---

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      

      Friday, October 16, 1998, Vol. 1, No. 166

                    Headlines


* C H I N A   &   H O N G   K O N G *

ARTECH LIMITED: Winding-up petition
CHUNG YI TRAVEL SERVICE: Notice of creditors' meeting
GRC CONTRACTING LIMITED: Winding-up petition
GUANGDONG INTERNATIONAL: Japanese and Korean banks exposed
HOPEWELL HOLDINGS: Thailand denies it will file suit

NATIONAL HOLIDAY (HK): Notice of creditors' meeting
TA FU INTERNATIONAL: Bank sells pledged shares
THEME INTERNATIONAL: Standstill deal with 11 creditors
TOMSON PACIFIC: Marathon fraud case nears its conclusion


* J A P A N *

BANK OF TOKYO-MITSUBISHI: High valuation losses
DAIEI: Reports 75% drop in profit amid sagging consumption
DAIWA SECURITIES: London bank up for sale
DAIWA SECURITIES: Results announcement
ITO-YOKADO: Results announcement

LONG TERM CREDIT: LTCB's assets to be reevaluated
MITSUI WHARF: Court lets Mitsui Wharf begin rehabilitation
NIKKO SECURITIES: Results announcement
NIPPON STEEL: Expects interim net loss of 36 bln yen
NOMURA SECURITIES: To post huge unrealized loss

SEIYU LTD: Asking banks to tolerate nonbank's revival plan


* K O R E A *

HYUNDAI ELECTRONICS: LG-Hyundai chip merger doubted
LG SEMICON: LG-Hyundai chip merger doubted
NASAN GROUP: Bankrupt store may be demolished for safety
SEJONG SECURITIES: Reported near bankruptcy
SHIN KEUKDONG MILL: Woohak affiliate is insolvent

TAECHANG CO: Starts creditor reconciliation


* M A L A Y S I A *

EAST ELEVATORS (M) SDN BHD: Voluntary winding up
MBF HOLDINGS BHD: Results - 30/6/98
MALAYSIA AIRLINES: MAS, others may follow Renong deal
RENONG BHD: Rail stakes may further depress profits
SEAWOOD INDUSTRIES SDN BHD: Ceases business

SIAH KWEE SWEE SDN BHD: Voluntary winding up
SIN HONG CO. SDN BHD: Voluntary winding-up
THJ MANAGEMENT SDN BHD: Voluntary winding up


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

ORIENT COMMERCIAL: Bank under receivership
PHILIPPINE AIRLINES: Cathay dismisses claim on PAL deal
PHILIPPINE AIRLINES: US Ex-Im bank seizing PAL planes


* S I N G A P O R E *

PARKWAY HOLDINGS: $128 million cash injection
URACO HOLDINGS: Possible issue of new shares


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

ARTECH LIMITED: Winding-up petition
-----------------------------------
Notice is hereby given that a petition for the winding-up
of Artech Limited by the High Court of Hong Kong was, on
the 29th day of September, 1998, presented to the said
Court by Ho Kam Ming and the petition is heard on 4th day
of November, 1998. Other creditors who support or oppose
the making of the order may appear at the time of the
hearing.  


CHUNG YI TRAVEL SERVICE: Notice of creditors' meeting
-----------------------------------------------------
A final meeting of the creditors of Chung Yi Travel Service
Limited will be held at Rooms 401-2, Luk Hoi Tong Building,
31 Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong on Oct 29 at 10:30 am to
receive and consider the statements of position of the
companies' affairs together with the lists of creditors and
their estimated claims; approve the appointment of
liquidator(s) for the purposes of winding up the companies
and the remuneration thereof, if applicable; to appoint a
committee of inspection, if necessary; and to consider the
liquidator's receipts and payments not to audited.


GRC CONTRACTING LIMITED: Winding-up petition
--------------------------------------------
Notice is hereby given that a petition for the winding-up
of GRC Contracting Limited by the High Court of Hong Kong
was, on the 12th day of October, 1998, presented to the
said Court by Kan Chun Nam and the petition is heard on
18th day of November, 1998. Other creditors who support or
oppose the making of the order may appear at the time of
the hearing.  


