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       T R O U B L E D   C O M P A N Y   R E P O R T E R     
  
                    A S I A   P A C I F I C      

            Thursday, April 1, 1999, Vol. 2, No. 64

                           Headlines

* C H I N A   &   H O N G   K O N G *

CA PACIFIC: Sotock Exchange Clears Payments to Clients
CHINA INTERNATIONAL: Banks File Writ against Iron & Steel Concern
CHUN TAI: Writs issued against Chun Tai
GUANGDONG (HK) TOURS: Tour unit distances self from GDI woes
GUANGDONG INVESTMENT: Tries To Talk Creditor Out of Suit
GUANGZHOU INTERNATIONAL: Guangzhou makes pledge on Gzitic debt
GUANGDONG INVESTMENT: Sinks in red ink as sectors suffer losses
HAINAN HUITONG: Hainan Itic's "Arrogance" Angers Koreans
HUA RONG: Appoints PwC as Financial Advisor in Debt Talks
PEREGRINE GROUP: PricewaterhouseCoopers Discloses Dividend Rates
SING TAO: Sam Zell Reportedly Joining Forces with Lazard Asia
SINOCAN HOLDINGS: Faces winding-up petition
YUE XIU: Property-firms injection boosts cash-starved Yue Xiu

* I N D O N E S I A *

HUTAMA KARYA: State contractor fights landmark bankruptcy

* J A P A N *

APOLLO LEASING: Files For Liquidation
LONG TERM: Report Says LTCB liabilities outweighed assets

* K O R E A *

DAEWON ELECTRIC: Completes Creditor Reconciliation
KISAN MUTUAL: Company Officially Insolvent

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

MONDRAGON INTERNATIONAL: Court Upholds Mondragon Order
PILIPINO TELEPHONE: Piltel says profit unlikely for 2 years
PHILIPPINE AIRLINES: Must reveal investors for plan backing
PHILIPPINE AIRLINES: City of Manila asks PAL to pay back

* T H A I L A N D *

THAI MODERN: Most Creditors Approve Rehabilitation Plan


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


CA PACIFIC: Sotock Exchange Clears Payments to Clients
------------------------------------------------------
The stock exchange has issued a further batch of determination
notices to the Securities and Futures Commission for compensation
payments to 420 cients of the collapsed CA Pacific Securities,
bringing the total number of issued determination notices to
1,640.


CHINA INTERNATIONAL: Banks File Writ against Iron & Steel Concern
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Five creditor banks of mainland-owned China International Iron &
Investment (CSI) have filed a writ in Hong Kong against the
company for default on repayment of outstanding debts.  The
syndicated loan of US$20 million was provided in 1997, and $11
million was outstanding.  The loan was originally due on
September 22 last year. Unable to make repayment, the firm
negotiated a new amortising repaymnent schedule and after paying
two instalments, the firm stopped making repayments.

According to the Hong Kong Standard, a source said CSI had onlent
proceeds from the loan to a steel company in Shandong province -
Lai Wu Steel which had repaid CSI before the loan to the banks
was due, so CSI then lent the funds to Benxi Steel, a steel
company in Liaoning. The source said CSI told the banks at a
meeting on March 22 it would not repay the loan until it received
payment from Benxi. The banks then decided to take legal action.

CSI was jointly owned by China's Ministry of Metallurgical
Industry (MMI) and the State Planning Commission, now renamed the
State Development and Planning Commission, until the MMI was shut
down in March 1998, after which supervision of CSI was passed to
the State Administration of Metallurgical Industry.

The MMI had issued a letter of comfort to the banks in support of
the loan which was also registered with the State Administration
for Foreign Exchange.


CHUN TAI: Writs issued against Chun Tai
---------------------------------------
Golden Electrical Trading Co Ltd has issued a writ against Chun
Tai Industries to demand a payment of $234,129.  Chun Tai
Industries is a wholly owned subsidiary of listed toy
manufacturer Chun Tai Holdings which recently fell into some
financial problems.


