent discovery data from Partners researchers. The arrays will be used to produce molecular diagnostic tests, which will then be validated in Partners HealthCare's CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments)-certified environments. Management -- Affymetrix appointed John C. Batty to chief financial officer and executive vice president, reporting to Stephen P.A. Fodor, Ph.D., chairman and CEO. Prior to his appointment, Batty served as senior vice president of finance and chief financial officer of Credence Systems Corporation. About Affymetrix Inc. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Affymetrix Inc. -- http://www.affymetrix.com/-- analyzes complex genetic information that are used by pharmaceutical, biotechnology agrichemical, diagnostics and consumer products companies. The Company has manufacturing facilities in Sacramento, California, and Bedford, Massachussetts, and maintains important sales and marketing operations in Europe and Asia (including Singapore, Japan and China, as well as Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, and Taiwan) and has about 1,100 employees worldwide. * * * Affymetrix Inc.'s noteholders issued a notice of default on Aug. 17, 2006, under the indenture governing the US$120 million 0.75% Senior Convertible Notes due 2033 as a result of the company's failure to file its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2006, with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. INNOVATIVE STRUCTURAL: Commences Wind-Up Proceedings ---------------------------------------------------- On July 20, 2007, the High Court of Singapore entered an order directing the wind-up of Innovative Structural Systems Pte Ltd.'s operations. The company's liquidator is: Don Ho Mun-Tuke c/o Don Ho & Associates 20 Cecil Street #12-02/03 Equity Plaza Singapore 049705 LINDETEVES-JACOBERG: Discloses Changes to Board of Directors ------------------------------------------------------------ Lindeteves-Jacoberg Limited disclosed some changes to the company's board of directors. Dr. Knut Unger was appointed as an Independent and Non-Executive Director of the company that took effect on August 1, 2007. He was also appointed as the member of the Audit Committee, Chairman of the Nominating Committee and the Remuneration Committee. Moreover, Herman P.P.M. Hofhuis was appointed as the Chairman of the Audit Committee that also took effect on August 1, 2007. Concurrently, Mr. Hofhuis has relinquished his position as the Chairman of the Remuneration Committee but he will continue to serve as a Member of the Remuneration Committee. Lindeteves-Jacoberg Limited -- http://www.linjacob.com/-- was incorporated in Singapore on December 11, 1947 as part of a Dutch international trading group. Its principal activities consist of investment holding, provision of warehousing and rental services and acting as specialist mechanical and electrical contractor for environmental engineering projects. The company is currently working out further debt restructuring plans for its liabilities, in addition to an earlier approved Scheme of Arrangement with its creditors. As of March 31, 2007, the group's total assets reached SGD$304.7 million while total liabilities were SGD$379.9 million, resulting in a shareholders' deficit of SGD$75.2 million. PLANET HOLLYWOOD: Court to Hear Wind-Up Petition on August 17 ------------------------------------------------------------- The High Court of Singapore will hear a petition to wind up the operations of Planet Hollywood Singapore Pte Ltd on August 17, 2007, at 10:00 a.m. The petition was filed by Planet Hollywood Asia Pte Ltd on July 18, 2007. Planet Hollywood's solicitor is: PK Wong & Associates LLC 9 Temasek Boulevard #26-03 Suntec Tower Two Singapore 038989 QUANTUM ENERGY: Court Releases Wind-Up Order -------------------------------------------- The High Court of Singapore has entered on July 20, 2007, an order winding up the operations of Quantum Energy Systems Pte Ltd. The company's solicitor is: Archilex Law Corporation c/o Audit Alliance No. 20 Maxwell Road #11-09/10 Maxwell House Singapore 069113 =============== T H A I L A N D =============== BLOCKBUSTER INC: Reports 2.8% Revenue Decrease in 2nd Qtr. 2007 --------------------------------------------------------------- Blockbuster Inc. reported that its total revenue decreased 2.8% to US$1.26 billion for the second quarter ended July 1, 2007, from US$1.3 billion for the second quarter last year. The company said due to a reduction in rental revenues from the closure of stores, an unfavorable home video release schedule and the sale of 217 GAMESTATION stores on May 2, 2007, caused the decrease in total revenue. These decreases were partially offset by an increase in revenues from Blockbuster Inc. "Our results this quarter clearly reflect continued investment in our online subscriber growth. Although BLOCKBUSTER Total Access(TM) allowed us to increase our subscriber base by 600,000 to a total of 3.6 million subscribers, the costs associated