GUANGDONG INTERNATIONAL: Japanese and Korean banks exposed
----------------------------------------------------------
According to the SCMP, Japanese and Korean banks account
for nearly half of bank loans and guarantees owed by the
collapsed Guangdong International Trust and Investment Corp
(Gitic) and its Hong Kong subsidiaries.

Local debt market newsletter Basis Point estimated that the
most active lenders in Asia lent a combined US$649.9
million to Gitic companies, or about 46 per cent of a total
US$1.41 billion, in line with the Hong Kong Monetary
Authority's revelation.

Basis Point's calculation excludes at least $3.5 billion in
loans primarily to Gitic's Hong Kong offshoots that are not
registered with the mainland's State Administration for
Foreign Exchange (SAFE). The figure also does not take into
account repayments made. The newsletter calculated the
figure based on information from 127 banks.

The single biggest lender is Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, which
lent Gitic US$61.27 million in three deals, including
guarantees. Dresdner Bank of Germany was the second biggest
lender followed by the Bank of China with $51.57 million in
three deals.

Gitic's closure has thrown into doubt whether its interest
payments will be made on time. According to Standard &
Poor's director Lincoln Chan, interest payments on one of
Gitic's three rated bond issues would be due next week. He
said the problem for bond holders would be more acute than
for bank creditors because the bonds are traded in the
market and are held by numerous investors.

The People's Bank of China had suspended debt service
payments for Gitic until January 6 for creditors to
register their claims.

According to the Hong Kong Standard, one of Gitic's
creditor banks estimated that the collapsed group's net
liabilities could reach as much as US$2.6 billion.


HOPEWELL HOLDINGS: Thailand denies it will file suit
----------------------------------------------------
The Transport Ministry of Thailand said Thailand will not
sue Hopewell Holdings, a Hong Kong-based developer, for
failing to complete a transit project.

Deputy Transport Minister Pradit Pattataprasit said the
cancellation of Hopewell's concession in January servered
ties between the company and Thailand. The government
cancelled the contract after warning the developer several
times about delays. Only 12% of work on the planned 57.6
kilometers transit system was completed after eight years.
he said.

Mr Pradit said he was misquoted in reports by some news
agencies on Tuesday as saying Thailand planned to sue
Hopewell. He said damage to Thailand from lost
opportunities such as improved traffic conditions and
commercial development is about US$7 billion. He said
Thailand has no plan to sue Hopewell. Further, he said
Hopewell has not taken any legal action against Thailand
yet.


NATIONAL HOLIDAY (HK): Notice of creditors' meeting
---------------------------------------------------
A final meeting of the creditors of National Holiday (HK)
Limited will be held at Rooms 401-2, Luk Hoi Tong Building,
31 Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong on Oct 29 at 10:30 am to
receive and consider the statements of position of the
companies' affairs together with the lists of creditors and
their estimated claims; to approve the appointment of
liquidator(s) for the purposes of winding up the companies
and the remuneration thereof, if applicable; to appoint a
committee of inspection, if necessary; and to consider the
liquidator's receipts and payments not to audited.


TA FU INTERNATIONAL: Bank sells pledged shares
----------------------------------------------
Ta Fu International Holdings Limited was informed by Mr Liu
Ching Chih and Ms Yeung Mi Ki that approximately 0.44% of
the shares held by them were sold on 8th October, 1998.
These comprise 1,996,000 shares of the Company which have
been pledged to The Hong Kong Chinese Bank Limited.

As stated in the Company's interim announcement dated 29th
September, 1998, each of the Controlling Shareholders held
27.4% of the issued shares of the Company. On 13th October,
1998, each of the Controlling Shareholders were informed by
the Bank that it had, on 8th October, 1998, sold an
aggregate of 1,996,000 shares in the Company, being part of
the shares in the Company pledged to the Bank. This was to
satisfy some of the debt due by the Controlling
Shareholders to the Bank and which have not been repaid.