GUANGDONG (HK) TOURS: Tour unit distances self from GDI woes
------------------------------------------------------------
Guangdong (HK) Tours, a wholly owned subsidiary of Guangdong
Investment (GDI), is seeking to distance itself from the
financial woes of its troubled parent, after being named in a
summons by one of GDI's creditor banks -- Bank of Tokyo-
Mitsubishi, reports the South China Morning Post.  

Bank of Tokyo filed a summons with the High Court on Thursday to
take possession of collateral at Guangdong Tours Centre in
Causeway Bay after GDI defaulted on loan repayments. Guangdong
Tours owns six storeys in the office tower, valued at about $120
million.

Guangdong Tours managing director Zhuang Zhuning said it's GDI
that borrowed the money but the instance had greatly hurt
Guangdong Tours' reputation.

But a Bank of Tokyo official said yesterday that under the July
loan agreement, the three GDI parties were liable to the bank if
any party defaulted. The bank said it was forced to make the
move.  Officials of the Bank of Tokyo and ICEA Capital, which is
advising GDI on its restructuring proposal, are to meet today to
discuss the issue.


GUANGDONG INVESTMENT: Tries To Talk Creditor Out of Suit
--------------------------------------------------------
The Asian Wall Street Journal reported that representatives from
Guangdong Investment Ltd. are to meet this week with a creditor
bank to ask that it to withdraw a lawsuit.  The Bank of Tokyo-
Mitsubishi Ltd. filed a suit last week in Hong Kong's high court
asking HK$45 million in principal and interest, as well as the
right to sell the property held as collateral.  Guangdong
Investment, which is 40.5 percent owned by Guangdong Enterprises
and is its biggest listed company, has gone into technical
default on a number of credit facilities.  It has also asked for
a standstill agreement with its creditors as its parent Guangdong
Enterprises of Guangdong, China goes through a restructuring
exercise.  Guangdong Investments Ltd. owns 57 percent of
Guangdong Building Industries Ltd., 72 percent of Guangdong
Tannery Ltd., and 72 percent of Guangdong Brewery Holdings Ltd.  

Guangdong Enterprises, which was incorporated in Hong Kong and
operates under Hong Kong laws, is a Guangdong provincial
government's investment arm.


GUANGZHOU INTERNATIONAL: Guangzhou makes pledge on Gzitic debt
--------------------------------------------------------------
Guangzhou Mayor Lin Shusen, the South China Morning Post says,  
indicated that the city government would assume the
responsibility of repaying debt owed by Gzitic if the funds were
mandated by the government for a specific purpose.  

A creditor bank questioned how borrowings would be categorised
and how much eventually would fall into this category.  Mr Lin
said it was too early to talk about asset or cash injections into
Gzitic.  

There was yet no conclusion whether Gzitic was to be restructured
or put into bankruptcy. It is understood that banks of a
syndicated loan that petitioned for the winding up of Gzitic's
Hong Kong investment arm Guanzhou Finance will meet this week to
discuss its plan of action.  If banks did not force Guangzhou
Finance to repay loans, it would still be able to meet its debt
obligations. Otherwise, the company would be forced into
bankruptcy.

Mr Lin said exposure to the Hong Kong property market was to
blame for Guangzhou Finance's situation and the government would
not spend money on covering losses in the Hong Kong property
market.


GUANGDONG INVESTMENT: Sinks in red ink as sectors suffer losses
---------------------------------------------------------------
Guangdong Investment (GDI) plunged $2.01 billion into the red
last year after suffering a $1.78 billion exceptional loss,
$1.26 billion of which related to the fall in value of property,
hotel and other investments. The company made a profit of $750.2
million in 1997, bolstered by exceptional gains of $336.85
million.  Net assets stood at $6.21 billion as of December, down
from $8.52 billion a year earlier, but slightly higher than $6
billion as of September due to increased property valuations.

Sister company Guangnan (Holdings) suffered an attributable loss
of $3.46 billion after a $3.52 billion exceptional charge, mainly
for bad and doubtful debts. In 1997 the company saw a net profit
of $302 million.

The results underline the deplorable financial state of Guangdong
Enterprises (Holdings) (GDE) group.

