---

    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, August 20, 1999, Vol. 2, No. 162

                            Headlines


* C H I N A  &  H O N G  K O N G *

GUANGDONG INT'L LEASING: Creditor meeting yields criticism
GUANGZHOU INTN'L TRUST: Could spark run of restructuring
PASS FULL LTD.: Facing petition for winding up
WYLOX CONSTRUCTION CO.: Facing petition for winding up


* I N D O N E S I A *

PT BANK BALI: Police question execs over bank scam


* K O R E A *

CHEONGSOL BANK: Redemption suit filed against execs
DAEWOO GROUP: Looks to recover $560 million from Libya
DAEWOO GROUP: Negotiates late-payment deal
HANHWA BANK: Redemption suit filed against execs
KYUNGIL BANK: Redemption suit filed against execs
SAMSAM BANK: Redemption suit filed against execs
SAMSUNG GROUP: Deficiency deal close with creditors
SAMYANG BANK: Redemption suit filed against execs
SHINHAN BANK: Redemption suit filed against execs
SSANGYONG BANK: Redemption suit filed against execs
TAEGU BANK: Redemption suit filed against execs


* M A L A Y S I A *

KELANAMAS INDUSTRIES: In negotiations for restructuring
MALAYSIAN PACIFIC INDUSTRIES: Posts annual loss


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

VICTORIAS MILLING CO.: SEC approves rehab plan

* T H A I L A N D *

FINANCE ONE: Probe to be widened
PREMIUM ENTERPRISE: Posts 2nd quarter loss
SRITHAI SUPERWARE: Foreign holdings to rise


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

GUANGDONG INT'L LEASING: Creditor meeting yields criticism
----------------------------------------------------------
Chaotic record-keeping, questionable business practices and
general mismanagement helped force Guangdong International
Trust & Investment Corp (Gitic) subsidiary Guangdong
International Leasing Corp into bankruptcy, according to
company liquidators.

At Guangdong Leasing's second creditors meeting held in
Guangzhou yesterday the company's liquidation team once
again lambasted company officials for a fundamental
breakdown in normal business supervision.  Guangdong
Leasing was one of three Gitic subsidiaries declared
bankrupt with the parent company this year in the largest
failure of a mainland company.

Guangdong Leasing's recoverable assets were estimated to
reach 303.1 million yuan (about HK$281.88 million),
slightly above the 266.35 million yuan estimated in April.
However, total liabilities were again estimated at 1.6
billion yuan, yielding an overall recovery rate for
creditors of about 19 per cent.

Liquidators characterised Guangdong Leasing's record
keeping as "extreme chaos".  Liquidators were forced to
declare 82.74 million yuan in outstanding lending
unrecoverable due to an absence of documentation. Of
Guangdong Leasing's 321.08 million yuan in outstanding
borrowing, only 24.24 million yuan was deemed recoverable.
The liquidation team also noted that many of the loans had
not been serviced for more than two years, making claims on
borrowers difficult to enforce.

Other loans were characterised as "irregular", particularly
in regard to interest rates to be paid, throwing into
question the enforceability of the original agreements.
Sloppy record-keeping extended into company investments,
where the memory of company officials is all that is left
to explain the disposition of some projects. Other project
investments were registered in the names of individuals and
other companies, making property rights claims by Guangdong
Leasing difficult at best.

Of Guangdong Leasing's 266.77 million yuan long-term
investments, liquidators estimated only 67.68 million yuan
was recoverable. The liquidation team pointed out that
Guangdong Leasing had made three highly questionable
investments in domestic real estate projects, involving 157
million yuan.  Internal lending by Guangdong Leasing to
other Gitic companies reached 82.74 million yuan, of which
only 20.65 million yuan was deemed recoverable due to the
woeful financial situation at the sister firms.

