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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, November 4, 1999, Vol. 2, No. 215

                                 Headlines


* C H I N A  &  H O N G  K O N G *

CHINA HUALU ELECTRONICS: Great Wall AMC to bail out
EMPEROR INT'L HOLDINGS: Posts loss for five months
NANFEI TEXTILE MACHINERY: Great Wall AMC to bail out


* I N D O N E S I A *

PT BAKRIELAND DEVEL.: Reports 1998 annual loss


* J A P A N *

KOKUSAI SECURITIES CO.: Ceasing bond sales for 2 mos.
NIPPON ALUMINUM CO.: Posts six-month loss


* K O R E A *

DAEWOO CAPITAL LTD: Creditors reject workout plan
DAEWOO MOTORS CO.: Signs MOU for alliance with GM
JINRO COORS BREWING: Oriental Brewery to sign takeover
SSANGYONG CEMENT MFG.: Selling stake to reduce debt
SSANGYONG MOTORS: Creditors agree to provide export funds


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

NATIONAL STEEL CORP.: Creditors divided on foreclosure
PETRON CORP.: Projects 200 million peso loss for October
PHILIPPINE AIRLINES: Eximbank finally withdraws opposition


* S I N G A P O R E *

INTRACO: Selling car rental division, to incur a loss
RASHID HUSSAIN BHD: Posts three-month loss


* T H A I L A N D *

PHILIPS ELECTRONICS: To launch restructuring in 3 mos.
SIAM CITY CEMENT: Reports 1.22 billion baht loss for 8 mos.
SIAM CITY CEMENT: To issue debentures to refinance debt


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

CHINA HUALU ELECTRONICS: Great Wall AMC to bail out          
NANFEI TEXTILE MACHINERY: Great Wall AMC to bail out       
----------------------------------------------------           
The mainland's Great Wall Asset Management Corp has signed
deals with two big state firms in Beijing to swap about 600
million yuan (HK$560 million) in debts for equity.  Xinhua
said that the swap would rescue debt-laden China Hualu
Electronics and Nanfei Textile Machinery.

The debts included 506.78 million yuan owed by Hualu, a
video-player producer, and 75 million yuan by Nanfei,
Xinhua said.  The move greatly lowered the gearings of the
enterprises, whose products still had promising market
prospects, it said.

Great Wall was set up by the finance ministry with
registered capital of 10 billion yuan last month to take
over bad debts at the Agricultural Bank of China.  Asset-
management companies have been set up for the other three
big commercial banks to repackage the bad debts acquired
from the banks in the form of securities, then sell them to
domestic and international investors. (South China Morning
Post  03-Nov-1999)

EMPEROR INT'L HOLDINGS: Posts loss for five months
--------------------------------------------------
Emperor International Holdings reported an unaudited net
loss of $35.8M, with a turnover of $890.83M for the five
months ended on August 31.  The company also announced
yesterday that it has entered into a disposal agreement on
September 10 of a printing machine to an independent third
party at a consideration of $680,000.  


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

PT BAKRIELAND DEVEL.: Reports 1998 annual loss
----------------------------------------------
Indonesia's PT Bakrieland Development (JSX:ELTY) reported a
net loss of Rp114.4 billion (US$ 16 million) in 1998 mainly
because of foreign exchange loss and high financial costs,
with interest rates soaring to as high as 60% that
year.

Bambang Irawan Hendradi, the president of the property
company, said ELTY's income rose 270% to Rp119 billion in
1998 as it succeeded in selling 344 units of apartments to
Hongkong investors, but its losses also grew.  Bambang said
the company was seeking to restructure its debt either
through rollover, reduction of interest rates or selling
off non-productive assets.

ELTY is a holding company for the Bakrie Group operating in
the property, tourism and distribution sectors.  The
company said it plans to develop agrotourism in Bogor,
Lampung and Bali. It gave no details.  (Asia Pulse  02-Nov-
1999)


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

KOKUSAI SECURITIES CO.: Ceasing bond sales for 2 mos.
-----------------------------------------------------
Kokusai Securities Co. will voluntarily stop the
development and sale of bond-related products for two
months to avoid penalties for dubious practices, financial
industry sources said Tuesday.

