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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

            Wednesday, November 3, 1999, Vol. 2, No. 214

                                     Headlines


* C H I N A  &  H O N G  K O N G *

INTERFORM CERAMICS TECHNOLOGIES: Facing winding up petition
TEEMFA COMPANY LTD.: Facing winding up petition


* I N D O N E S I A *

GARUDA INDONESIA: Denies near bankruptcy status


* J A P A N *

MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES: Labor cuts part of restructure
TOSHIBA CORP.: U.S. suit settlement to cost $1 billion


* K O R E A *

DAEHAN INVESTMENT TRUST: Gov't injecting funds in
DAEWOO GROUP: $25 billion debt-to-equity swap in works
JOSUN LIFE INSURANCE: Hyundai to acquire insolvent firm
KOREA INVESTMENT TRUST: Gov't injecting funds in
SSANGYONG MOTOR CO.: Debt workout plan rejected


* S I N G A P O R E *

TRITECH MICROELECTRONICS: Company being liquidated


* T H A I L A N D *

BANGCHAK PETROLEUM: Posts 3rd quarter loss
BIJOUX HOLDINGS: SET tabs as non-compliant
HMC POLYMERS CO.: Reaches restructure deal with creditors
M.D.X. PLC: SET tabs as non-compliant
M GROUP: Bankruptcy action filed against it for non-payment
RATTANA REAL ESTATE: SET tabs as non-compliant
SIAM CHEMICALS: SET tabs as non-compliant
SIAM SYNTEC CONSTRUCTION: SET tabs as non-compliant
SRITHAI SUPERWARE: Court okays delay in rehab plan
SUNTECH GROUP: SET tabs as non-compliant
TELECOM ASIA: Suppliers agree to debt restructuring
THAI DURABLE TEXTILE: To appoint rehab financial adviser


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

INTERFORM CERAMICS TECHNOLOGIES: Facing winding up petition
-----------------------------------------------------------
A leasing company has filed a petition to wind up Interform
Ceramics Technologies, which is still restructuring its
debts.  It is the second such petition against the company
in three months.  Showa Leasing (Hong Kong) filed the
petition on Saturday against the mainland-based listed
ceramics producer at the High Court.  No details on the
latest action were immediately available.

TEEMFA COMPANY LTD.: Facing winding up petition
-----------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR has scheduled a hearing for
December 22 on the petition of Fan Lai Yee Viola for the
winding up of Teemfa Company Limited. A notice of legal
appearance must be filed on or before December 21.


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

GARUDA INDONESIA: Denies near bankruptcy status
-----------------------------------------------
National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia claimed that its
large debts would not force it to stop operations, denying
recent accusations that it was technically bankrupt.

Company President Abdul Gani said that even if the new
Wahid administration were obliged to cancel the
arrangements to take over the repayment of its debt, the
airline would not collapse.  Company sources have been
quoted as saying that with debts at around US$ 1.8
billion and assets of only about Rp6 trillion (US$ 860
million), the company must be considered technically
bankrupt in the absence of government guarantees..

The source said that due to aid disbursement delays, the
new government might revoke the promise made by the
Habibie's government to take over the repayment of Garuda's
debt while the company carried out its debt restructuring
program.  US Exim Bank has said it would agree to a debt
restructuring proposal by Garuda if the Indonesian
government provided a guarantee for an earlier loan for
Garuda to buy a number of Boeing aircraft.

Gani said Garuda's consultants, Deutsche Bank and Lufthansa
of Germany, are holding negitiations with its creditors to
seek a solution to its debt problem.  He said that based on
a Deutsche Bank's calculation, Garuda has a deficit of
US$ 234 million in capital.  He added that as the owner,
the government has no choice but to be involved in seeking
a solution to Garuda's debt.  He also said that Garuda has
shown improved performance recently, with a load factor of
73% in September up from 65% on the average in 1998.  (Asia
Pulse  01-Nov-1999)


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

MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES: Labor cuts part of restructure
-----------------------------------------------------------
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI) said Monday it plans
to shave its 71,000-strong group workforce by 7,000 under a
restructuring program aimed at restoring profitability by
March 2004.

The program would also reorganize MHI's mainstay engine and
motor operations and beef up operations in the fast-growing
field of civil aviation.  The company said the job cuts
will mainly be achieved through attrition. On a parent
basis, MHI will trim its workforce to 35,000 from the
current 40,000.