Meanwhile, the company's outstanding leasing bills amounted
to 513.43 million yuan but only 148.49 million yuan was
considered recoverable.  (South China Morning Post  19-Aug-
1999)

GUANGZHOU INTN'L TRUST: Could spark run of restructuring
--------------------------------------------------------
Newer is not necessarily better, certainly where the
mainland's troubled non-banking financial institutions are
concerned. The news emerging from debt-plagued mainland
trust and investment companies is that many will seek to
restructure their way out of borrowing difficulties by
transforming into new joint-venture banks, through straight
debt-to-equity swaps or mergers with other financial
institutions.

Last Wednesday, officials at Guangzhou International Trust
& Investment Corp. (Gzitic), with debt of about 29.7
billion yuan (about HK$ 27.62 billion), told foreign
creditors the firm was seeking to transform 50 per cent of
its debt into financial instruments linked to a newly
established joint-venture company - thought to be a
commercial bank by those close to the negotiations.

Gzitic's remaining debt would be paid off over a 10-year
period with cash provided by the firm's parent - the
Guangzhou municipal government - and through the sale of
company assets.  The proposal would mean a 30 per cent loss
in interest and principal to creditors, according to Gzitic
advisers.

In Hainan, the story is much the same.  Officials at
insolvent Hainan International Trust & Investment Corp
(Hitic) have started merger talks with Hainan Provincial
Trust & Investment Corp and Haikou Trust & Investment Corp
to form a joint-venture commercial bank that would allow
Hitic's creditors to swap debt for equity in the new
enterprise.

Meanwhile, officials at Dalian International Trust &
Investment Corp (Ditic) are saying they intend to
restructure the insolvent window company into a joint-
venture bank with the help of company creditors who,
presumably, would accept a similar debt-to-equity swap.

Missing so far from such discussions is any talk about the
commercial viability of the proposed joint-venture
financial companies.  Or, as one banker with exposure to
Gzitic said, what concerns creditors is not the portion to
be paid back through cash transfers and asset sales,  
despite the protracted payment schedule - it is the 50 per
cent due to be paid by the commercial bank.

Sources close to the indebted firms said their sponsors -
the Guangzhou, Dalian and Hainan governments - lacked the
kinds of cash-generating assets that the Guangdong
provincial government was able to offer as part of the
restructuring deal for Guangdong Enterprises (GDE).

"It remains doubtful that Guangzhou has a Dongshen Water
Project," said another Gzitic creditor of the reservoir
that was included in the GDE proposal.

"Even if it had such a project, it is fair to say the
government would want to pay as little back from its own
coffers as it could."

Instead, local governments are trying to placate creditors
by offering them stakes in wealth-creating enterprises. A
fully licensed commercial bank operated by a foreign party
on a concession basis could be valuable over time. However,
foreign creditors have been quick to point out they have no
interest in investing or taking part in mainland joint-
venture banks.

Or, as one European banker with exposure to Ditic said, why
would a foreign bank want to get back into bed with someone
who had already displayed such bad business judgment?  In
the end, foreign creditors may have little choice but to
conclude provisions and accept some form of debt-to-equity
swap.  The People's Bank of China has shown an
unwillingness to allow more financial institutions to enter
bankruptcy, choosing instead a hands-off approach to see
which restructuring may prove successful.

Even if the central bank were to permit more liquidations,
it is unlikely recovery rates would exceed average levels
of about 15 per cent.

"There are only bad choices right now," said one foreign
banker with exposure to Gzitic.  "There are still many
unknowns (with the restructuring proposal) and we have
to consider whether there may be an outcome worse than
bankruptcy."  (South China Morning Post  17-Aug-1999)

PASS FULL LTD.: Facing petition for winding up
----------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong Sar has scheduled a hearing for
October 27 on the petition of Wong Kin Kwong for the
winding up of Pass Full Limited. A notice of legal
appearance must be filed on or before October 26.

WYLOX CONSTRUCTION CO.: Facing petition for winding up
------------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong Sar has scheduled a hearing for
October 27 on the petition of Chan Ah Sum for the winding
up of Wylox Construction Company Limited. A notice of legal
appearance must be filed on or before October 26.


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

PT BANK BALI: Police question execs over bank scam
--------------------------------------------------
The economic detective unit at the National Police
Headquarters has begun questioning Bank Bali (JSX:BNBL) top
executives in connection with the billion-rupiah scandal in
which the bank is involved.