The Financial Supervisory Agency has determined that
Kokusai Securities helped Credit Suisse Group AG to sell to
Japanese corporate customers derivatives products that were
used as tools to conceal the customers' losses on stock
investments, the sources said.  (NewsHound  02-Nov-1999)

NIPPON ALUMINUM CO.: Posts six-month loss
-----------------------------------------
Nippon Aluminium Co. (TSE:5934) announced Monday that it
posted a net loss of 360 million yen in the fiscal first
half ended Sept 30, compared with a profit of 3 million yen
a year earlier.

The poor showing stemmed from an extraordinary loss of 360
million yen caused largely by a drop in the appraisal value
of loans and investment in affiliated firms having negative
net worth.  To offset an almost certain fall in
shareholders' equity, the company will issue new shares to
Sumitomo Light Metal Industries Ltd. (TSE:5738), its
largest shareholder, in the current year through March,
company officials said.

The Osaka-based maker of aluminum products had
shareholders' equity of 396 million yen at the end of
March.  The company came close to having a negative net
worth at the end of September due to the net loss, but
later saw its shareholders' equity rise to some 500 million
yen after its assets were revaluated following the
absorption of a real estate-related firm on Oct 1.

The company expects a severe business environment in the
coming months due partly to declining product prices. It
therefore agreed to increase its capital through a third-
party share allocation to Sumitomo Light Metal, the
officials said.  Interim sales shrank 7% year on year to
11.2 billion yen, hit by falling prices of construction
materials for commercial buildings and other factors.
Pretax profit tumbled 17% to 10 million yen during the six-
month period.  (Asia Pulse  02-Nov-1999)


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

DAEWOO CAPITAL LTD: Creditors reject workout plan
-------------------------------------------------
Amid growing signs of difficulties in restructuring the
Daewoo Group, domestic creditors of Daewoo Capital Ltd.
yesterday rejected a draft debt-workout plan for the
unlisted unit of the troubled Daewoo Group, Seoul Bank said
yesterday.

"Major creditors failed to win approval on the proposed
workout program because of strong opposition from non-bank
financial institutions," said an official at Seoul Bank,
the main creditor bank of Daewoo Capital.

Most of the creditors opposed the rehabilitation program
because it demanded too much loss-taking from them, he
added.  The draft workout program calls for a debt-for-
equity swap worth 933.7 billion won by turning the loan
into common stocks or convertible bonds.  Creditors also
failed to reach an agreement on deferring payment on the
principal of the firm's remaining debts until 2004 and
lowering interest payments in the period, the official
said.

Daewoo Capital is among 12 Daewoo Group units for which the
conglomerate's domestic creditors are arranging debt
workout programs to keep them afloat.  The company is the
third Daewoo unit for which domestic creditors have
rejected rehabilitation programs. Creditors of Ssangyong
Motor Co. and Daewoo Telecom Ltd. turned in their interim
workout programs Monday.

Domestic creditor banks also met yesterday to discuss a
proposal to lower interest payments for Diners Club of
Korea, another unlisted unit of Daewoo, as part the
company's debt-workout plan, Korea First Bank (KFB) said
yesterday.

The draft rehabilitation program includes a proposal to
defer payment on call loans of about 822 billion won that
Diners Club of Korea had provided to other Daewoo Group
units until the end of 2004 and lower interest payments
during the period, a KFB official said.  But the official
said a debt-for-equity swap isn't included in the debt-
workout proposal for Diners Club of Korea.

So far, creditors have finalized debt-workout plans for
four Daewoo Group units - Orion Electric Co., Keangnam
Enterprise Co., Daewoo Motor Sales Corp. and Daewoo
Electronic Components Co.  Collapsing under debts of around
61.8 trillion won, the Daewoo Group sought a bailout from
its domestic creditors in late July.  (Korea Herald  04-
Nov-1999)

DAEWOO MOTORS CO.: Signs MOU for alliance with GM
-------------------------------------------------
South Korea's troubled Daewoo group signed a memorandum of
understanding with General Motors Corp. of the United
States today to form an alliance in auto manufacturing.