Each of the Controlling Shareholder's stake in the Company
has therefore been reduced from 27.4% to 27.3%. In respect
of pledges of shares in the Company by the controlling
shareholders, such pledges do not contain any term which
requires the relevant parties to give prior notice to the
Controlling Shareholders before they sell shares of the
Company if and when such pledges are enforced. Such shares
can be sold without notifying the Controlling Shareholders
if further default occurs.

The standstill arrangements referred to in the Company's
interim announcement dated 29th September, 1998 continue in
force.

The directors of the Company also confirm that there are no
negotiations or agreements relating to intended
acquisitions or realisations which are discloseable under
paragraph 3 of the Listing Agreement made between the
Company and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited, nor
are the directors aware of any matter discloseable under
the general obligation imposed by paragraph 2 of the
Listing Agreement, which is or may be of a price sensitive
nature.


THEME INTERNATIONAL: Standstill deal with 11 creditors
------------------------------------------------------
According to the SCMP, debt ridden Theme International has
signed a standstill agreement with 11 of its 12 bank
creditors. As at the end of last month, Theme had
outstanding debt of $242 million, while the creditor which
had not entered into the agreement lent it $19 million.
Theme said the creditor was considering signing a similar
deal.


TOMSON PACIFIC: Marathon fraud case nears its conclusion
--------------------------------------------------------
According to the SCMP, the marathon fraud case sparked by
Tomson Pacific's 1990 takeover of the World Trade Centre
Group is moving into its final days. Final arguments are
being heard by the jury after more than 60 days of
testimony at the Court of First Instance.


=========
J A P A N  
=========

BANK OF TOKYO-MITSUBISHI: High valuation losses
-----------------------------------------------
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, the world's largest lender, had
319 billion yen in valuation losses on its stockholdings as
of the end of last month. The bank, which is the only one
of Japan's 19 nationwide lenders to value its stock
portfolio at market price or book value, whichever is
lower, said the losses would not have a large effect on its
earnings. The bank said it still had paper gains of 375.1
billion yen on its stock holdings.


DAIEI: Reports 75% drop in profit amid sagging consumption
----------------------------------------------------------
The Nihon Keizai newspaper cites a Dow Jones report that
Daiei Inc., a leading Japanese supermarket chain operator,
Wednesday reported its unconsolidated pretax profit plunged
75% to 760 million yen for the first half ended Aug. 31,
amid sagging personal consumption and unstable weather.
Daiei said its operating revenues in the interim period
dropped 3.7% from a year ago to 1.206 trillion yen. Daiei
reported sales at its existing stores fell 4.9% from the
year-earlier period.

Against that backdrop, Daiei closed 13 unprofitable stores
in the first half. The closure is in line with its
restructuring plan, in which Daiei plans to shut down 50
stores over three years. Daiei also noted its efforts to
scale down operating expenses. Operating profit climbed 20%
to 5.66 billion yen.


DAIWA SECURITIES: London bank up for sale
-----------------------------------------             
The Independent reports Daiwa Securities, Japan's second-
largest broking firm, has put its UK banking arm Daiwa
Europe Bank up for sale. The firm yesterday appointed
Paribas, the investment bank, to seek a buyer for the
business, which employs 150 at its offices in St Paul's
Churchyard in London and 50 in Dublin in the areas of fund
management, custody, foreign exchange and corporate
banking.

The move follows an agreement in July between Daiwa and
rival Sumitomo to merge their capital markets activities.   
Daiwa managing director Michael Gray said that following
that agreement, Daiwa has decided to withdraw from other
areas abroad to concentrate on securities.


DAIWA SECURITIES: Results announcement
--------------------------------------
The Wall Street Journal reports Daiwa Securities Co.
Thursday said it will post a valuation loss of 34.89
billion yen on its securities holdings for the half-year
ended Sept. 30. The brokerage said the loss represented
0.6% of its total assets at the end of March.