Four members of the bank's top management, Hendri
Kurniawan, Irvan Gunadwi, Firman Sucahyo and Rusli Suryadi,
appeared at the National Police Headquarters beginning at
9.30am for questioning.  But police had yet to summon the
bank's managing director Rudi Ramli, who is believed to be
the key figure behind the bank scam.

Leading opposition politicians and economists have urged
the government to thoroughly investigate the alleged
scandal involving Bank Bali, The Indonesian Bank
Restructuring Agency (IBRA) and officials of the ruling
Golkar Party.  Banking legal expert Pradjoto at the end of
July alleged that IBRA deputy chairman Pande Lubis, Golkar
deputy treasurer Setya Novanto and businessman Djoko
Chandra pressurised Bank Bali to pay commissions for
assistance in recouping Rp3 trillion ($ US441.2 million) in
interbank claims for liquidated Bank BDNI, Bank Bira and
Bank Umum Nasional.

He said Bank Bali was forced to ask for the assistance of
the three businessmen because of difficulties in recouping
the claims. Under the government's blanket guarantee
programme, however, IBRA is required to cover all the
legitimate obligations of closed banks, except to
shareholders.

Pradjoto said IBRA reimbursed Bank Bali for about Rp940
billion in June, and paid Rp540 billion in commssions to
the three men the following day.  He alleged that part of
the fee was transferred to the Golkar party.

Investigation of the four Bank Bali top executives began as
another key figure in the scandal, Setya Novanto, who is
also managing director of private company PT Era Giat Prima
(EGP), was reportedly to return Rp540 million to Bank Bali.
The money was said to be the "fee" EGP had received from
Bank Bali for helping the bank to recover Rp904 billion in
loans it extended to some other banks which were later
taken over by the government.

On Novanto's move to give back the money his company had
received from Bank Bali, National Police spokesman Brig.
Gen. Togar I. Sianipar said despite Novanto's goodwill, the
case would be investigated.

In a related development, Marzuki Darusman, chairman of the
Golkar Party's investigation team, said his team had found
strong indications that the transaction between Bank Bali
and EGP had been made possible because there was
coordination between them.  The Golkar team was now almost
able to reveal the bank scandal's mastermind but Darusman
himself refused to mention names.

Eky Syahruddin, a vocal member of Parliament from the
Golkar faction, urged President BJ Habibie's administration
to resolve the bank scandal politically because the legal
approach would not be appropriate.

"I think President Habibie should ideally use a political
approach by giving the people trust that there will be
improvements," he said in response to the head of state's
Independence Day speech.  (Asia Pulse  18-Aug-1999)


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

CHEONGSOL BANK: Redemption suit filed against execs
HANHWA BANK: Redemption suit filed against execs
KYUNGIL BANK: Redemption suit filed against execs
SAMSAM BANK: Redemption suit filed against execs
SAMYANG BANK: Redemption suit filed against execs
SHINHAN BANK: Redemption suit filed against execs
SSANGYONG BANK: Redemption suit filed against execs
TAEGU BANK: Redemption suit filed against execs
---------------------------------------------------
Korea Deposit Insurance Co. (KDIC) decided yesterday to
file redemption suits against 49 executives of eight closed
merchant banks.  The eight merchant banks are Hanhwa,
Samsam, Shinhan, Ssangyong, Kyungil, Taegu, Cheongsol and
Samyang.

The insurance company is suing for estimated losses of
777.4 billion won which, it claims, were incurred due to
the executives' poor management.  It is the first time a
government institution has taken legal action of this kind
against financial institutions.

According to KDIC's recently completed investigation, the
banks have a total of 4.14 trillion won in bad assets, of
which 1.35 trillion won could be attributed to sloppy
management.  The accused managers lent a total of 660.1
billion won in violation of the regulations on loan limits,
lent another 494.4 billion won without securing guarantees
and offered 203.5 billion won without undergoing proper
procedures, said KDIC, which was set up last year to
protect customers of insolvent financial institutions.