GDI chairman blamed the economic downturn in Hong Kong and slower
economic growth across the border for the company's poor
performance. He said the closure of Gitic in October 1998 led to
a change in banking sentiment towards credit facilities, but with
the benefit of significant asset injection and the support of the
Guangdong provincial government, GDI should be well-placed fot
future focused growth.

Under its restructuring plan, GDI will strengthen its core
businesses with the injection of profitable utility and
infrastructure projects and dispose of non-core business
interests.

GDI's core businesses, including infrastructure, utilities,
property and hotel operations, earned $456.22 million in
operating profit in the period, down 14.7 per cent from 1997. The
key weakness in its core businesses lay in its operations in Hong
Kong and not on the mainland.  Non-core businesses posted an
operating loss of $583.75 million, against perating profit of
$100.98 million previously.

Guangdong Tannery slipped into the red with a $17.33 million loss
compared with net profit of $48.31 million recorded previously.
Guangdong Building made a net loss of $110.60 million compared
with $33.00 million net profit.

Net profit at Guangdong Brewery slid to $84.48 million from the
pro forma combined net profit of $96.32 million registered a year
earlier.  

GDI and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi have failed to settle
differences over outstanding loans amounting to more than HK$45
million. Bank of Tokyo filed an originating summons seeking a
court order to take possession of six storeys in the Guangdong
Tours Centre in Causeway Bay, valued at about HK$120 million and
held by GDI subsidiary Guangdong (HK) Tours, which was a joint
party to a loan agreement signed by GDI and its associate,
Supertime Development last July. Under the agreement, all the
parties are liable if any of them fails to repay.  
Representatives of both sides met yesterday but the Japanese bank
was unwilling to withdraw the litigation until it received an
offer deemed satisfactory by its headquarters in Japan.  
Officials of GDI and its financial advisers would probably meet
the bank again early next month.

Sources said a Schroders-led syndicate was seeking to have a
US$90 million loan excluded from GDI's standstill agreement. The
loan was used to finance the development of Teem Plaza, an office
and retail complex in Guangzhou.

According to the Hong Kong Standard, GDI group now has a negative
asset value of $6.32 billion against a positive net asset value
of $115.76 million in 1997.  The group's current liabilities
nearly doubled from $6.25 billion in 1997 to $11.3 billion last
year, while assets suffered decline from $6.37 billion in 1997 to
$4.97 billion last year.  The biggest exceptional loss was for
provisions for the diminution in the value of short-term
investments which amounted to $556.43 million.  It made a
$459.59 million provision for specific doubtful debts.  It
incurred a revaluation deficit of $267.23 million from its
investment properties, which was followed by a $222.15 million
provision for properties held for sale and a $96.01 million
revaluation deficit for its hotel properties.  The group incurred
an operating loss of $127.53 million last year against an
operating profit of $636.59 million in 1997. Turnover dropped
12.1 per cent to 6.28 billion from the previous year's $7.14
billion. It also suffered loss per share of 83.3 cents compared
to earnings per share of 31.9 cents in 1997. Accumulated losses
of $537.64 million were recorded for last year against retained
profits of $1.59 billion in the previous year.

Guangnan (Holdings), a 56.92 per cent subsidiary of Guangdong
Enterprises listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, reported
last night  that in the last three months it had lost another
$178.5 million, taking its accumulated losses to more than $3
billion. Assets were calculated at $1.84 billion, and total
liabilities at $4.23 billion.  There was a deficit of
shareholders' funds of $1.18 billion by the end of the year.  
Turnover in the three months to Dec 31 was $1.16 billion, but the
gross profit of $82.4 million was turned into an operating loss
attributable to shareholders of $178.5 million.

Auditors KPMG noted difficulties in preparing the accounts and
presented no cash flow statement in view of the state of affairs
of the group.  


HAINAN HUITONG: Hainan Itic's "Arrogance" Angers Koreans
--------------------------------------------------------
South Korean executives owed an estimated US$100 million by a
Hainan investment trust firm are expressing outrage over the
treatment they received at meetings with officials of Hainan
Huitong International Trust & Investment Corp called last week to
work out issues of debt payment, according to a report appearing
in the South China Morning Post.