ITO-YOKADO: Results announcement
--------------------------------
Kyodo News reports Ito-Yokado Co. said Thursday its group
net profit fell 8.3% from a year earlier in the first half
of its 1998 business year to 34.57 billion yen, for the
third straight first-half decline. Net profit per share in
the six months to Aug. 31 was 84.72 yen, down from 92.41
yen a year earlier.

A spokesman at the major supermarket chain operator blamed
the decline mainly on weak personal spending in Japan and
poor earnings at Southland Corp., a U.S. subsidiary of Ito-
Yokado that runs the Seven-Eleven convenience stores in the  
United States.


LONG TERM CREDIT: LTCB's assets to be reevaluated
-------------------------------------------------
Kyodo News reports the government intends to reevaluate the
assets of the Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan (LTCB) and is
likely to find the ailing bank in a capital deficit in
which liabilities exceed assets, government sources said
Thursday. The revaluation is expected to follow LTCB's
expected application later this month to place itself under
temporary government control, the sources said, adding that
calculation standards tougher than those in the previous
evaluation will be adopted.

The Financial Supervisory Agency's audit of LTCB's books at
the end of March used purchase prices to assess some of the
securities and real estate held by the bank. But LTCB's
assets have since declined sharply due to an increase in
the withdrawal of funds and steep falls in stock prices.
The failure of its nonbank financial affiliate Japan
Leasing Corp. has also contributed to the depletion of
assets.


MITSUI WHARF: Court lets Mitsui Wharf begin rehabilitation
----------------------------------------------------------
Kyodo News reports Mitsui Wharf Co., a warehousing and
harbor transport service firm that filed for protection
from creditors in June, obtained court approval Thursday to
begin restructuring its operations under the Corporate
Rehabilitation Law.

The Yokohama District Court agreed to start the
rehabilitation process for Mitsui Wharf, after Taiheiyo
Cement Corp. offered to support rebuilding efforts of the
Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture-based firm. Mitsui has been
languishing under liabilities of about 20 billion yen.

The court appointed Seiki Sakai, managing director of
Taiheiyo Cement, and lawyer Kiyoshi Otani as
administrators.

Mitsui Wharf will open its first meeting to formulate a
rehabilitation plan on Dec. 10. The administrators must
submit a plan to the court by the end of September next
year.

The administrators said in a news conference that Taiheiyo
Cement, the country's largest cement producer, intends to
make use of Mitsui Wharf's harbor facilities of about
198,000 square meters as a base of operations for the
Tokyo Bay area. Taiheiyo Cement was formed Oct. 1 through
the merger of Chichibu Onoda Cement Corp. and Nihon Cement
Co., Japan's top and third largest cement makers, with a
combined market share of 40%.

Mitsui Wharf filed for court protection June 4. It slid
into bankruptcy after a portion of more than 10 billion yen
in promissory notes the company said had been issued
without authorization since late last year were dishonored
by a bank in Kawasaki in late April.

Mitsui Wharf has filed criminal complaints against a former
financial executive and some employees for forgery of
promissory notes and other charges.

Established in 1928, Mitsui Wharf has a capitalization of
2.97 billion yen. It operates mainly in the Tokyo
metropolitan area and also runs an operations center in
Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture.


NIKKO SECURITIES: Results announcement
--------------------------------------
The Wall Street Journal reports Nikko Securities Co. said
that it would post a valuation loss of 20.57 billion yen on
its securities holdings for the half ended Sept. 30. Nikko
said the 20.57 billion yen loss represented 0.4% of its
total assets at the end of March.


NIPPON STEEL: Expects interim net loss of 36 bln yen
----------------------------------------------------
The Nihon Keizai newspaper reports Nippon Steel Corp.
expects net loss of 36 billion yen for the first fiscal
half ended Sept. 30, due mainly to stock evaluation losses
estimated at 55 billion yen, company sources said
Wednesday. Japan's largest steel maker posted net profit of
8.1 billion yen for the same period last year.