KDIC launched a comprehensive probe of 16 shut-down
merchant banks into illegal management of funds, in order
to collect part of the public funds it injected into these
banks.  KDIC injected a total of about 38 trillion won into
ailing financial institutions in the process of Korea's
financial restructuring, of which 10.65 trillion won was
used to cover losses of the closed-down merchant banks.

Following the suit against the 49 executives, it plans to
lodge another redemption suit when it completes the probe
of the remaining eight banks, said Kim Gi-Don, head of the
collection department at the KDIC.  The remaining eight
banks are Saehan, Hangil, Hansol, Shinsegae, Hangdo, Coryo,
Gyongnam and First.

One KDIC official said that the total amount of non-viable
assets belonging to the eight firms totaled W4.14 trillion,
with 32.7%, or W1.35 trillion of that amount, the result of
illegal transactions made by staff. Daegu will be hit up
for the largest amount of W247.8 billion, followed by
Hanwha (W128.1 billion) and Samsam (W124.7 billion).

"We will put all our efforts into collecting the public
funds by bringing down those executives responsible for the
shut-down of the merchant bank," said the KDIC official.
"This will set a clear example for the managers of
financial institutions who will now face legal penalties
for illegally managing their firms."

The government established the KDIC in June 1996 to protect
depositors and maintain the stability of the financial
market by laying down a depositor system in Korea. It is
operating the Deposit Insurance Fund to safeguard
depositors in case of failure in financial institutions. A
total of 1929 financial institutions in Korea are insured
by the KDIC, of which 1825 are domestic financial
institutions and 81 foreign institutions.  (Korea Herald  
20-Aug-1999; Digital ChosunIlbo  19-Aug-1999)

DAEWOO GROUP: Looks to recover $560 million from Libya
------------------------------------------------------
Daewoo Corp., the troubled conglomerate's construction arm,
is expected to recover $560 million in overdue fees for its
civil engineering work from Libya thanks to the North
African country's recent decision to resolve the issue as
promptly as possible.

According to officials at the Construction and
Transportation Ministry yesterday, the ministry and Daewoo
have been notified that Libya recently decided to pay
Daewoo overdue fees in its cabinet meeting early this
month. The ministry categorizes payment over one year
behind the schedule as "overdue."

"We anticipate a prompt payment schedule will be agreed
through contacts between the Libyan government and Daewoo,"
a ministry official said, adding that a request for the
early resolution of the unpaid fees will be one of key
topics to be dealt with in the Korea-Libya joint committee
meeting to be chaired by foreign ministers of the two
countries slated for next month in Seoul.

Daewoo chairman Kim Woo-choong recently visited Libya,
reportedly trying to negotiate for the early release of the
unpaid construction fees.  Daewoo Corp. declined to comment
and officials at the Libyan Embassy in Seoul were not
available.   Korea has repeatedly made requests for prompt
payment but Libya faced difficulties in coming up with the
cash because of the United Nations sanctions that froze the
African country's overseas assets and banned the export of
oil rig equipment.

But the U.N. sanctions were lifted in April and Libya is
seeing cash from oil sales flow in, easing its cash crunch.
The Daewoo chairman is canvassing the world in his mission
to collect overdue payments for his sprawling group's work.
As of the end of last year, Daewoo had 12.4 trillion won in
unrecovered payments. In the first half of this year, it
collected 3 trillion won and is trying to recover 6
trillion won more this year.  Daewoo has 6.3 trillion won
or $5.3 billion in outstanding debts that are due this
year.

Daewoo chairman Kim visited Libya on Aug. 13-16 and is said
to be in Pakistan negotiating the early retrieval of $600
million in overdue payments for the construction of an
expressway there in 1997.  Daewoo Motor Sales, which has
yet to recover 100 billion won, is trying to retrieve 85
billion by the end of the year, while Daewoo Capital, the
auto financing unit, is engaged in accounting for 60
billion won in outstanding credits.  (Korea Times  19-Aug-
1999)

DAEWOO GROUP: Negotiates late-payment deal                 
------------------------------------------                   
Daewoo Group agreed to keep paying interest on US$6 billion
(S$10.1 billion) of foreign debt as Chase Manhattan Corp,
HSBC Holdings and dozens of other foreign creditors
promised to refrain from seeking to recover their money in
court.