The restructuring program also calls for reducing interest-
bearing liabilities to less than 800 billion yen from 950
billion yen.  In rebuilding its engine and motor business,
MHI plans to integrate boiler manufacturing facilities in
Hyogo and Hiroshima prefectures into those in Kanagawa and
Nagasaki prefectures by 2002 because of slack demand for
coal-burning power plants.

The company also aims to shut down a steam turbine
manufacturing plant in Hiroshima Prefecture and integrate
it into those in Kanagawa, Hyogo and Nagasaki prefectures.
In light of strong demand expected for natural-gas burning
turbines, the company plans to increase its workforce at a
plant in Hyogo Prefecture by 500 to 1,500 so as to raise
its manufacturing capacity by 25%.

The company also plans to integrate a machine tool plant in
Hiroshima Prefecture into one in Shiga Prefecture and to
shut down its machine tool manufacturing operation in the
United States.  It also plans to integrate four domestic
compressor manufacturing facilities into one in Hiroshima
Prefecture.

MHI said it expects the plan to result in a pretax profit
of 130 billion yen on sales of 2.5 trillion yen on an
unconsolidated basis in the year ending March 31, 2004. The
company expects to fall into the red during the current
fiscal year.  MHI reported Monday an unconsolidated pretax
loss of 29.74 billion yen and a net loss of 21.80 billion
yen in the first half of fiscal 1999 that ended Sept. 30.
For the full fiscal year to next March 31, the company
projects a pretax loss of 50 billion yen and net loss of 58
billion yen on sales of 2,630 billion yen.  (Kyodo News,
NewsHound  01-Nov-1999)

TOSHIBA CORP.: U.S. suit settlement to cost $1 billion
------------------------------------------------------
Settlement of a U.S. lawsuit alleging a defect in some 5
million laptop computers will cost Toshiba Corp. about $1
billion. But some analysts say the deal may also threaten
its fledgling revival plan and possibly its brand image.

The Japanese electronics manufacturer said Friday that it
had reached a preliminary settlement in a class-action
lawsuit filed in March by two U.S. users of Toshiba
portable computers who said the floppy-disk drive
controllers are faulty, distorting or losing information
written onto disks.

The company, which leads the U.S. laptop computer market,
said that by settling, it did not admit legal liability or
even acknowledge the possibility of a defect in its
notebook computers.  (NewsHound  01-Nov-1999)


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

DAEHAN INVESTMENT TRUST: Gov't injecting funds in
KOREA INVESTMENT TRUST: Gov't injecting funds in
-------------------------------------------------
As part of measures to restructure the investment trust
industry, the government will invest around 500 billion won
in Korea Development Bank (KDB) and 400 billion won in
Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), the Ministry of Finance and
Economy said yesterday.  KDB and IBK will become the major
shareholders of Korea Investment Trust Co. (KITC) and
Daehan Investment Trust Co. (DITC), respectively.

The two investment trust companies (ITCs) have been
suffering from their heavy exposure to the Daewoo Group
bonds and commercial paper.  The government will inject the
funds by supplying the two banks with its shares in such
state-run enterprises as Korea Tobacco and Ginseng Corp.,
the Export-Import Bank of Korea and IBK. The fund injection
into the banks will be made when they invest in the two
ITCs.

KITC will have new investments totaling 2 trillion won,
which will consist of 1.1 to 1.2 trillion won from KDB,
including the government? contribution of 500 billion won,
and 600 billion won in direct contribution from the
government, along with 200 to 300 billion won from current
shareholders. This amounts to the government supplying over
half of the total investment.

Actual government investment in DITC will also reach 800
billion won, taking the most part of the planned total
investment of 1 trillion won, which will consist of 500
billion won from IBK, 400 billion won from the government
and 100 billion won from current shareholders.

A ministry official said the government has no alternative
to taking this complicated investment plan because it
doesn't want to become the largest shareholder of the two
ITCs. Unlike banks, ITCs are financial institutions whose
commercial nature are much stronger than their public
nature, the official said.

Despite the government's intention not to become the
controlling shareholder of the two ITCs, they will be
brought under its control. Since government control of
these institutions is not desirable, the government plans
to sell its shares as soon as possible after management is
normalized, the official said.  (Korea Herald  03-Nov-1999)

DAEWOO GROUP: $25 billion debt-to-equity swap in works
------------------------------------------------------
With the average loss ratio of four major Daewoo
subsidiaries estimated at over 50 percent, domestic
creditors are finalizing a workout plan of converting a
combined debt of $25 billion (30 trillion won) into equity.  

