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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, September 23, 1999, Vol. 2, No. 185

                                   Headlines


* C H I N A  &  H O N G  K O N G *

FOUNDER: Stock price goes down after loss announced      
IMC HOLDINGS: Posts first-half loss
SIU-FUNG CERAMICS HOLDINGS: Debt restructured approved


* K O R E A *

HYUNDAI GROUP: Five execs indicted for stock price-fixing
KOREA LIFE: Court ruling upholds Gov't position
SAMSUNG GROUP: Two foreign banks stirring the pot


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

MONDRAGON INT'L PHILIPPINES: Board seats "for sale"


* S I N G A P O R E *

FORM HOLDINGS: First-half loss narrowed
HIND HOTELS: Posts first-half loss
WING TAI HOLDINGS: Posts annual loss


* T H A I L A N D *

INT'L ENGINEERING PLC: SET gives till Oct.15 to admit wrong
KASET THAI SUGAR: Debt deal not reached, creditor mtg delay


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

FOUNDER: Stock price goes down after loss announced        
---------------------------------------------------            
The share price of computer software company Founder (Hong
Kong) sank 11 per cent yesterday following the announcement
of a first-half $105.87 million loss amid a call for
chairman and founder Wang Xuan to step down.  The red chip
ended at $2.20, giving a prospective price earnings
multiple of about 150 times, which analysts described as
expensive considering the uncertainty surrounding its
restructuring and internal staff problems.

Mainland sources said there had been disagreements between
Cheung Yuk-fung, the chairman of holding company Peking
University Founder Group, and Mr Wang over significant
issues.  Qu Wanchun, a representative of Founder's second-
largest shareholder, Mexican Gold, called recently for Mr
Wang to quit over the company's downturn.  Some senior
executives also cast doubt over the decision earlier this
year to appoint a former executive of Hewlett-Packard's
mainland unit, Ricky Lee Hon-sang, as senior vice-
president.

It is understood that Peking University, Founder's parent,
is considering intervening to help settle the dispute.
Founder president Alan Cheung Shuen-lung admitted there had
been disharmony within the company but said it would soon
settle down.

"The majority of the management has pledged support to [Mr
Wang]. He will stay because Ricky Lee needs a powerful
backer as he introduces reforms to the company. [Mr Lee]
will also stay. He is hired by Peking University," he said.

Financial controller Kent Chan Yiu-kwong said he did not
expect a personnel reshuffle because of the call from
Mexican Gold. Although Mexican Gold became the company's
second-largest shareholder in July under an asset swap
deal, it did not have the right to appoint representatives
to Founder's board.  Mr Chan said the company expected a
turnaround in the second half when the effects of corporate
restructuring and staff cuts were reflected in the
accounts.

The September edition of the Estimate Directory forecasts a
turnaround for the full year to a net profit of $18
million. The company made a loss of $165.69 million last
year.  Despite Founder's dismal performance, its share
price has outperformed the Hang Seng Index this year.  
(South China Morning Post  22-Sep-1999)

IMC HOLDINGS: Posts first-half loss
-----------------------------------
Ship owner IMC Holdings announced a 116.19% increase in
attributable loss to $29.94M for the six months to June 30.  
The group blamed the continued depressed drybulk freight
market for its weak performance.  No dividend was
recommended.

SIU-FUNG CERAMICS HOLDINGS: Debt restructured approved
------------------------------------------------------
The share price of cash-strapped Siu-Fung Ceramics Holdings
yesterday jumped sharply by 47.7 per cent and closed at a
five-month high of 13 cents after a statement that its
creditors had agreed to its debt restructuring proposal.

Siu-Fung said the remaining three creditors had agreed in
principle to the debt restructuring proposal submitted by
the new investor, Glory Score, two months ago.

"Now, all the relevant creditors have formally indicated
their agreement in principle to the proposal," the company
said. "The company is now in the process of preparing the
restructuring documentation."

The statement did not give further details on thhe progress
of the restructuring.  No senior executives of Siu-Fung
were available for comment yesterday. Siu-Fung is
principally engaged in production and sale of ceramic
rollers and ceramic products such as tiles and sanitary
ware.