Meeting with international creditors for the first time
since its financial crisis erupted in mid-July, Daewoo said
it cannot afford to repay its debt any time soon.  The 32-
year-old group owes foreign and domestic creditors a total
of US$57 billion.

The pledge to avoid lawsuits, only one of which has been
filed so far, averts the possibility of legal claims that
could delay further Daewoo's debt restructuring. Daewoo
needs a debt extension and more loans to ensure its
survival and calm concern that similar problems may erupt
within Korea's other industrial groups.  

The meeting came after Natexis Banques Populaires, France's
fifth-largest bank, sued a Daewoo unit to recover US$10
million of debt.  The Hongkong lawsuit sparked concern that
similar claims would delay efforts to avert Korea's biggest
corporate failure. Korean creditors are also considering
whether to swap some of Daewoo's auto unit's debt for
equity to help sell a stake to General Motors Corp.  
(Bloomberg News; Straits Times; Hong Kong Standard  19-Aug-
1999)

SAMSUNG GROUP: Deficiency deal close with creditors
---------------------------------------------------
Samsung Group agreed yesterday with creditors to fully
provide 2.8 trillion won ($2.3 billion) to cover Samsung
Motors debts if the 4 million shares in Samsung Life
Insurance donated by group chairman Lee Kun-hee is
insufficient.

The two sides agreed to evaluate the stock value of Samsung
Life based on discounted cash flow analysis, a method of
evaluation by estimating future cash flow and considering
the time value of money.  

Samsung will cover additional debts if the value of Samsung
Life stock falls short of 700,000 won per share.  The
conglomerate will again compensate if the life insurer's
stock value fails to reach 700,000 won after a certain
period of time following the listing of the insurer on the
Seoul bourse.  

Creditors will have an accounting firm evaluate the current
value of the Samsung Life and Samsung Group promised to
fully accept the result.  The sides will further discuss
details and sign a final agreement this weekend.  Digital
ChosunIlbo reports that The two parties remained split,
however, over the issue of how any gap would be covered,
with creditors wanting the difference made up in cash, and
the group wanting to issue company papers. Another point of
disagreement is the timing of the market valuation.

Samsung is expected to hold separate negotiations with
Seoul Guarantee Insurance, with the latter insisting on
issuance of asset-backed securities backed by the 4 million
shares as collateral to secure liquidity.  (Korea Times,
Digital ChosunIlbo  19-Aug-1999)


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

KELANAMAS INDUSTRIES: In negotiations for restructuring
-------------------------------------------------------
Kelanamas Industries Bhd is currently in the midst of
negotiating with its various creditors a successful
restructuring scheme.

Its directors said in a reply to the Kuala Lumpur Stock
Exchange that Kelanamas is technically insolvent and it
must undertake a corporate restructuring exercise to ensure
that it recovers.  Stockbroking activities were the group's
main contributor, about 80 per cent, following the
acquisition of a 50 per cent stake in Alor Setar
Securities Sdn Bhd at end-1995.

On February 12, Danaharta appointed Ernst & Young as
special administrators over Alor Setar Securities as the
brokerage was badly affected by the decline in the stock
market.  The other businesses of Kelanamas comprise
property investment, trading and distribution of consumer
products, manufacture of cordial, fruit juices, soft drinks
and food products, and granite quarrying.

These activities contributed to only 20 per cent of the
group's revenue and is not significant enough to  
substantiate its profitability and cash flow.  Since all
Kelanamas' subsidiaries are making losses, the group had to
make full provisions for a write-down in its investment and
a provision for a waiver in inter-company debts owed by its
subsidiaries.  All these factors have resulted in huge
losses in the group's accounts.

"Due to declining income, our subsidiaries cannot service
their debts, and the financial institutions have frozen all
our banking facilities. The situation is aggravated further
by unrecoverable debts which we have to provide for in our
accounts.  Therefore, all our subsidiaries suffered
deficiencies in working capital," Kelanamas said.