A forecast released Sept. 4 projected an interim result in
the range of 2 billion yen net profit to 16 billion yen net
loss. Interim pretax profit is expected to slip 2% to 37
billion yen on sales of 950 billion yen, down 10%.

The fall in sales is attributed to weak demand from the
construction industry and a delay in steel product
inventories adjustment, which depressed nationwide crude
steel production 12% to 46.5 million tons for the first
fiscal half.


NOMURA SECURITIES: To post huge unrealized loss
-----------------------------------------------
The Wall Street Journal reports Nomura Securities Co.,
Japan's largest brokerage firm, said it will post an
unrealized securities valuation loss of 33.72 billion yen
($283.8 million) for the first half ended Sept. 30, mostly
reflecting the decline of the Japanese stock market during
that period.

A Nomura spokeswoman said the firm is required by
regulation to report its unrealized losses when they exceed
a certain level. Those triggering points include a loss
that exceeds 1% of the firm's total assets, 30% of the
firm's previous-year recurring profits, or 30% of the
previous-year net profits.

The spokeswoman said the announcement reflects unrealized
losses in Nomura's parent company long-term investment
account, which mostly consists of cross-held shares. Those
losses are mostly accounted for by the 20% decline in the
Japanese stock market over that period, the company said.

Nomura isn't disclosing any details about its trading
account, its other major securities portfolio. Nomura had
no comment on various market rumors that it faced
additional sizable losses on derivatives, U.S. Treasuries
or mortgage-backed securities.


SEIYU LTD: Asking banks to tolerate nonbank's revival plan
----------------------------------------------------------
Kyodo News reports Seiyu Ltd. is asking the creditor banks
of its affiliated nonbank financing firm, Tokyo City
Finance Co., to approve Seiyu's plan to reconstruct it,
rather than liquidate it or file for court protection from
creditors, Seiyu President Noriyuki Watanabe said.

The major supermarket operator's affiliate lent massively
to real estate companies during the late 1980s bubble
economy era by borrowing funds from major banks such as
Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank (DKB), the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi
and the Industrial Bank of Japan.

The nonbank, the core of the financial business operations
of the Seiyu group of companies, has a combined liability
of more than 500 billion yen. Its liabilities eclipse its
assets by 38 billion yen, Seiyu officials said.

Watanabe told a news conference, "We have obtained the
understanding of DKB" for the reconstruction plan which
Seiyu had presented to the major commercial bank.

"Now, we are negotiating with sub-main banks and other
creditor banks" so that they may agree to back the
reconstruction plan, he said.

DKB, to which the nonbank owes 120 billion yen, has acted
as the main bank for it.

Seiyu plans to ask DKB and other creditor banks to waive
parts of their claims on outstanding loans to the nonbank,
the Seiyu officials said.

Seiyu wants to secure endorsement for the reconstruction
plan from all the creditor banks "as quickly as possible,"
he said. Banks other than DKB also have credit of tens of
billions of yen to the nonbank.

Seiyu said its unconsolidated pretax profit for the March-
August first half of fiscal 1998 increased 34.9% from a
year earlier to 6.2 billion yen on sales of 485.4 billion
yen, down 3.5%.


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

HYUNDAI ELECTRONICS: LG-Hyundai chip merger doubted
---------------------------------------------------
The Korea Herald reports concerns about the efficiency of
the proposed merger of LG Semicon Company and Hyundai
Electronics Industry Company being urged by the government.  
According to stock market data reported in the article,
Hyundai and LG are estimated to have debt-to-equity ratios
of 935 percent and 617 percent, respectively.  

Additionally, the merger of these two groups would produce
a company with a market share estimated to be from 17 to 30
percent.  This raised concerns that since computer systems
makers (such as IBM or Intel) buy only 20 percent of their
chips from a single large manufacture, the newly merged
firm may end up with a huge redundancy of capacity.

Together with its large debt, the new merged firm may find
it difficult to stay afloat in the competitive world
market.