The memorandum was the first step in joint efforts by the
two sides to form an alliance specifically targeted for car
business, and further details have yet to be worked out,
Daewoo and GM officials said.  Cash-strapped Daewoo hopes
the alliance would lead to fresh capital investment from
the American auto giant.

Kim Tae-gu, chairman of Daewoo Motors Co., expressed hope
that the negotiations will be wrapped up "as quickly as
possible."  In a statement, GM and Daewoo said they would
"jointly explore common interests in a wide range of
business opportunities both at home and abroad."

The move came a day after GM officials in Detroit said
their company will consider building vehicles in Japan to
boost sales in the world's second-largest car market. The
world's largest automaker said it has a "multi-pronged"
approach to increasing sales in Japan. GM sold more than
53,000 cars and trucks in Japan last year, a small number
in a market where over 4 million vehicles a year are sold.

"We can't be successful in Asia without being successful in
Japan," GM spokesman Henry Wong said Thursday.

Desperate for cash, Daewoo has previously said it wanted
General Motors to buy part of Daewoo Motors Co., its main
subsidiary and South Korea's second largest car maker.
General Motors owned half of Daewoo Motors from 1978 to
1992 in a deal that allowed Daewoo to sell cars overseas
using GM brand names. Their rocky marriage ended in 1992
with Daewoo buying out GM's share.

Daewoo Motor signed a memorandum with General Motors in
February 1998 to form a broad business alliance but the
transaction was never completed.  Daewoo, South Korea's
second-largest conglomerate, narrowly escaped becoming
South Korea's largest-ever bankruptcy in July when domestic
creditors, mostly under government control, agreed to delay
repayment of $5.8 billion in short-term debt for six months
and extend $3.3 billion in new loans.

In return, Daewoo promised to cut its debt drastically by
selling or spinning off most of its 40 subsidiaries and
attracting foreign investment.  Daewoo also put up $8.42
billion of stock and real estate as collateral, provided
only for loans from domestic creditor banks.  Daewoo is
under threat by foreign creditors to call in debts.  
(NewsHound  02-Nov-1999)

JINRO COORS BREWING: Oriental Brewery to sign takeover
------------------------------------------------------
Oriental Brewery (OB) Co. announced Wedesday that it is due
to sign a formal contract to take over the ailing Jinro-
Coors Brewing Thursday.

OB, the nation's leading beer maker, had been engaged in an
asset evaluation of Jinro-Coors between August and October,
and said the purchase amount would be in the neighborhood
of W480 billion. OB, a 50/50 joint venture between Doosan
and Interbrau of Belgium, said the cost for the purchase
would be shared equally between the two partners. OB also
stated that it will retain all current employees of Jinro-
Coors, while changing the name of its new acquisition to
'Cass Beer.'  (Digital ChosunIlbo  03-Nov-1999)

SSANGYONG CEMENT MFG.: Selling stake to reduce debt
---------------------------------------------------
Ssangyong Cement Manufacturing said Wednesday that it has
decided to sell off its entire 28.4% share of Ssangyong Oil
Refinery for W900 billion to a consortium composed of Saudi
Arabia's Aramco and France's Banque Paribas. Ssangyong
Cement said that the proceeds from the sale would be used
to pay off part of its total W4.37 trillion debt, bringing
its debt-to-equity ratio down to 210% by the end of the
year.  (Digital ChosunIlbo  03-Nov-1999)

SSANGYONG MOTORS: Creditors agree to provide export funds
---------------------------------------------------------
The creditors of Ssangyong Motors agreed Wednesday to
provide the Daewoo Subsidiary with US$220 million in export
financing. The firms creditors also decided to convert W130
billion owed by Ssangyong Motors into common shares. The
maturity of the remaining W1.6 trillion in debt will be
extended to the end of next year.