The debts resulted from Huitong's inability to honor letters of
credit for the import of steel and other materials purchased from
six Korean business conglomerates, including Halla, Daewoo,
Samsung and Kolon. Some of them date back as far as April last
year.

Korean businessmen said it was their understanding that the end-
users of the imported goods had already paid Huitong.  They
blamed the Hainan bankers for their 'arrogant' and 'elusive'
attitudes, and the refusal to discuss a schedule. They said that
Huitong officials claimed that should Korean creditors seek legal
remedies, the firm would go bankrupt and outstanding obligations
would never be honored.  It is understood the Korean debt makes
up a substantial portion of Huitong's foreign debt.  A Korean
executive close to the discussions said it was likely the
companies would again turn to political channels for assistance.


HUA RONG: Appoints PwC as Financial Advisor in Debt Talks
---------------------------------------------------------
Hua Rong (Holdings), the investment arm of the Fuzhou government
in Hong Kong, has appointed PricewaterhouseCooopers as financial
adviser on its debt and asset restructuring, reports the South
China Morning Post.  

Fuzhou vice mayor Liu Yongzhao said Hua Rong was in discussions
with banks on debt and asset restructuring but did not have a
concrete plan yet.  Mr Ku assured creditors the issue would be
properly resolved. He said Hua Rong had resolved its legal
problems with creditors.

Last month, Shanghai Industrial Investment (Holdings) Co's wholly
owned finance arm, SIIC Finance, filed a High Court writ claiming
$18.18 million from Hua Rong as guarantor and its subsidiary Hua
Rong Finance as borrower. Mr Liu said Hua Rong was having similar
problems with other mainland firms amid the financial turmoil but
its situation was good and would get better as Hong Kong emerged
from the economic downturn.

Hua Rong is mainly involved in finance, real estate, trading and
fund-raising for projects in Fuzhou and Fujian.


PEREGRINE GROUP: PricewaterhouseCoopers Discloses Dividend Rates
----------------------------------------------------------------
In a comprehensive assessment sent to creditors, liquidators
PricewaterhouseCoopers said Peregrine Investment Holdings (PIH)
creditors would receive an interim payout of about three cents
while creditors of Peregrine Fixed Income (PFI) and Peregrine
Derivatives (PDL) would receive about 10 cents.  The dividends of
PFI and PDL will be declared in June and paid in August or
September.  Payment to PIH creditors will be made in October or
December following the devidend payout from its subsidiaries.
However, payment to derivative claim holders, a large portion of
creditors, would be delayed until complex legal issues were
resolved.

According to the South China Morning Post, the top end of the
range of total payouts had been reduced across the three
Peregrine entities since a creditors' meeting in June.

The best that PFI creditors can hope for is 40 cents on the
dollar, down from 52 cents announced last year. They might only
receive a total of 19 cents in the worst scenario.

As of January 16, Indonesian entities, which make up the majority
of PFI's debtors, owed a combined US$1.04 billion and Thai
debtors owed US$314 million. PricewaterhouseCoopers partner David
Hague said there is a big problem in recoveries in places like
Thailand and Indonesia.  PDL creditors should expect a payout
range of between 20 and 35 cents on the dollar, with the top of
the range trimmed from last year's 40 cents.  PIH creditors can
expect a total payout of between 10 and 25 cents.  

PIH's contigent guarantees which had threatened to soak up PIH's
payouts have been reduced to between HK$19.6 billion and HK$21.4
billion after being projected last year to be as high as HK$62
billion.

Mr Hague said the fate of claims made by derivative contract
holders affected by the International Swaps and Derivatives
Association agreement were likely to be determined by legal cases
to be held in Britain later this year.

At issue is whether the credit standing of a counter-party in a
contract should be taken into account in determining a settlement
amount.

The majority of realisations so far have been made from
financially healthy debtors while future realisations are hoped
to come from troubled entities, typically in Inodnesia and
Thailand.

An active secondary market was developing in Peregrine debt,
according to Mr Hague.

PricewaterhouseCoopers told creditors they were yet unable to
estimate when the liquidation would end.

Liquidators fees for the Peregrine group for the 13 months to the
end of February were US$17.4 million.

The number of staff working on the liquidation had fallen to 40
from a peak of about 90 following the investment bank's collapse.