Although Hyundai and LG have now agreed to share equity in
the new firm on a seven to three basis, which group would
get 70 percent, and which would get 30 percent has not been
decided. Independent foreign consulting firms are to be
selected today to rule on the management-rights issue.


LG SEMICON: LG-Hyundai chip merger doubted
------------------------------------------
The Korea Herald reports concerns about the efficiency of
the proposed merger of LG Semicon Company and Hyundai
Electronics Industry Company being urged by the government.  
According to stock market data reported in the article,
Hyundai and LG are estimated to have debt-to-equity ratios
of 935 percent and 617 percent, respectively.  

Additionally, the merger of these two groups would produce
a company with a market share estimated to be from 17 to 30
percent.  This raised concerns that since computer systems
makers (such as IBM or Intel) buy only 20 percent of their
chips from a single large manufacture, the newly merged
firm may end up with a huge redundancy of capacity.

Together with its large debt, the new merged firm may find
it difficult to stay afloat in the competitive world
market.

Although Hyundai and LG have now agreed to share equity in
the new firm on a seven to three basis, which group would
get 70 percent, and which would get 30 percent has not been
decided. Independent foreign consulting firms are to be
selected today to rule on the management-rights issue.


NASAN GROUP: Bankrupt store may be demolished for safety
--------------------------------------------------------
The Korea Herald reports that the eight-story Nasan
Department Store in the Kangnam District of Seoul may be
demolished pending the results of an ongoing inspection of
the building's structure. Cracks measuring up to 8mm in
width have been found in the second level of the basement,
and there have been cracking poles and other signs of
collapse. The damage has been attributed by local residents
and proprietors to unsafe construction methods employed in
the construction of a nearby subway line.  

The store was built in 1983 by the Jinhoung Construction
Company, and was later acquired by the Nasan Group. Nasan
went bankrupt early this year.

Approximate 60 independent shops do business in rented
space on the first floor of this building.


SEJONG SECURITIES: Reported near bankruptcy
-------------------------------------------
In a report in the Korean language Maeil Kyungje about the
bankruptcy Shin Keukdong Mill Company, the Sejong
Securities Company, which has co-signed for Shin Keukdon
Mill Company, was reported to be nearing bankruptcy.


SHIN KEUKDONG MILL: Woohak affiliate is insolvent
-------------------------------------------------
The Korean language Maeil Kyungje reports that Shin
Keukdong Mill Company went bankrupt on October 13, 1998.  
The Shin Keukdong Co. is the major affiliate of the Woohak
Group and Sejong Securities, an affiliate and a co-signer
for this company is also expected to be on the verge of
bankruptcy.


TAECHANG CO: Starts creditor reconciliation
-------------------------------------------
According to the Korean language Maeil Kyungje's Business
Brief section, the Taechang Company, one of the major
underwear makers in the country, starts its creditor
reconciliation procedure.


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

EAST ELEVATORS (M) SDN BHD: Voluntary winding up
------------------------------------------------
The members of East Elevators (M) Sdn Bhd on 6/10/98
ressolved to wind up the company voluntarily. Creditors are
requested to submit their claims before 27/10/98.


MBF HOLDINGS BHD: Results - 30/6/98
-----------------------------------
MBF Holdings Bhd (listed on the KLSE) reported a post-tax
loss of RM292.986mil for the half year ended 30/6/98,
compared to a post-tax profit of RM42.927mil previously.
EPS fell from 3.2sen to a loss per share of 25.7sen.


MALAYSIA AIRLINES: MAS, others may follow Renong deal
-----------------------------------------------------
According to the SCMP, analysts said that the effective
bailout of Renong announced last week is seen as the first
of a series of moves to help big and heavily-exposed
corporations. Malaysian Airlines (MAS) was cited as the
next likely candidate for government assistance.

An analyst said that by default most of its losses were not
due to mismanagement but the current situation and the
ringgit. In addition the airline is a national interest and
it may not be acceptable for MAS to be exposed to the
prospect of a sale to foreign investors. The company also
has problems of US dollar borrowings, assets that cannot be
sold and operating profits that cannot even meet costs.