The creditor groups of Daewoo Capital and Diner's Club
Korea also met the same way to discuss the rescheduling the
loans of the two firms, which are also Daewoo subsidiaries,
but the parties involved were unable to narrow their
differences.  (Digital ChosunIlbo  03-Nov-1999, Korea
Herald  04-Nov-1999)


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

NATIONAL STEEL CORP.: Creditors divided on foreclosure
------------------------------------------------------
Creditor banks of beleaguered National Steel Corp. (NSC)
are now divided over the issue of foreclosing on the steel
firm's assets because of what it would entail.

While some of the banks are determined to push through with
a foreclosure proceeding against Asia's oldest steel
company, others are having second thoughts because of a
150-million Philippine peso (US$3.73 million at
PhP40.25=US$1) filing fee, BusinessWorld sources from the
creditor banks said.

"A foreclosure proceeding is very expensive. Some of the
banks don't want to incur more expenses. Instead, they want
to offer the plant to interested investors. A financial
adviser will value the plant, which is mortgaged to the
banks," a source from one of the creditor banks said.
"Banks don't have the competence to run the plant," the
source added.

However, other sources said prospective investors would
rather wait for a foreclosure so it could buy the plant in
its entirety or on a piecemeal basis at a "bargain."
Some aspects of NSC's plant operations are reportedly not
attractive to buyers, like the billet shop, which produces
raw materials for long steel products. Most investors are
interested only in the production of flat products like
hot-rolled coils, cold-rolled coils and tin plates.

NSC has PhP14 billion ($347.8 million) in debts to 14
banks. It has stopped paying its obligations and has been
declared "in default" by some of the banks. Its major
creditors are Philippine National Bank (PNB), which has
PhP5 billion ($124.22 million) in exposure, and state-owned
Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank), with PhP1.2
billion ($29.8 million).

The steel company's debts are secured by plant and
equipment under a mortgage trust indenture (MTI), a single
document which consolidates all its assets to be used as
collateral for its remaining debts. An MTI facilitates
foreclosure in the event of nonpayment of loans.  (Business
World  03-Nov-1999)

PETRON CORP.: Projects 200 million peso loss for October
--------------------------------------------------------
Huge operating costs and accumulated under-recoveries have
prompted Petron Corp. to project losses for the month of
October to reach at least 200 million Philippine pesos
(PhP).

Petron president Khalid Al-Falih said the inability to
fully pass on international crude cost on domestic prices
is hurting the oil firm.  He said if Petron was able to
implement a PhP0.80- to PhP0.90-per- liter increase in pump
prices, it would enable the firm to break even. However,
the price hike implemented last November 1 was only
PhP0.50, resulting in bigger under-recoveries for Petron.
Before the increase in pump prices, Petron's under-
recoveries were placed at PhP1.37 per liter.

"With these developments (increase in under-recoveries) we
expect our losses in October to be worst. It can even be
bigger than PhP200 million since we are in a very dire
situation. We are barely covering crude prices and I think
nobody can sustain that," the Petron president explained.

Meanwhile, Mr. Falih is optimistic that crude prices will
improve by the fourth quarter.  He said international crude
prices are now showing stability within a certain trading
range of $21 per barrel to $22 per barrel.  He added that
this is an improvement since for the last six months prices
of crude have been increasing monthly by almost $2 per
barrel.

"The $2-per-barrel increase was not manifested last month.
So I hope it repeats itself in the remaining months of the
year. If it does, it will enable us to implement smaller
increases of only about PhP0.10 a month which will also
give us additional cash flow and ease the burden of the
consumers," he said.

For the first nine months of the year, Petron earlier
reported a 28.75% drop in its net income to PhP2.012
billion from PhP2.824 billion.  In the third quarter alone,
the oil firm's income fell by 78% to PhP113 million from
PhP520 million last year. The loss reflects a continued
drop in the firm's performance since July when its earnings
fell below the monthly average of PhP316 million to only
PhP294 million. In September alone, the firm's losses
reached PhP192 million.