Glory Score, which is controlled by Charles Yeung, who is
also the chairman of listed garment manufacturer Glorious
Sun Enterprises, made a restructuring proposal to all 17
Siu-Fung's lenders about two months ago.  Under the
proposal, Glory Score would pay $70 million in cash and the
$2.4 billion total debts would be converted into equity.
Glory Score would also receive 3 per cent of the enlarged
issued capital of Siu-Fung.

Following the presentation of the proposal, 13 creditors
agreed to the proposal "in principle" with three remaining
creditors, who account for a total of 5 per cent of all
outstanding debts, remaining aloof until now.  (Hong Kong
Standard  22-Sep-1999)


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

HYUNDAI GROUP: Five execs indicted for stock price-fixing
---------------------------------------------------------
South Korean prosecutors yesterday indicted five business
executives from the Hyundai Group, including the head of
the country's top securities house, on charges of rigging
stock prices.

However prosecutors declared Chung Mong-Hun, son of Hyundai
Group founder Chung Ju-Yung, innocent of the manipulation
charges, while announcing the results of a five-month-long
marathon investigation.  The nation's biggest ever stock-
price rigging scandal involving around US$200 million led
to the indictment of Lee Ik-Chi, chairman of Hyundai
Securities, and four other Hyundai officials.

"Lee turned out to have committed it [the stock-price
manipulation] independently," a senior official at the
Seoul District Prosecutor's Office was reported as saying
in a televised news conference.  "We could not find out any
evidence to prove that Chung Mong-Hun who denied his
knowledge of the stock-price rigging had been involved in
it," the prosecution official also said.

Chung, chairman of Hyundai Electronics Industries, was
questioned Sunday over his possible involvement.
Prosecutors said Lee had illegally amassed a 234 billion-
won (US$195 million) fund from three Hyundai units -
Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hyundai Merchant Marine, and
Hyundai Electronics.

With the fund Lee had more than doubled the share price of
Chung's Hyundai Electronics last year on programme buying,
prosecution investigators said.  They said the stock-price
rigging was largely motivated by Lee's desperate need to
improve his company's capital adequacy ratio in line with
government demands for corporate reforms.

Lee was detained by police for questioning last week on
charges of diverting 210 billion won to boost the shares of
his Hyundai Securities and Chung's Hyundai Electronics.
Lee's arrest was a shock to business circles as he was once
hailed as a national hero for masterminding the recovery of
South Korea's battered stock market.

Lee came to national prominence in March when he launched
the highly successful "Buy Korea Fund" which helped improve
the country's economic fortunes by drawing $9.2 billion
into the once ailing stock market.  His arrest came as
South Korea reinforced its 19-month crusade to force the
country's sprawling and powerful conglomerates to begin
reform.

Observers here said the scandal had revealed only part of
the prevailing practices of "managing" share prices by
South Korean conglomerates.  (Korea Herald  23-Sep-1999)

KOREA LIFE: Court ruling upholds Gov't position
-----------------------------------------------
A Seoul court has upheld a government decision to write off
the capital of the troubled Korea Life Insurance Co. to
zero, clearing the way for its nationalization.

The ruling in favor of the government is expected to speed
up its efforts to nationalize the insurer through the
injection of public funds.  The Seoul Administrative Court
Tuesday turned down a request by jailed Korea Life chairman
Choi Soon-young that a government decision to reduce its
capital be suspended.

In a statement, the court said that it was fair for the
government to designate Korea Life as an insolvent
financial institution since its liabilities exceed assets.
Accordingly, the government decision to scrap Korea Life's
capital is not unconstitutional since it has been made in
accordance with the relevant law.

"The government has the legal authority to scrap the
capital of an insolvent financial institution since it
virtually guarantees the liabilities of financial
institutions under the deposit insurance law," the court
said.

The court ruling enables the Financial Supervisory
Commission (FSC) to push ahead with its plan to nationalize
the nation's third largest life insurer through a public
fund injection.  But the financial watchdog plans to
suspend the injection of public funds till Sept. 30 when
the court passes a final judgment on the legality of its
decision to declare Korea Life insolvent.

Earlier on Sept. 14, the commission in charge of the
nation's financial restructuring declared the debt-ridden
life insurer insolvent.  The FSC also ordered Korea Life's
board of directors to scrap its stock outstanding in the
run-up to the injection of public funds by Wednesday, while
requesting the Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. to supply 50
billion won ($41 million).