RENONG BHD: Rail stakes may further depress profits
---------------------------------------------------
A plan by Renong to take stakes in two rail firms under a
US$3 billion debt-restructuring deal may further depress
Malaysian company earnings as the firms are poor profit
earners. Analysts said Renong's agreement to take up the
stakes was seen as repayment for the massive rescue deal
with the government.

Last week, Malaysia said it was helping the company to cut
its debts by issuing bonds and deferring payment on large
soft loans. Renong's executive chairman Halim Saad said
last week the company was rescuing troubled government
projects by the move. Analysts said the projects are
expected to be a burden because most railroads in the world
don't make money.

In the year just ended, Renong reported a pretax loss of
M$818 million against a profit of $703 million the year
before. Renong was the main investment vehicle of Prime
Minister Mahathir Mohamad's United Malays National
Organization until it was sold off several years ago with
Mr Halim appointed as its chief. Mr Halim is a protege of
Dr Mahathir's close adviser Daim Zainuddin.  


SEAWOOD INDUSTRIES SDN BHD: Ceases business
-------------------------------------------
Seawood Industries Sdn Bhd ceased business on 1/8/97 and
notified all its creditors to submit their claims before
31/10/98.


SIAH KWEE SWEE SDN BHD: Voluntary winding up
--------------------------------------------
The members of Siah Kwee Swee Sdn Bhd on 14/10/98 resolved
to wind up the company voluntarily. Creditors are requested
to submit their claims before 30/10/98.


SIN HONG CO. SDN BHD: Voluntary winding-up
------------------------------------------
The members of Sin Hong Co. Sdn Bhd on 12/10/98 resolved to
wind-up the company voluntarily. Creditors are requested to
submit their claims before 16/11/98.


THJ MANAGEMENT SDN BHD: Voluntary winding up
--------------------------------------------
The members of THJ Management Sdn Bhd on 12/10/98 resolved
to wind-up the company voluntarily. Creditors are requested
to submit their claims before 15/11/98.


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

ORIENT COMMERCIAL: Bank under receivership
------------------------------------------
The Asian Wall Street Journal reports the Monetary Board,
Philippines central bank's policy making body, has voted to
place the Orient Commercial Banking Corporation under
receivership. This move came after the bank's owner failed
to meet an October 12 deadline to remit two billion pesos
to the central bank to guarantee the soundness of the bank
if it were re-opened. The bank's operations had been
suspended after a rush of withdrawals that were triggered
by rumors that the bank's owner had fled the country to
escape financial troubles.  

Following the suspension, the bank was found to have 4.99
billion pesos in non-performing loans, the bulk of which
had been illegally lent to the bank's board of director
members. The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation
(PDIC) now has three months to determine if the Orient Bank
can be rehabilitated. The PDIC will act as the bank's
receiver. In the event that the PDIC finds the bank is
beyond rehabilitation, the bank will be immediately
liquidated.  


PHILIPPINE AIRLINES: Cathay dismisses claim on PAL deal
-------------------------------------------------------
According to the scmp, Cathay Pacific Airways yesterday
dismissed Philippine President Joseph Estrada's comments
that Cathay was close to buying 40 per cent of PAL, saying
Cathay is still reviewing and discussing options and
discussions had not yet reached the board level.

Mr Estrada also said in Singapore that Northwest Airlines
had dropped out of the bidding.

Aviation analysts said they questioned Cathay's motives in
showing interest in investing in PAL at a time when it is
struggling to fill seats after the ambitious capacity
expansion program in the depressed market.

PAL has been especially unstable and unprofitable in recent
years as competition and labor strife has eaten into its
margins.

However, analysts agree that a Cathay purchase of PAL would
benefit both airlines. Cathay would gain prestige as a true
regional carrier, while PAL would regain its credit
worthiness among lenders and suppliers. Also a partnership
between the two on international routes would help cut
costs.