with the program affected our profitability," said Jim Keyes, Blockbuster Chairman and CEO. "While we remain committed to capturing market share in the overall video rental market, we are absolutely focused on striking an appropriate balance between growth and enhanced profitability going forward." The company said that for the second quarter of 2007, net loss was US$35.3 million, compared with net income of US$68.4 million for the second quarter of 2006. The net loss for the second quarter of 2007 included a US$77.7 million gain related to the sale of 217 of the Company's UK-based GAMESTATION stores and net income for the second quarter of 2006 was affected by the impact of US$91.2 million in favorable tax audit settlements. "To this end, the Company is undergoing a comprehensive review of its business aimed at identifying and implementing initiatives designed to revitalize the Company, enhance the organizational structure and improve profitability" Mr. Keyes said. "Our goal is to transform Blockbuster into a company that quickly responds to customers' changing needs for convenient access to media entertainment. We look forward to communicating our strategic roadmap later in the year." A full-text copy of Blockbuster's Second Quarter 2007 Earnings is available for free at: http://ResearchArchives.com/t/s?21db About Blockbuster Inc. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI, BBI.B) -- http://www.blockbuster.com/-- provides in-home movie and game entertainment, with more than 9,000 stores throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia. The company also operates in Taiwan, Thailand, and New Zealand. * * * Blockbuster Inc.'s 9% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2012 holds Moody's Investors Service's Caa2 rating, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services' CCC+ rating, and Fitch Ratings' CC rating. SIAM CITY BANK: Gov't Pension Fund Acquires 40% Stake in Unit ------------------------------------------------------------- The Government Pension Fund has invested [THB120 million] in shares or 40% of Siam City Asset Management Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Siam City Bank PCL, a disclosure with the Stock Exchange of Thailand said. SCIAM now has THB300 million in paid-up capital, from the previous THB170 million before capital increase procedures. The bank previously held 100% or 170 million shares in SCIAM and, after recapitalization, the bank now holds 60% or 180 million shares. GPF holds the remaining 40% or 120 million shares in SCIAM. The shares have a par value of THB10 each. Siam City Bank Public Company Limited -- http://www.scib.co.th/ -- principal activity is the provision of commercial banking services which includes deposits, payments, credit cards, consumer loans and e-banking. Other activities include real estate development, computer consultancy and provision of capital market services. Operations are carried out primarily in Thailand. The Troubled Company Reporter-Asia Pacific reported that on October 19, 2006, Fitch assigned these ratings to Siam City Bank: * Long-term foreign currency Issuer Default rating of BB; * Short-term foreign currency rating of B; The outlook on the ratings is Stable. THAI WAH: Chooses Not to Subscribe to Laguna Resorts' New Shares ---------------------------------------------------------------- Laguna Resorts & Hotels PCL has allotted Thai Wah PCL an additional 44,170,986 ordinary shares under its capital increase scheme. However, the company said in a disclosure with the Stock Exchange of Thailand that it did not subscribe to the LRH shares as it is considered disposal of assets by LRH. The company holds 29.447 million shares in LRH. On July 4, 2007, LRH's shareholders approved the issuance of rights to 127,005,215 new ordinary shares at par value of THB10 each to existing shareholders. Each existing shareholder will be issued 1.5 new ordinary shares for every existing share it holds in LRH, for an offering price of THB10 per share. The subscription period ran through July 16 until July 20. Thai Wah Public Company Ltd's principal activity is the manufacturing and marketing of various food products using mung beans. Products includes mung bean vermicelli, bean sheet (Shanghai noodle) and salim starch. Brands and trademarks of the group include Double Dragon, Phoenix, Double Kilin and Double Eagle brands for vermicelli; Double Dragon brand for salim starch and bean sheet; and New Grade brand for tapioca starch, tapioca pearls and rice flours. It operates a factory in Thailand located in Banglane District, Nakorn Pathom Province. Thai Wah is currently implementing a Reorganization Plan, whose amendments were approved by the Central Bankruptcy Court in November 2005. ********* 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. Mark Andre Yapching, Azela Jane Taladua, Rousel Elaine Tumanda, Valerie Udtuhan, Francis James Chicano, Tara Eliza Tecarro, Freya Natasha Fernandez-Dy, 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 ***