If Korea Life's board refused to comply with the government
decision, the FSC was supposed to suspend the duties of
board members and reduce its capital early next week.
In order to turn the ailing insurer around at the earliest
date possible, the financial watchdog plans to pump at
least 1.5 trillion won ($1.24 billion) into it.

Korea Life has been placed under special government control
since March this year after it was found to have
liabilities exceeding assets by 2.7 trillion won.  However,
analysts said the government plan to nationalize Korea Life
faces a bumpy road ahead since Choi is expected to launch
another legal battle to retain his managerial control on
the insurer.

A lawyer at a local legal firm representing Choi said
yesterday that it will soon lodge an appeal against the
Seoul Administrative Court's ruling Tuesday.  Choi, who is
now serving a five-year jail term for taking dollars out of
the country illegally and embezzling company funds, has
been fighting against the government attempts to
nationalize Korea Life.

When the FSC initially declared Korea Life insolvent and
ordered a capital decrease earlier last month, Choi
instantly filed with the administrative court a request
that the government order be nullified.  At that time, the
court made a ruling in favor of Choi, saying the financial
watchdog had failed to follow "due procedures" in issuing a
capital reduction order.

Choi had also attempted to retain his managerial control by
attracting foreign capital. Last month, Panacom, a
mysterious U.S. investment firm, announced its 50-billion-
won capital investment in Korea Life but backed down as the
FSC threatened to close it down.  (Korea Herald  23-Sep-
1999)

SAMSUNG GROUP: Two foreign banks stirring the pot
-------------------------------------------------
Two foreign banks are entangled in legal disputes with the
Samsung Group, threatening to scrap two of the government-
arranged consolidation mergers, industry sources said
yesterday.

Samsung Heavy Industries, a unit of the Samsung Group,
filed a suit with a Seoul court last week against Credit
Suisse First Boston (CSFB) and Hongkong & Shanghai Banking
Corp. (HSBC), charging that the two banks acted unfairly in
the mediation of the deals to merge its power generator and
ship engine businesses into the state-run HANJUNG (Korea
Heavy Industries & Construction Corp.)

Samsung Heavy insisted that both CSFB and HSBC leaked key
data and information to HANJUNG, while conducting asset
valuations in connection with the two merger deals. Samsung
also alleged that an asset value of about 60 billion won
($50 million), set by the two foreign banks for Samsung
Heavy's ship-engine division, was extraordinarily low. The
firm noted that its ship-engine business alone generates
about 300 billion won annually.

Under the government-arranged "big-deal" reforms aimed at
cutting industrial over-capacity, Samsung Heavy was to sell
off its ship-engine business to HANJUNG, while both Samsung
Heavy and Hyundai Heavy Industries were to transfer their
respective power generator businesses to HANJUNG.  But the
prospects for the two big-deal mergers have suddenly come
under a cloud, due to the dispute, analysts forecast.

Meanwhile, HANJUNG executives insist that Samsung's lawsuit
is merely an attempt to raise its asset prices, and deny
the allegations of preferential treatment and information
leaks by the two foreign banks. (Korea Herald  23-Sep-1999)


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

MONDRAGON INT'L PHILIPPINES: Board seats "for sale"
---------------------------------------------------
The new board of beleaguered Mondragon International
Philippines, Inc. (MIPI) yesterday said they are willing to
give up their seats in the firm if a new investor offers to
buy out their interests, a member of the firm's board said
in a telephone interview.

Eight executives from the firm's three creditor banks now
comprise the hotel and casino operator's nine-member board
following a controversial election the other day. The new
officers are top executives of Asian Bank Corp., Far East
Banking Corp., and United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB).

"We do not intend to take over operations of the firm, we
just did this (elect ourselves to the MIPI board) to
protect the interest of the creditor banks," the source
said.

MIPI owes $20 million, or roughly 800 million Philippine
pesos (PhP), from the three banks. This is broken down to
$5 million to UCPB and $7.5 million each to Asian Bank and
Far East Bank.  A source from one of the creditor banks
said the loan can no longer be restructured because "MIPI
basically has no cashflow."

But conversion of MIPI's debt into equity is "not one of
the options right now," a member of the firm's board said.
The source said the management is inclined to open MIPI to
potential buyers to generate funds for the reopening of the
casino.  The reopening of the casino is expected to start
the cashflow and enable the firm to pay its obligations.