Daewoo Corp.'s $15 billion debt will be converted into
equity while Daewoo Motor's $8 billion bank liabilities
will be swapped for shares and convertible bonds.
Daewoo Electronics' and Daewoo Heavy Industries' debts of
$1 billion each will be subject to debt-to-equity
conversion.

The domestic creditors are responsible for swapping $20
billion for equity while the remaining $5 billion is to be
dealt by Daewoo's some 200 foreign creditors.  And yet no
overseas bank has officially agreed to the government's
policy of debt-to-equity conversion.

The due diligence report stated that Daewoo Corp.'s total
bank liabilities amount to $25 billion, 50 percent of the
group's $50 billion in debts.  The domestic creditors
decided to convert $15 billion in debts of Daewoo Corp.
into stocks and convertible bonds, as the company is unable
to repay the majority of the $25 billion in bank credits.
They will convert the $1.5 billion debts to company shares
while allotting the majority $13.5 billion to convertible
bonds.

For the remainder, the local banks agreed to the freeze
repayment until the end of 2004 while reducing the interest
rates.  The loss ratio of Daewoo Corp. is confirmed at 75
percent.  The local banks will also offer additional
capital of $225 million for rapid recovery of Daewoo's
trading arm.   For future operations of the enterprise, the
creditors agreed to separate it into two independent units
specialized in trading and construction.

For Daewoo Motor, a core business unit of the group, the
local creditors decided to swap $8 billion debts for
equity.   They will convert the company's $1.3 billion in
bank debts into shares immediately.  For the major portion
of $6.7 billion, comprised of liabilities to banks and to
other subsidiaries due to Daewoo Motor's heavy cross-
company transactions, they agreed to convert it into
convertible bonds.  The banks also decided to inject an
additional credit of $2.35 billion to support the company's
business with international counterparts.

The loss ratio of Daewoo Motor is confirmed at 50 percent.
The domestic creditors of Daewoo Electronics decided to
convert a total of $1 billion of debt to equity.  The local
banks will convert $300 million into company shares
immediately, while placing convertible bonds worth $700
million in lieu of its majority bank liabilities.
The loss ratio of the electronics company is 27 percent.

For Daewoo Heavy Industries, still a profitable business
operation of the group, the domestic banks decided to swap
$1 billion debts for equity.  After splitting the company
into two units, domestic banks will convert the $300
million debts of the shipbuilding sector to equity and $700
million debts from the machinery production side to company
shares and convertible bonds.

For the remaining portion of the debt, domestic banks
decided to collect 10 percent of the total every year
starting from 2001.  The loss ratio of Daewoo Heavy
Industries is estimated at 10 percent.  (Korea Times,
Digital ChosunIlbo  02-Nov-1999, Korea Herald  03-Nov-1999)

JOSUN LIFE INSURANCE: Hyundai to acquire insolvent firm
-------------------------------------------------------
South Korea's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said
Monday that a formal contract to turn over the financially-
troubled Josun Life Insurance will be concluded with
Hyundai Group around the middle of next month, following
the exchange of a memorandum of understanding.

The conglomerate's five financial affiliates including
Hyundai Securities (KSE: 03450), Hyundai Finance and
Hyundai Capital will take over the insolvent life insurer
in the form of a merger and acquisition.

The group will inject funds to make up for 50 percent of
the firm's deficient net worth following an audit of its
assets and liabilities. The injection is likely to amount
around 90 billion won (US$ 75 million) since Josun
saw its net worth plunge by 179.4 billion won as of Aug.
31.  The government will make up bona fide losses incurred
by the insolvent insurer within a year of the takeover
under a put-back option.

The acquirer must take over 100 percent of the workforce
employed by the troubled life insurer, but the number can
be trimmed to 60 percent in the course of restructuring.
Hyundai is likely to merge Josun Life with Hankuk Life, its
de facto affiliate, to formally enter the life insurance
industry.

The FSC, in the meantime, said it will select the Kumho
Group as the priority buyer candidate for Dongah Life
Insurance. The group will merge Dongah with affiliate Kumho
Life after acquiring it.  Youngpoong Group is the priority
buyer candidate for Handuk Life, while a buyer is still
being sought for Doowon Life.  The FSC, meanwhile, said it
is negotiating with a consortium involving Tongyang Group
and Rothschild of the United States on the exchange of a
memorandum of understanding over the sale of Pacific Life.
(Asia Pulse  01-Nov-1999)

SSANGYONG MOTOR CO.: Debt workout plan rejected
-----------------------------------------------
Creditors of Ssangyong Motor turned down Monday a debt
workout plan for the Daewoo Group affiliate mapped out by a
steering commitee representing main creditors of the group,
drawing dark prospects over workout schedule for other
Daewoo companies.