SING TAO: Sam Zell Reportedly Joining Forces with Lazard Asia
-------------------------------------------------------------
Well-placed sources tell the South China Morning Post that the
consortium backed by US billionaire Sam Zell has sought to join
forces with successful bidder Lazard Asia Fund.  They said brief
talks had recently been held between the two with a more detailed
partnership proposal to be tabled after Easter.  Sources said
teaming up with Lazard was the consortium's priority while
legal action against Ms Aw for breach of contract would be the
last resort.  Analysts said the battle for Sing Tao stemmed from
the publisher's lucrative property portfolio and a strong cash
position which would allow it to launch acquisitions or make a
hefty dividend payout.


SINOCAN HOLDINGS: Faces winding-up petition
-------------------------------------------
A petition for winding up Sinocan Holdings Ltd has been filed by
Hongkong and Shanghai Bank Corp.  Listed in 1994, Sinocan is
mainly engaged in the manufacture of three-piece cans for use in
beverage and food industries.  In September 1998, it said it had
failed to maintain its financial covenant on interest coverage
contained in a revolving loan facility of about $320 million with
its bankers.


YUE XIU: Property-firms injection boosts cash-starved Yue Xiu
-------------------------------------------------------------
Yue Xiu Enterprises (Holdings) has received assets worth 9.6
billion yuan from its owner, the Guangzhou government, but is
denying the move is aimed at solving a short-term cash-flow
problem, according to a report appearing in the South China
Morning Post.

Chairman Liu Jinxiang said the firm had been given two property
businesses - Guangzhou City Construction & Development Holdings
and resort developer Mingquanju - for free as a gesture of
support from the city government. He said this is for the
company's future development, Which is good for reducing debts
over the longer term. He said the assets, particularly the resort
firm, would take some time before they could provide significant
cash flow to the company.  

Guanzhou City Construction, the largest property developer in the
city, has assets of 8.5 billion yuan and liabilities of about 200
million yuan. Mingquanju has assets of 1.1 billion yuan and
labilities of about 240 million yuan.

According to the Post, the asset injection was disclosed at a
meeting with Yue Xiu's bankers on Monday as the company sought to
garner their support.  However, Yue Xiu did not provide cash-flow
projections as expected, saying this would take some time as
there was no concept of cash flow on the mainland.  Bankers said
they expected Yue Xiu would face a shortage of capital to meet
debt obligations, if it was unable to refinance loans.  

Yue Xiu has assets of about $25 billion and liabilities of $9
billion and has already repaid $600 million in debts this year.

Yue Xiu vice chairman said if the banks did not call in loans,
the company would go ahead with investments; otherwise, it will
repay the debts. He said there was no need for the government to
inject cash and dismissed concerns about difficulties in
financing investment in two new property businesses.

According to the Hong Kong Standard, a senior executive at Yue
Xiu admitted that the group had increased its short-term
borrowings to roll over long-term debts in the wake of pressures
from foreign bank creditors.  Analysts in Hong Kong said that the
two locally listed units of Yue Xiu, Guangzhou Investment Company
and Denway Investment Company, would eventually benefit from the
asset injection into its parents. The approach will enable
Beijing to shield Hong Kong units of mainland conglomerates from
the fallout of any financial crisis that might hit the latter.

Mr Liu said Yue Xiu currently had assets of 2 billion yuan
against liabilities of 900 million yuan. The group has a 38 per
cent stake in Guangzhou Investment  and a 6a7.5 per cent interest
in Denway Investment.

Yue Xiu general manager said that while the group was in the
black, it had been forced to increase its short-term borrowing to
roll over long-term debt partly because of Gitic's collapse.


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


HUTAMA KARYA: State contractor fights landmark bankruptcy
---------------------------------------------------------
State-owned contractor Hutama Karya has filed a judicial review
against a bankruptcy verdict issued by the Supreme Court, which
is the first to be handed out to a state-owned company.  A
spokesman for the company said the judicial review was filed in
February on the basis that Hutama Karya had already paid back
some of its debts to creditors Jaya Readymix and Primacoat
Lestari but did not reveal how much had been repaid.