The firm's new officers are Eduard S. Go, president and
chief operating officer of Asian Bank, as chairman of the
board. The new president is Far East Bank assistant vice-
president Mario B. Palou while treasurer is Asian Bank
senior vice-president George S. Chua.  Elected as directors
of the board are Asian Bank first vice-presidents Arsenio
A. Alfiller, Jr. and Ricardo R. Dizon; UCPB assistant vice-
presidents Milaflor S. Guieb and Anna Kristina M. Vicente;
and Far East Bank vice-president for corporate finance
Marita Soccoro D. Gayares.

Mondragon president Jose Antonio Gonzalez was also elected
director in absentia.  In addition, creditors have decided
to conduct another due diligence and audit on MIPI to make
sure all its expenditures are "legitimate."  AsianBank's
George Chua, who was elected treasurer, told BusinessWorld
that creditors want to find out the extent of Mondragon's
actual liabilities.

"We want to ascertain the extent of their actual
liabilities. We want to control the funds to make sure the
expenditures are all legitimate," said Mr. Chua.

Mr. Chua said the creditors will ask Mondragon's existing
auditor, Joaquin Cunanan & Co/Pricewaterhouse Coopers, to
undertake the new audit.  Creditor banks proceeded with the
company's stockholders meeting scheduled last Monday,
ignoring a letter issued by Mondragon asking for the
postponement of the meeting.  Mr. Chua explained the
creditors had no choice but to seek management control of
the publicly listed firm because Mondragon has not paid its
creditors for one year now.

"All we've heard is that this or that investor is coming,
but there has been nothing concrete," said Mr. Chua.
He reiterated that the letter issued by Mondragon seeking
to postpone the stockholders meeting last Monday was
unsigned.

He added three "observers" from the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) were present during the meeting and did
not raise any objections on the results.  "I see this as a
sign that the meeting was legitimate in the eyes of the
SEC," said Mr. Chua.

He said the regulatory body has yet to give the creditors
any indication that the meeting was null and void.
Mondragon's Mr. Gonzalez, however, is seeking SEC's support
against the action made by the creditors.

"I heard that Mondragon is filing to have the meeting
nullified by the SEC. We will abide by the decisions of the
SEC but so far, they have not made any. There is no
restraining order from them," said Mr. Chua.

Meanwhile, the new set of officers has just been slapped
with a PhP61-million suit aimed at nullifying their recent
election.  In a petition filed yesterday, beleaguered
firm's officials led by ousted MIPI chairman and president
Jose Antonio Gonzalez asked the corporate court to declare
Monday's special stockholders meeting null and void, and to
fine the banks P61 million for moral and other damages.

"As far as we are concerned, last Monday's meeting is
totally illegal and void since our earlier request for the
postponement of the September 20 meeting (to November 15)
was approved by the SEC," MIPI legal counsel Jun Francisco
said in a phone interview.  "Shares were indeed pledged to
the banks as collateral for certain loans ... but they
don't own the loans and they are not stockholders and yet
they claim to have voting rights," Mr. Francisco said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Gonzalez said earlier that the corporate
coup d' etat that took place at the Mondragon House in
Makati City, may turn off potential investors as this may
send a signal that the firm is deeply at odds with its
creditors.  The creditor banks, on the other hand, said
that their main objective is "to get the casino to operate
and start the cash flow."  (Business World  22-Sep-1999)


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

FORM HOLDINGS: First-half loss narrowed                    
---------------------------------------                    
Despite a drop in turnover, Form Holdings narrowed its net
loss for the half year ended June 30 to $1.67 million from
$2.89 million a year ago on the back of lower costs and
improved margins.

Turnover fell 21 per cent to $8.14 million due mainly to a
slowdown in the company's core business of distributing and
licensing CD records. Performance was also adversely
affected by a slowdown in the music industry, poor market
conditions, CD piracy and the termination of certain
trading activities, such as the trading of stationery and
computers in Malaysia, Form said.

However, it was able to reduce its losses due to a
reduction in payroll expenses resulting from a
restructuring and streamlining of its operations and an
increase in gross margins resulting from a rationalisation
of its businesses.  An improvement in contributions from
its post-production business, lower amortisation charges,
and a decrease in rental expenses from the closure of two
retail outlets also helped the bottomline.