"The decline (in income) was mainly due to crude cost and
under-recoveries we have been sustaining since crude prices
started increasing in March.  The cost of crude has
increased by over 120% from $10 per barrel in February to
nearly $22 per barrel last month," the firm earlier said.

The Petron chief added that due to competition and social
concerns, product price adjustments have only amounted to
27%.  Total sales for the first nine months also slipped by
12% to 39.1 million barrels.  The drop is blamed on the
decline in fuel oil and diesel sales to state-run National
Power Corp. (Napocor). The power firm accounts for 30% of
Petron's volume sales.  (Business World  03-Nov-1999)

PHILIPPINE AIRLINES: Eximbank finally withdraws opposition
----------------------------------------------------------
Six months after rehabilitation work on cash-strapped
Philippine Airlines, Inc. (PAL) was first given the go
signal by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),
major creditor US Export-Import Bank (Eximbank) finally
submitted its formal consent to the flag carrier's recovery
plan.

In a motion filed with the corporate court late last week,
Eximbank said it was formally withdrawing its earlier
opposition to the PAL rehab plan approved by the SEC. The
US creditor, however, stressed that if something
unfavorable happens in the process, it will again freely
exercise its right to oppose the recovery plan.

Earlier, US Eximbank -- with claims accounting for two-
thirds of PAL's $2.24-billion debt which paid for four
Boeing 747-400 jumbo jets -- had been very persistent to
have the SEC reconsider and reject an earlier-approved
plan. To win the US creditor's approval (of the plan) SEC
chairman Perfecto R. Yasay, Jr. agreed to provide the bank
with written assurances relating to the commission's
process in overseeing rehabilitation proceedings.  
(Business World  03-Nov-1999)


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

INTRACO: Selling car rental division, to incur a loss
-----------------------------------------------------
A year after leaving the motor distribution business that
once contributed to more than half of its group earnings,
listed government-linked Intraco is selling its car rental
division.

In a lock, stock and barrel arrangement, Intraco subsidiary
Intra-Motors has entered into a conditional agreement with
Trac Leasing to buy over the business for about $33.2
million. The cost is mainly attributable to the fleet of
some 410 cars, predominantly Rovers.

Trac Leasing is a company of lawyer K K Tang, a minority
shareholder of IntraMotors who sources said was "very sad"
over the diversified group's new direction.  Intra-Motors
acquired the Thifty car rental franchise in late 1996, when
its motor distribution business started to become shaky.
Intra-Motors' management led by Michael Lee then tried to
shift focus to rental and leasing.

Mr Lee once said that the new business would help Intraco
return to profitability and would contribute to a quarter
of the group's profits. That scenario never quite played
itself out. As market competition sizzled on the back of
ambitious new players such as CityLimo (an SBS company),
rental margins became "razor thin", according to a trade
source.

Intra-Motors was also hampered by the fact that it offered
only Rover cars, which limited its clientele.  In a
statement yesterday, Intraco said it will incur an
extraordinary loss of $2 million from the move. It will use
the proceeds of the sale to repay bank borrowings.

BT understands that Trac Leasing will source for new
premises for the business and has absorbed the majority of
Intra-Motors' rental staff.  The development leaves Intraco
with only one motor-related activity -- vehicle servicing
and repair, which the company also once said would be its
focus after relinquishing its car distribution line.
Intraco entered the car market 10 years ago, starting with
Lada.

In 1989, it took over Rover when Malayan Motors gave it up.
After a slow start, the British marque enjoyed a strong
resurgence on the back of a weak sterling and Honda Motor's
engineering input. It also sold Holden cars.  Conditions
started deteriorating in 1995 and for support, Intraco took
on new agencies like LDV and Renault heavy vehicles.
Besides motors, Intraco is involved in commodities,
engineering, food, semiconductors and telecommunications.
(Business Times  03-Nov-1999)

RASHID HUSSAIN BHD: Posts three-month loss                 
------------------------------------------                    
Rashid Hussain Bhd has reported a net loss of RM28.9
million (S$12.6 million) for the three months ended Sept
30, against a previous loss of RM140.6 million, on turnover
of RM1.04 billion. (Reuters, Straits Times  03-Nov-1999)  


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

PHILIPS ELECTRONICS: To launch restructuring in 3 mos.
------------------------------------------------------
Philips Electronics (Thailand) Co will begin a major
restructuring within three months to support its new
business strategies.