Consequently, all the various creditors have instituted
legal proceedings against the group. The auditors have
qualified the going concern status of the company based on
the unfavourable financial results and the pending legal
claim suits against the company.  (Business Times  19-Aug-
1999)

MALAYSIAN PACIFIC INDUSTRIES: Posts annual loss
-----------------------------------------------
Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd (MPIB) has registered an
unaudited group pre-tax loss of RM100.5mil for the
financial year to June, 30, down 20% on the previous year's
RM125.2mil.

However, pre-tax profit at company level rose 288% to
RM118.85mil against RM30.6mil in 1998. The company said in
a statement that operating profit at group level rose 3% to
RM184.1mil compared with RM178.2mil before.

The pre-tax loss was attributed to exceptional losses of
RM62.7mil as a result of the cancellation of forward
currency contracts amounting to US$48.2mil.  Group turnover
for the period increased 3% to RM1bil against RM980.6mil
previously.  Profit attributable to shareholders dropped
54% to RM39.4mil.

The statement said that the recovery experienced by the
semiconductor industry early this year was expected to
sustain through the current financial year.  The group's
prospects should remain sound based on the still strong
demand from new and existing users for integrated circuits,
it added.  Directors have recommended a final dividend of
20%, less tax.  (Star Online  19-Aug-1999)


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

VICTORIAS MILLING CO.: SEC approves rehab plan
----------------------------------------------
Big mills should keep on churning, at least that was what
the corporate overseer thought when it gave the green light
for the implementation of the amended rehabilitation plan
of the country's largest sugar miller, Victorias Milling
Co., Inc. (VMC).

In an order released yesterday, the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) agreed to amend its earlier approval of
the original rehabilitation plan to accommodate amendments
jointly filed by the management committee and management of
debt-ridden Victorias Milling Co., Inc. (VMC).  The hearing
panel headed by SEC associate commissioner Danilo
Concepcion approved the amended rehab plan in its entirety,
just in time for the coming milling season.

Amendments made to the original plan include increasing the
company's authorized capital stock to 1.06 million
Philippine pesos (PhP) (US$26,700 at PhP39.680=US$1) at par
value and issue price of PhP1 per share.  VMC shareholders
will now be entitled to 495.96 million shares at the rate
of 2.91 shares for every one share currently held by the
shareholder.

Under the approved amended rehabilitation plan, VMC
shareholders will have until September 27 to avail of the
remaining 567.08 million shares, also at par value of PhP1
per share.  The changes made in the new plan addressed
objections earlier raised by shareholders concerning the
alleged violation of their preemptive rights.

The commission also approved the increase in VMC's total
authorized capital stock to PhP2.56 billion (US$65 million)
to provide allowance for the conversion to common shares of
PhP1.5-billion worth (US$38 million) of convertible notes.
The total increase was made to accommodate the conversion
of the notes given to creditors into common shares,
consistent with the terms and conditions of the revised
rehabilitation plan.

The corporate watchdog also granted VMC's petition for the
exemption from registration requirements under the Revised
Securities Act (RSA), the rights offered to stockholders to
subscribe to 53.35% of VMC's capital stock, or 567.08
million shares.  The issuance of 53.35% common shares,
either through the exercise of stockholders' pre-emptive
rights or through public bidding, in case shareholders fail
to meet the September deadline, will also be exempted from
RSA requirements, the SEC said.  (Business World  19-Aug-
1999)


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

FINANCE ONE: Probe to be widened
--------------------------------
Public prosecutors are widening their investigation into
alleged fraudulent lending practices at the now defunct
Finance One Plc by preparing to file additional charges
against Praphoh Chumwatana, Vichai Srisavai and Aphichart
Jutrakul -- all former business associates of Pin
Chakkaphak, the takeover king.

Praphoh, Vichai and Aphichart were executives of Ekkaphak
Holdings, while only Praphoh and Vichai were executives of
Union Business Management Co. Both Ekkaphak Holdings and
Union Business Management, which was alleged to have
received irregular loans from Finance One, had been known
to be dummy companies of Pin and his family.