One problem for analysts trying to figure out the impact
such a deal would have on Cathay is the lack of financial
figures from PAL, which is a private company.

It is uncertain what percentage Mr Lucio Tan now holds, or
if he will remain a minority shareholder in the airline he
built.

Some analysts said Mr Estrada's political interference
could have negative impact on the deal, but Cathay
involvement in PAL would need significant support from the
Philippine government.

Two things are almost certain: Cathay would demand
management control and the deal would somehow be heavily
subsidised by the Philippine government. This will probably
mean that the political baggage PAL once carried as the so-
called national carrier, such as unprofitable domestic
routes, would be shed.

The Hong Kong Standard focused more on the likelihood of
the deal, saying it got the information from a source close
to PAL.

The source said Cathay would acquire a 40 per cent stake in
PAL and become the largest shareholder, Mr Tan would reduce
his stake to 30 per cent, the Philippine government would
be the third largest shareholder with about 20 per cent.

The remainder would go to PAL's labour union, which agreed
to have a stake in exchange for a pledge to freeze
industrial action for 10 years.

Aviation sources in Hong Kong said Cathay was expected to
announce the deal as early as next week. The only hitch is
sorting out whether Cathay would be able to get control of
management, but Mr Estrada said Cathay would have
management control under the arrangement. He said since
Cathay officials were examining the profitability of
international flights, PAL postponed the re-launch of its
international routes originally scheduled for today.

The source said Cathay could benefit significantly from the
deal, adding that PAL had lucrative routes between Manila
and various destinations to the US which were under-
utilised. PAL, through Cathay's muscle, could raise
utilisation and maximise revenue from its various under-
utilised routes.

The article also says at the end that a Cathay spokesperson
refused to confirm or deny a deal would be signed next
week.


PHILIPPINE AIRLINES: US Ex-Im bank seizing PAL planes
-----------------------------------------------------
A report in the Asian Wall Street Journal mentioned that US
Export-Import Bank officials have already reclaimed one jet
in Los Angeles which it had financed for Philippine
Airlines (PAL). The Export-Import Bank is also negotiating
with for two other B747-400 jets it financed. However,
PAL's senior vice president of finance and chief financial
officer said that PAL plans to park these jets somewhere in
the Middle East until they are needed for PAL long-haul
service that may start next month. The PAL vice president
admitted that storing the jets in the Middle East will
improve the chances of PAL keeping these planes.  


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

PARKWAY HOLDINGS: $128 million cash injection
---------------------------------------------
Singapore Business Times reports Parkway Holdings yesterday
said that 67.7 million warrants representing some 96.5 per
cent of the original issue have been converted into shares.
At $1.90 per warrant, this means a total cash injection of
$128 million in cash for the group which has debts of more
than $1 billion. A total of 2.4 million warrants were not
exercised upon expiry on Oct 13. Following the warrant
conversion, the total issued and paid-up capital of Parkway
is now $179.3 million, representing 358.6 million ordinary
shares of 50 cents par value.

Over the last week, the Parkway stock has been trading
between a low of $1.98 and a high of $2.38. It closed two
cents up yesterday at $2.35. Parkway said last Friday that
proceeds from the exercised warrants and asset sales would
enable it to reduce its gearing levels from about 117 per
cent now to some 80 per cent.


URACO HOLDINGS: Possible issue of new shares
--------------------------------------------
Singapore Business Times reports Uraco Holdings is
negotiating with an investor on the possible issue of a new
class of shares, subject to stock exchange and shareholder
approval. This will boost its issued and paid-up capital,
the company said yesterday in response to "the sharp
increase in the share price and trading volume of the
company's shares recently".

Uraco said that to-date, it has not entered into any
agreement with any such investor or any other proposed
investor. In the market yesterday, Uraco saw a hefty 17.6
million shares traded before closing four cents up at 26.5
cents.


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

Troubled Company Reporter -- Asia Pacific is a daily
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Copyright 1998.  All rights reserved.  ISSN: 1520-9482.  

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