The Supreme Court declared Hutama bankrupt on Feb 23 for default
on repayment of debts of 2.3 billion rupiah but the news was not
made public until this week. Lawyers representing creditors said
they received the Supreme Court verdict in mid March.

The Hutama Karya spokesman said the news about the company's
bankruptcy was partial because it did not mention the judicial
review already filed.


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

APOLLO LEASING: Files For Liquidation
-------------------------------------
The Asian Wall Street Journal reported that the mid sized
Japanese financial institution, Apollo Leasing Company, has filed
for special liquidation in the Tokyo District Court.  Apollo
reportedly has 490 billion yen in outstanding debt.  The
company's main bank, the Sukura Bank, had supported a 1992
restructuring drive, but the prolong economic slump has
reportedly exacerbated the firm's bad debt problems.  As of March
31, 1998, the company's debts exceeded its assets by 75.67
billion yen.


LONG TERM: Report Says LTCB liabilities outweighed assets
---------------------------------------------------------
According to a report appearing in the Hong Kong Standard, Long
Term Credit Bank had 2.65 trillion yen more liabilities than
assets when it was seized by the government last October, the
Financial Reconstruction Commission said.  That is more than
the 2.4 trillion yen in liabilities in Japan's biggest
bankruptcy -- that of LTCB affiliate Japan Leasing Corp - and
more than eight times what the government's financial watchdog
estimated last year.



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

DAEWON ELECTRIC: Completes Creditor Reconciliation
--------------------------------------------------
According to the Korean language Maeil Kyungje's Business Brief
section, the Daewon Electric Line Company's creditor
reconciliation procedure was completed and approved by the Suwon
District Court.


KISAN MUTUAL: Company Officially Insolvent
------------------------------------------
The Seoul District Court advertised in the Korean language Maeil
Kyungje that the Kisan Mutual Trust Safe Company is officially
insolvent.  The creditors have until May 21st, 1999 to file their
claims and the company's address is 78 Samsung-dong, Kangnam-ku,
Seoul.  This firm had announced its own insolvency last February
27th.


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

MONDRAGON INTERNATIONAL: Court Upholds Mondragon Order
------------------------------------------------------
According to the South China Morning Post, Mondragon
International Philippines said the Supreme Court upheld an order
that the state-owned company, Clark Development, return to
Mondragon a golf-and-casino resort -- Mimosa Leisure Estate --
that it seized in December following Mondragon's failure to pay
465 million pesos in rent and to fulfill other contractual
obligations.


PILIPINO TELEPHONE: Piltel says profit unlikely for 2 years
-----------------------------------------------------------
In a statement to the Philippine Stock Exchange and Securities
and Exchange Commission, Piltel said although it was making
interest payments, it anticipated that it might not generate
sufficient cash flow from operations to cover its interest
payments in 1999 and did not expect to return to profitability
during the next two years.  The company said it would take steps
to reduce costs and strengthen financial controls and policies.
It said concessions from creditors was needed in order for the
business plan to succeed and to achieve the maximum valuation of
its business as a whole.

Under current situations, the South China Morning Post relates,
such concessions would probably need to extend to at least a
five-year to 15-year period for principal repayments, the company
believes.  

According to the statement, there is no certainty that a debt
restructuring plan between Piltel and its creditors can be agreed
upon or implemented successfully or that, if implemented, a debt
restructuring and business recovery plan will improve the
financial or operating conditions of Piltel.  The statement also
said that parent Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) had
indicated that it would not invest additional funds in Piltel
in the absence of an acceptable restructuring plan, including
acceptable concessions by creditors, and  Piltel is exploring
joint venture, leasing or other arrangements that would allow
operation of its fixed-line system by Piltel or PLDT and reduce
or defer repayment obligation to Marubeni.  Piltel blamed cloning
of its units and subscription fraud, increased competition and
the economic downturn for its financial difficulties.

The Asian Wall Street Journal reported that the Pilipino
Telephone Company (PILTEL), the mobile-telephone unit of the
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), has issued a
statement that unless acceptable conditions on its debt repayment
are arranged, its parent PLDT will not provide new funds.  