The company does not expect to return to profitability in
the current financial year but said it was taking steps to
further improve its performance and increase operational
efficiency. The issue of new shares to Irisca Investments
in September and a rights issue in October will further
improve its finances. The new money will be used to repay
bank borrowings and provide additional working capital,
Form said.   (Business Times, Straits Times  22-Sep-1999)

HIND HOTELS: Posts first-half loss
----------------------------------
Hind Hotels has reported group net loss of $10.1 million
for the six months ended June 30, reversing net profit of
$319,000 in the corresponding period a year earlier.

Its results were hurt by a fall in turnover and a tax
provision for prior years of $5.3 million due to the
disallowance of certain items.  Turnover slumped 36 per
cent to $9.76 million as a result of lower revenue from its
hotel operations that reflected the closure of Imperial
Hotel.

Hind Hotels recorded an extraordinary gain of $16.5
million, which was the surplus from the sale of its New
Zealand units.  No dividend was declared.  (Straits Times  
22-Sep-1999)

WING TAI HOLDINGS: Posts annual loss                       
------------------------------------                      
Property developer Wing Tai yesterday posted a net loss of
$124 million for the year ended June 30, down 9 per cent
from a year ago but expressed confidence for the future.

Calling it "cautious optimism", deputy chairman Edmund
Cheng said: "The market appears to be very sustainable but
there's some uncertainty in the external developments. We
have to watch very carefully."    
  
The hot-list includes the Indonesian presidential election,
the East Timor crisis, and US inflation and interest rate
fears. "All can affect our market," he said, adding that
the company's turnover in the current year would be lower
due to fewer launches.  But chairman Cheng Wai Keung said:
"We are confident of returning to the black due mainly to
write-back of provisions...if the trend continues and
prices firm."

Wing Tai's provisions stood at $277 million as at June 30,
1999. The company has four projects ready for launch "any
time", which can yield 864 units altogether. They are The
Tomlinson, The Tessarina in Bukit Timah and two Newton
sites. The second phase of The Waterfront project in
Hongkong can also be launched. But it all boils down to a
question of timing, which management declined to reveal
except to say some launch sales will occur in the current
year.

Said Mr Edmund Cheng: "Most of the recent launches are in
the upgrader market. If we launch for the high-end, we want
to make sure it can be sustainable."

But Mr Cheng Wai Keung said: "Given today's market price
and situation, all the projects will be positive and will
give us reasonable margins if launched now."

In the short term, Wing Tai will focus on Singapore and the
high-end segment. Mr Cheng Wai Keung said: "We feel that
the government will try to stabilise prices in the mass
market, but  will leave the high-end to the market to
decide."  But he said land-banking will be done
"selectively", adding that Wing Tai has been "conservative
in price but not inactive in recent en bloc tenders".

In the meantime, Wing Tai will not invest directly in
Hongkong or Malaysia but will do so through its respective
local vehicles. For the period under review, turnover fell
20 per cent to $560.3 million due to lower contributions
from development properties. Loss before interest and tax
came to $56.3 million and would have been higher if not for
a $23.9 million profit from investment properties which
offset development losses.

Interest expense also rose 83 per cent to $84.2 million
though total liabilities fell 20 per cent to $1.4 billion.
This was mainly because borrowing costs, which were
capitalised in the previous year, had to be treated as an
expense this time round as some projects were suspended.  
But gearing fell to 105 per cent as at June, down from 118
per cent previously.

Over the period, associated and joint venture companies
accounted for a loss of $4.5 million, compared to a $22.4
million profit previously. Overall, loss per share fell 11
per cent to 23 cents. Net tangible assets per share
declined 15 per cent to $1.75. The company declared a first
and final dividend of 2 per cent, unchanged from the
previous year.  In the stock market yesterday, Wing Tai
closed four cents down at $1.46 on a volume of 2.4 million
shares.  (Business Times, Straits Times  22-Sep-1999)  


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

INT'L ENGINEERING PLC: SET gives till Oct.15 to admit wrong
-----------------------------------------------------------
The Stock Exchange of Thailand has told International
Engineering Plc (IEC) to admit that it had breached the
disclosure law regarding its guarantee of M Group's loan
from Krung Thai Bank.

The SET has given IEC until October 15 to admit that it had
done wrong and, in doing so, face a fine of 100,000 baht,
plus 3,000 baht a day from the date of the offence to
indemnity, said Patareeya Benjapholchai, senior vice-
president of the SET.