The company plans to reposition its business in line with
the anticipated economic recovery, said Victor George Tee,
the company's new chairman and managing director.  Mr Tee
did not disclose specific details, but said streamlining
was needed in some areas.  Philips is also considering the
launch of a home shopping service through the Internet as a
pilot project in Thailand.

"We want to make sure that we can develop a new marketing
channel to meet the challenge of the changing communication
world," Mr Tee said. "E-commerce will be able to replace or
support traditional distribution channels of some products.
We're looking at what Philips needs to do in our two
business areas including industrial and professional
products as well as commercial."

Mr Tee said he had two main business goals during his term
in Thailand: building stronger recognition of the Philips
brand and increasing market share through competitive
pricing.

"We want to grow by 10% more than the average growth rate
in the electronic goods industry. We want to move up in our
electrical appliance market position, where we currently
rank fourth, after Sony, Panasonic and Sharp."

The Dutch-based multinational's industrial and professional
products include medical equipment and lighting products,
while the commercial business includes consumer electronic
goods, computer devices and mobile phones.  This year the
company forecasts five billion baht in total sales, up from
4.8 billion last year.

It expects total sales revenue next year of 5.5 billion
baht, the same level as in 1996 before the economic crisis.
"We see rising demand in the mobile phone and computer
businesses. The growth of individual-use products is
expected to be around 30% next year," said Mr Tee.  
(Bangkok Post  03-Nov-1999)

SIAM CITY CEMENT: Reports 1.22 billion baht loss for 8 mos.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Siam City Cement, Thailand's second-largest cement maker,
said it lost 1.22 billion baht during the eight months
through August as a weaker baht magnified foreign debt in
local currency terms.

Siam City suffered a currency translation loss of 491
million baht during the period. The company also paid 253
million in debt restructuring fees.  Siam Cement had
unconsolidated sales of 9.28 billion baht, with gross
margins of 19.6 percent, Siam City told the Stock Exchange
of Thailand. It posted an operating profit of 1.14 billion
baht.

Siam City didn't provide comparable figures for the eight
months through August 1998.  Siam City said it released
eight-month earnings because it is selling 5 billion baht
of bonds and borrowing $150 million from a group of lenders
led by Citibank. Third-quarter results aren't due until the
middle of this month.  Siam City was unchanged at 135 baht.  
(Bloomberg, Business Day, The Nation  03-Nov-1999)

SIAM CITY CEMENT: To issue debentures to refinance debt
-------------------------------------------------------
Siam City Cement Plc's shareholders have approved the issue
and offering of debentures totalling more than Bt10
billion.  The approval clears the way for Siam City to
proceed with its plan to refinance all of its existing debt
of US$291 million through a $150 million syndicated loan
and the issue of the Thai baht unsecured and unsubordinated
debentures worth about Bt5 billion to both institutional
and retail investors.

Still, the company has no immediate plan to sell all of the
approved bonds. With an aim to refinance its $290 million
longterm debt.  The refinancing would save the company
about $3 million a year in interest, President Paul
Hugentobler said last week.

Siam City expects the coupon rate on the domestic bond to
be less than the prime rate at the largest Thai banks, the
lowest of which is now 8.25 percent. Other details of the
debentures, including the interest rate, are expected to be
concluded by mid-November and the offering of debentures is
expected at the end of the month and when the Securities
and Exchange Commission accepts the registration of the
transfer restriction of the debentures.

Siam City has since last year been controlled by Holderbank
Financiere Glarus of Switzerland, the world's biggest
cement producer.  (Bloomberg, Business Day, The Nation  03-
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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                     *** End of Transmission ***