PILTEL, which is 50.1% owned by PLDL, has 34.9 billion pesos in
debt that it has not serviced since January.  PLDL has no legal
obligation to repay its subsidiary's debts.  

Earlier reports stated that most of PILTEL's loans are unsecured,
and that it could not make a recent loan payment to Marubeni
Corporation of Japan. Marubeni supplied and installed PILTEL's
fixed line network and is owed around 11 billion pesos by the
phone company.  About one-third of PILTEL's debt are loans from
the Marubeni Corporation, another third from a syndicate of
banks, and the rest is in the form of convertible bonds.  

PILTEL, which has the second largest subscriber base in the
Philippines, has had trouble with subscriber fraud and heavy debt
payments.  It was reportedly once the strongest cellular phone
operator in the county until illicit use of its network became
rampant.  Its attempts to upgrade its network to prevent
unauthorized users contributed heavily to its debts.


PHILIPPINE AIRLINES: Must reveal investors for plan backing
-----------------------------------------------------------
The South China Morning Post relates that PAL must identify the
investors willing to pump US$200 million into it to gain approval
of its rehabilitation plan, Philippine Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) said. The country's chief regulator would also
like to know if the airline's present shareholders, including
chairman Lucio Tan, planned to invest additional money into PAL.

Last week, PAL said it was in deep negotiations with several
unnamed foreign and Philippine groups interested in investing in
the airline, including companies with investments in other
airlines, funds that specialise in 'turnaround situations' and
conglomerates with interests in service industries.

PAL chief company adviser Peter Foster said Mr Tan had not
committed to investing additional money in PAL and government
financial institutions will not put in any more cash.

PAL's rehabilitation plan is backed by more than two thirds of
the airline's creditors and a three-member SEC panel will decide
by April 15 whether to accept the rehabilitation plan or order
the liquidation of the airline.


PHILIPPINE AIRLINES: City of Manila asks PAL to pay back
--------------------------------------------------------
According to a report appearing in the Hong Kong Standard, the
Philippine government has filed a claim asking debt-ridden PAL to
pay 236.9 million pesos in unpaid loans and interest.  The claim,
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, said PAL
owed the government the amount under a short-term credit facility
earlier extended to the airline and the government asked the
commission to order PAL to pay its debts in full.



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

THAI MODERN: Most Creditors Approve Rehabilitation Plan
-------------------------------------------------------
A majority of Thai Modern Plastic's creditors yesterday
endorsed the company's rehabilitation plan involving debts of
over 8 billion baht.  The plan will be submitted for
consideration of the Civil Court on April 20.  

Trithip Sukhasapha from Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, the
rehabilitation planner, told Business Day that about 88
creditors, who held 92 percent of the debts, approved the plan
which calls for the loans to be paid to creditors within five
years.  Meanwhile, five banks, which held combined debts of 512
million baht, opposed the plan. This group of creditors face the
prospect of recouping only 10 percent of the extended loans
involvong trade credits.  Twelve creditors abstained from voting
on the rehabilitation plan.  These creditors had extended a total
of 960 million baht in financing to TMC.  Of the total 8.075
billion baht debt, about 8.016 billion baht consists of bank
loans, while the remaining 59 million baht are in form of trade
credit.

Regarding to the plan, creditors will receive loan payment based
on the compny's operating results and in direct proportion to
loans they had extended to the company.  Initially, TMC will sell
assets worth 400 million baht to pay debt.  The amount will be
included with 1 billion bahtfrom its operating profit and revenue
from equity sale.

Currently, TMC has about 100 million bat cash in hand.

"We believe TMC's business will survive in the next five years if
the company is able to sell equity to interested investors," said
Trithip   "The company is considered having capability to run
business but the existing liability is too high." She said
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu will requested the Stock Exchange of
Thailand (SET) to delisting TMC.

The vote for TMC's rehabilitation plan had been delayed from its
original schedule by two weeks, following the death of Michel
Wansley, an Australian executive of Deloitte Touche.  Wansley was
gunned down while directing the rehabilitation plan of three
sugar mills: Kaset Thai Sugar, Ruamphol Enterprise, and Thai
Identity Sugar.




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

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