"They rejected it because business prospects for Ssangyong
remain not so bright, and its liabilities are huge," an
official at Cho Hung Bank, a major creditor of Ssangyong
Motor, said.

The bank official said that 33 creditors met to discuss
whether to approve the proposed rehabilitation plan for
Ssangyong Motors but failed to give it the required 75-
percent approval.

The steering committee suggested that creditors swap the
automaker's debts worth 130 billion won (US$ 109 million)
into equity stake ratio of 53 per cent and attempt sales
late next year.  Only 62.5 per cent of the creditors
consented to the proposal.

"At the meeting, however, only 62.5 percent of
participating creditors supported the debt-to-equity swap
plan," the official said.

Also falling short of the required 75-percent approval
hurdle was a proposed plan on shelving the principal
payments of the loans, worth 1.6 trillion won, until the
end of next year.  Bills on debt rescheduling and interest
write-off, and new loans also won votes of approval of 67.8
per cent and 60.5 per cent, respectively, below the needed
75 per cent.

Those who disapproved the plan claimed that business
prospects of Ssangyong Motor were dark and that they cannot
allow further debt rescheduling, having already reduced
interest rates.  The disagreement among creditors on
Ssangyong Motor is likely to affect decision on workout
programs on other Daewoo companies. The approval of the
foreign creditors is seen as central to the viability of
the debt rescue plans for Daewoo which domestic creditors
have so far supported. (Asia Pulse, Business Day  02-Nov-
1999 )


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

TRITECH MICROELECTRONICS: Company being liquidated         
--------------------------------------------------            
Chip design firm Tritech Microelectronics has reached the
end of the road -- the company is being liquidated even
though it succeeded in getting a US$23 million (S$38.4
million) reduction in patent infringement damages two
months ago.

The winding-up order against Tritech was made on Oct 15,
according to the Government Gazette.  Sources said the
Singapore Technologies subsidiary "had to be liquidated"
because its continued operation was stymied by the
copyright infringement ruling of the US court earlier this
year.

"The company could no longer operate as a going concern. It
could not produce anything without going against that court
ruling so a decision had to be made to liquidate it," said
a source.

The unceremonious closure of the nine-year-old firm marks
the second time a company in the Singapore Technologies'
stable of companies has had to be wound up.  The first was
the 1997 liquidation of chip maker Micropolis.

Tritech was once viewed as a promising technology upstart.
It had signed arrangements with industry heavyweights such
as Cadence Design Systems. It came to its dead end with the
US court decision.  Filed by rival firm Crystal
Semiconductor, the suit for the infringement of three
patents resulted in Tritech being placed under interim
judicial management in May. Three months later, Tritech's
judicial managers, PricewaterhouseCoopers scored a major
coup when they managed to get the US court to reduce the
damages awarded from US$29.1 million to just US$6 million.

In addition, the judge doubled -- instead of tripled as is
allowed under US law -- the amount awarded by the jury.
This meant that the cumulative liabilities of Tritech and
its co-defendent, OPTi Inc, were such that they would be
capped at US$20 million, excluding interest and costs.  But
winning that appeal did not do much to lift the gloom.  
Sources said that even if Tritech won its appeal and got a
re-trial, it would take another two to three years for the
entire court process to be concluded.
"By then, it will be too late for the company," said the
source. "The company needs to have that ruling overturned
now to carry on its activities...In this business, three
years is too long a time."

Given the scenario and the winding-up decision, Messers Lim
Kok Hoong and Tay Swee Sze of Arthur Andersen have been
appointed liquidators.  The Straits Times understands that
they will look into selling off Tritech's remaining assets.  
These would include any intellectual property rights that
are not covered under the infringement suit.

Founded in 1990, Tritech designed and marketed integrated
circuits for personal computers and consumer electronics.
It had 83 employees before its closure in July this year. A
check with the Registry of Companies and Businesses shows
that the Yishun-based firm had an issued share capital of
$6.7 million.  (Straits Times  02-Nov-1999)


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

BANGCHAK PETROLEUM: Posts 3rd quarter loss
------------------------------------------
Bangchak Petroleum Plc reported unaudited third-quarter
financial results showing a Bt515,206,000 net loss -- a
significant downturn compared with its 1998 third-quarter
Bt88,678,000-net profit.