It is alleged that IEC had guaranteed loans in 1996
borrowed by the M Group, a holding company of the Manager
Media group which is the major shareholder of IEC, and also
one of its subsidiaries.  However, the company, as a listed
entity, did not report the deals to the SET, breaching the
disclosure law.

Ms Patareeya said that if IEC refused to admit it had done
wrong, the SET would file a complaint to the Securities and
Exchange Commission.  Nataya Niyamanusorn, the assistant
director of the secretary-general's office at the stock
exchange, said that the commission is investigating reports
that IEC had falsified the minutes of its board meeting.
Some press reports yesterday claimed that IEC allegedly
falsified the minutes to show that the guarantees were
approved by the board.

However, Poosana Premanoch, a top executive of United
Communications Plc (Ucom) and a former Prime Minister's
Office minister, was quoted as denying his involvement in
approving the guarantees.  Mr Poosana was also quoted as
saying that he had obtained a notice from the Krung Thai
Bank, demanding that he share responsibility for the M
Group's loan as he was an IEC board director approving the
guarantee to the M Group.

However, Mr Poosana reportedly said that he had never
attended the IEC's board meeting, nor had he ever been
informed of the deals beforehand or obtained the meeting's
minutes.  He said the minutes that allegedly bear his
signature of approval on the guarantees must have been
falsified.

Ms Nataya said that the commission is investigating the
case following a referral from her office.  However,
expressing concern at the present situation, she said the
commission had never been told by IEC that Mr Poosana was
one of its board directors.

According to the company's financial statements for 1996,
its board comprised Chai-anant Samutvanich as the chairman
and Chaiyan Poshayanond as the vice-chairman.  The other
members were Somkid Jatusipitak, Kosit Panpiemras,
Parichart Chotiya, Suradej Mukyangkura, Varunee Tayanukorn,
Somnuek Photkasemsin and Kittikul Punnasri.  Mr Suradej,
who was managing director of IEC, was also the deputy
managing director of the M Group.  (Bangkok Post  22-Sep-
1999)

KASET THAI SUGAR: Debt deal not reached, creditor mtg delay
-----------------------------------------------------------
Today's meeting between Kaset Thai Sugar Co Ltd and its
creditors is likely to be put off again after both sides
failed at informal talks yesterday to reach an agreement on
the revised debt-restructuring proposal, according to a
source close to the deal.

Kaset Thai Sugar -- the country's biggest sugar
manufacturer -- is a subsidiary of the Thai Identity Sugar
group, which is now under debt-restructuring for a combined
Bt14 billion.  The source said that the group wanted four
major changes in the plan before voting on it.  

Besides scrapping the capital write-down and management
changes, they want a commitment not to file lawsuits
against planters who owe a combined Bt3.75 billion to the
group. Instead, they are seeking a compromise with no
interest levied and pay-back spread over 10 years. In
addition, the firm should pay planters an outstanding Bt110
million for sugar-cane milled in the previous season.

According to the source, about 1,000 planters will today
protest at the Legal Execution Department to reject the
plan.  Krang Visitsora-art, the lawyer representing the
Thai Identity Sugar group, which is the major shareholder
of Kaset Thai Sugar, said that the creditors had not agreed
to changes in the restructure plan after two weeks of
negotiations.

As a result, the creditors will likely postpone today's
vote.  The creditors two weeks ago had postponed the
meetings of Kaset Thai Sugar and Ruam Phon Industry
Nakronswang Co Ltd -- also part of the group -- because
management changes and capital write-down are essential
features of the proposed scheme. The plan was due to be
reconsidered today and tomorrow.

Earlier, the restructuring plan for Thai Identity Sugar Co
Ltd, another part of the Thai Identity Sugar group, was
rejected because the planters and trade creditors did not
accept the debt-restructuring plan, paving the way for a
bankruptcy declaration.  Group managing director Praphan
Siriviriyakul, however, said that the group was confident
that the court will cancel the case and not force the
company to fall under bankruptcy procedures, thus enabling
it to remain in the industry. The group still has assets
worth Bt9.2 billion in addition to its equity.

"The group will reject the debt-restructuring plan of the
Southern Planner Co. We want to continue our businesses and
negotiate with the creditors on rescheduled debt, rather
than write down our capital and change the management
team," he noted.  (The Nation  22-Sep-1999)


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