Suphol Yutithada, director general of the economic crime
department of the Attorney General's Office, said the
prosecutors are preparing to take legal action against the
three former associates of Pin in the same suit that Pin,
Termchai Pinyawatana and Samrarn Kanokwattanawan, are
facing.

"We have sent additional opinions to the Economic Crime
Suppression Division to file suits against the three
executives of the two companies," said Suphol.

The banking regulators have brought a suit against Pin,
Termchai and Samran -- all three top executives of Finance
One -- alleging that they were involved in providing
irregular loans between November 1996 and February 1997, 16
times, worth a combined Bt2.13 billion without analysing
the potential of the borrowers to repay.

During the time of the lending, Ekkaphak was facing losses
of Bt1.64 billion while Union Business Management was also
suffering losses of Bt92 million.  Suphol also said
Ekkaphak and Union Business Management, once they had
secured loans from Finance One, transferred the money to
three big companies which are well known in Thailand.

"If the names of these three companies are revealed, it
will be a big surprise to many people. Now we are examining
whether the three companies were involved in the case. If
so, we'll take legal action," he said.

Pin, who also holds a US passport, is still at large and is
believed to be living in the United States.  Earlier,
police said they aimed to extradite Pin to face the
judicial process in Thailand.  (The Nation  19-Aug-1999)

PREMIUM ENTERPRISE: Posts 2nd quarter loss
-----------------------------------------
Premium Enterprise Plc reported a net loss of Bt456.89
million for the second quarter this year, a significant
improvement from Bt1.68 billion in net loss for the same
period last year.  (The Nation  19-Aug-1999)

SRITHAI SUPERWARE: Foreign holdings to rise
-------------------------------------------
After succeeding in restructuring debts in October, Srithai
Superware Plc will see its foreign shareholding rise
sharply to 55 per cent from 25 per cent following the debt-
to-equity conversion by foreign creditors, said a company
source.

The company's source said according to the debt-
restructuring negotiations, there will be conversion of
debt to equity and sale of some assets reducing the debt
burden by half from the current US$146 million. Separately,
Sanan Angibolkul, managing director, said the debt
restructuring plan will be submitted to the Bankruptcy
Court on Sept 9.  The debt-restructuring implementation is
expected to start in October, a move which will help to
improve the company's cashflow by reducing debt to equity
ratio from 3:1 to 0.8:1.

Sanan said that many people had questioned Srithai's
decision when it is still able to continue to do well in
the export arena as well as to pay interest on time.
However, he said the company's board has formed the view
that it was better to negotiate the restructuring while
Srithai was still in good shape.

He said that the restructuring would help the company take
advantage of the recovery of the economy.  Srithai believed
that the process of its restructuring would be a good
example to other Thai companies as it shows how a company
working with its creditors can achieve results which
provide the best outcome for all of its stakeholders.
Kaisri Nithikamphisitha, of SGV Na Thalang/Arthur Andersen,
which is the rehabilitation planner, said it was refreshing
to be involved in such a positive case where the outcome
provided a good result for the company, its shareholders
and creditors.

In Srithai's case, the management and the creditors, which
consist of Bank of America, Schroders and WestLB, had
negotiated over a period of 18 months to find a
satisfactory solution.  Wayne Porritt, an officer at Bank
of America, expressed satisfaction at the outcome which
will benefit all the stakeholders.

In the second quarter of 1999, Srithai Superware Plc
recorded a consolidated income of Bt638 million, up 8 per
cent from the first quarter.  (The Nation  19-Aug-1999)


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., Princeton, NJ USA, and Beard Group, Inc., Washington,
DC USA. Debra Brennan and Lexy Mueller, Editors.

Copyright 1999.  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.

The TCR -- Asia Pacific subscription rate is $575 for 6
months delivered via e-mail. Additional e-mail
subscriptions for members of the same firm for the term of
the initial subscription or balance thereof are $25 each.
For subscription information, contact Christopher Beard at
301/951-6400.  

                      *** End of Transmission ***