The net loss was due mainly to a foreign-exchange loss of
Bt839 million in the quarter. However, Bangchak's total
revenues during the period stood at over Bt10.6 billion, a
30 per cent increase over the same period a year ago.
Bangchak posted a net loss of Bt433,217,000 for the first
nine months of the year, compared with a Bt205,526,000-net
profit in the corresponding period last year.  (The Nation,
Bangkok Post  02-Nov-1999)

BIJOUX HOLDINGS: SET tabs as non-compliant
M.D.X. PLC: SET tabs as non-compliant
RATTANA REAL ESTATE: SET tabs as non-compliant
SIAM CHEMICALS: SET tabs as non-compliant
SIAM SYNTEC CONSTRUCTION: SET tabs as non-compliant
SUNTECH GROUP: SET tabs as non-compliant
---------------------------------------------------
The Stock Exchange of Thailand said that as of Oct 29, six
listed firms had failed to comply with disclosure
regulations and submit financial information by market
deadlines: M.D.X. Plc, Rattana Real Estate, Bijoux
Holdings, Siam Chemicals, Suntech Group and Siam Syntec
Construction.

HMC POLYMERS CO.: Reaches restructure deal with creditors
---------------------------------------------------------
HMC Polymers Co, the largest polypropylene producer in
Thailand, has struck a deal with its creditors to
restructure debts totalling five billion baht.

The creditors, which include Bangkok Bank, Citibank and
Banque Nationale de Paris, approved the key element of the
plan and allowed the company to reschedule short-term loan
payments for an additional 30 months, a move which helps
reduce its debt interest burden, executive chairman Pichit
Nithivasin said.  At the same time, the polypropylene price
has soared to US$780-800 a ton, double that of early this
year.

"The lower costs will help boost our competitiveness in the
world market, while the higher price will bring in more
profits," Mr Pichit said.

The price had been declining for the past two years and
bottomed out early this year. However, despite rising
prices, Mr Pichit said that several new polypropylene
plants in Asia would be operational next year. The
increased supply from these factories could cause prices to
decline slightly.  However, he predicted that the effects
would be short-lived as demand still outstripped supply and
was expected to do so until 2003.

Mr Pichit declined to disclose more details about the debt-
restructuring programme, saying the agreement would be
signed within two weeks.  Polypropylene is a compound used
in making plastic parts for household products, automobile
parts, packaging and electrical appliances.

HMC Polymers, a joint venture between Bangkok Bank and the
Montell Group of the United States, is one of the world's
biggest petrochemical groups and supplies polypropylene
compound to leading automobile manufacturers including Ford
and General Motors.  The Thai shareholders of the company
are Bangkok Bank and the Hua Kee Group, which jointly hold
50%. Montell Polyolefins holds 45% and Taiwan Polypropylene
Co 5%.

The company struck financial problems in 1997 after it
tripled production capacity at its plant in the Mab Ta Phud
industrial estate to 30,000 tons a year. The company
expects to export at least 50% of the output.  (Bangkok
Post, Business Day, The Nation  02-Nov-1999)

M GROUP: Bankruptcy action filed against it for non-payment
-----------------------------------------------------------
Siam City Bank has filed a bankruptcy suit against former
media magnate Sondhi Limthongkul and the M Group for the
non-payment of debts worth Bt141 million.

In the suit to the Bankruptcy Court, the bank asked that
the court rule both defendants as a bankrupt person and
entity, respectively, as they have failed to honour a
transferable note with guarantee worth Bt150 billion.
The M Group issued the bond, while Sondhi guaranteed it.
Siam City Bank claimed that the bond, which paid an
interest rate at the minimum lending rate plus 1 per cent,
was due for redemption on April 19, 1997.

The bank said the bond was transferred to it from
subsidiaries Siam City Credit Finance and Securities Co and
SCF Finance and Securities, both of which are now defunct
companies.  Sondhi had agreed as guarantor that if the M
Group failed to honour the redemption of its bond, he would
take the responsibility as co-debtor.

Siam City Bank said that on the date of maturity, April 19,
1997, the M Group failed to redeem its bond and the company
ignored the bank's request to repay both principal and
interest.  This forced the bank to try to reclaim the money
from Sondhi, who also ignored the request. The bank said on
two occasions, both M Group and Sondhi failed to respond to
requests for repayment of a total of Bt141 million.

The Bankruptcy Court agreed to take the case into
deliberation and set today as the appointment date for a
hearing.  (The Nation  02-Nov-1999)

SRITHAI SUPERWARE: Court okays delay in rehab plan
--------------------------------------------------
Srithai Superware Plc said the Bankruptcy Court had
approved the company's request to put off submission of its
debt-restructuring plan by another month to Dec 1, because
documentation was not yet complete.  (The Nation  02-Nov-
1999)

TELECOM ASIA: Suppliers agree to debt restructuring
---------------------------------------------------
TelecomAsia says suppliers for its personal communications
telephone (PCT) system have agreed to restructure eight
billion baht in debt which had delayed the project for the
past two years.

The cordless phone service will be formally launched
commercially on November 15-after being given away for
nearly two years. TA president Supachai Chearavanont said
that Mitsui, Panasonic and NEC, suppliers for the PCT
system, would extend repayment periods to 15 years, with a
five-year grace period.  After the five-year period, TA
will repay principal plus interest over the remaining 10
years, amounting to about 800 million baht per year.

TA had owed NEC and Mitsui about six billion baht for
network equipment, with another two billion owed to
Panasonic. Originally, the Bangkok fixed-line phone
operator had pledged to repay costs for network
installation within 540 days of its formal service launch.
Over the past two years, TA has offered the service free to
its fixed-line subscribers, to avoid having to pay
suppliers under the contract.

Mr Supachai said that both Mitsui and NEC had agreed to
restructure the debt to help compensate for earlier
technical problems, including poor reception and flooded
cell sites.  He said he expected to break even with 400,000
subscribers "as soon as possible".  The total would include
users from the Telephone Organisation of Thailand.

The TOT for several months has been pressuring TA to start
charging for the service. Otherwise, the state agency said,
it would not use the private company's network for its own
cordless service. TA is counting on fees from the TOT to
help recoup its investment in the PCT project. Currently
the PCT system is used by 100,000 people.

Adhiruth Photabeesansuk, president of Asia Wireless
Communications, said that 80 million baht would be spent to
market the system over the next three months.  Asia
Wireless Communications, a TA subsidiary, will operate the
PCT system.

Mr Adhiruth said the firm had 200,000 PCT handsets in
stock, including Sharp, Panasonic and NEC models. Handset
costs range from 5,000 to 8,000 baht, with the system
touted as a lower-cost alternative to cellular phones.
The system overall had a capacity of one million users, Mr
Adhiruth added.  The PCT registration fee will be 800 baht
and the monthly fee 200 baht. Airtime fees will be three
baht for the first two minutes, and 1.50 baht for each
additional minute.

TA projects to gain revenues of 550 baht per month per line
for the system.  PCT handsets can be booked at all its
service outlets at shopping centres, starting November 15.
TA also said it would notify the 100,000 customers who
already owned handsets that they would be billed starting
in two weeks.  PCT users will also be able to call mobile
phones as well as fixed-line numbers in the provinces.
The charge for calling mobile phones registered in Bangkok
will be three baht a minute. Calls to the provinces will be
three, eight and 12 baht depending on the destination.
Calls to mobile phones registered in the provinces will be
based on the same scale.

Subscribers can also use PCT handsets to make international
calls, at the standard rates charged by Communications
Authority of Thailand.  But a TA executive said PCT
handsets could not be used outside of Bangkok, as the
provincial network operated by Thai Telephone and
Telecommunication was not yet set up for cordless phones.
The coverage area of the PCT is only about 1,500 square
kilometres.

The executive also said that there was a risk of the signal
breaking up when the handsets were used in vehicles
travelling at more than 50-60 kilometres an hour.  TA first
received permission from the TOT in August 1996 to offer
the PCT service. It promoted the system heavily and signed
up thousands of subscribers, but a series of network and
equipment problems limited the effectiveness of the
handsets.  Consequently, TA said it would offer the service
free for a "test period" that eventually dragged on for two
years.  (Bangkok Post  02-Nov-1999)

THAI DURABLE TEXTILE: To appoint rehab financial adviser
--------------------------------------------------------
Thai Durable Textile Plc advised that it was currently
seeking a new financial adviser to assist the company in
preparing its rehabilitation plan. The company expected to
appoint the adviser by the end of the November.  (The
Nation  02-Nov-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
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