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                            A S I A   P A C I F I C

             Friday, April 7, 2000, Vol. 3, No. 69

                                    Headlines


* A U S T R A L I A *

NORMANDY MINING: 'Hunkered down and ready to go'
ONE.TEL CO.: Listing costs one-off loss of $100M
TELSTRA : Union seeking injunction to stop sacking
TELSTRA: Sets April deadline for jobs purge plan


* C H I N A  &  H O N G  K O N G *

JOYCE BOUTIQUE HOLDINGS: Stock dives on takeover
NEW WORLD TELEPHONE: Loses round one in court


* J A P A N *

DAI-ICHI HOTEL LTD: Asks banks to forgive debt
JAPAN VILENE CO.: Forecasts 2.2B Yen group net loss
NAGASAKIYA CO.: Cerberus named rehab sponsor
SOGO CO.: To ask for 639B Yen debt waiver;Chairman to quit
TOKYO SOWA BANK: LTCB in lead for purchase
ZEXEL CORP.: Stock still down 60% since last October


* K O R E A *

DAEWOO GROUP: Sued for high-handed shareholder acts
DAEWOO MOTOR CO.: Hyundai Motor union workers protest sale
DAEWOO MOTORS: GM still interested in acquisition
DAEWOO MOTORS: More affiliates crying foul
HYUNDAI CONSTR.ENG.: Sued for high-handed shareholder acts
KOOKMIN BANK: Sued for high-handed shareholder acts
SAMSUNG MOTORS: Creditors agree to extend negotiations


* M A L A Y S I A *

EDARAN OTOMOBIL NASIONAL: Facing serious losses
HALIM SECURITIES: Being acquired by Apex unit
LEADER UNIVERSAL HOLDINGS: Subsidiary declared distressed
PILECON ENGINEERING: Debt-restructuring agreement inked


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

NATIONAL POWER CORP.: IPPs not keen on buyout plan
PETRON CORP.: Executives charged in tax scam
PILIPINAS SHELL PETROLEUM: Executives charged in tax scam
PILIPINAS SHELL: Claims losses of P1B in last six months
PILIPINO TEL.CORP.: Piltel delayed in debt talks


* T H A I L A N D *

BAMRUNGRAD HOSPITAL: Huge sell-off on firm's return
NAKORNTHAI STRIP MILL: Huge sell-off on firm's return
ROBINSONS DEPT.STORE: Huge sell-off on firm's return
ROYAL CERAMIC INDUSTRY: Court orders rehabilitation
SRIVARA REAL ESTATE: Huge sell-off on firm's return
THAI PETROCHEM.INDUS.: Creditors reject joint venture idea
THAI PETROCHEM.INDUS.: Planners vie for TPI
THAI PETROCHEM.INDUS.: TPI chief invited onto committee
WONGPAITOON GROUP: Summarizes financial restructuring


=================
A U S T R A L I A
=================

NORMANDY MINING: 'Hunkered down and ready to go'
------------------------------------------------
Normandy Mining is poised to become a pure gold play with
$500 million to spend on acquisitions after a corporate
restructure unveiled yesterday.

Under the three-tier strategy, Normandy will take full
control of WA gold producer Great Central Mines for $80
million, sell its industrial minerals businesses outright,
and swap its stake in a $1.13 billion Queensland magnesium
project for shares in partner QMC which will then be
distributed to shareholders.

Already Australia's largest gold miner, the restructure
will deliver Normandy greater global clout, adding $170
million to annual revenue and lifting output 15 per cent to
2.3 million ounces a year.

Excluding its Golden Grove base metals mine in WA, Normandy
will also be a pure gold play, something institutional
investors have been demanding for several years.
Chairman Robert Champion de Crespigny said the restructure
would deliver the the muscle and flexibility to
aggressively pursue growth.

"What this bold move does is put us in a position to grow
in gold," he said. "Our sector has never been so cheap . .
. and I think you'll find we are, as the Yanks say,
hunkered down and ready to go."

Normandy had "about $500 million" in cash for acquisitions
in West Africa and the Americas where there were
significant opportunities in a depressed gold market, he
said.  In Australia, the focus would be on exploration and
rationalisation of existing assets.  In particular,
Normandy would seek to secure full ownership of core assets
where possible, he said.

Under the restructure, Normandy will pay Joseph Gutnick's
Edensor Nominees $21 million in cash and cancel $60 million
in outstanding debts for the 42 per of Great Central it
does not already own.  The remaining $100 million still
owed by Edensor will then be rearranged on more secure
terms. At the same time, Normandy will swap its 47.5 per
cent stake in Australian Magnesium Corp for 225 million 50c
shares in project partner QMC, taking its total stake in
QMC to 62.5 per cent.

Once funding has been secured for AMC's 96,000 tonnes a
year magnesium plant near Rockhamption, the QMC stake will
be distributed to shareholders. By then, Normandy expects
to have sold its $230 million a year industrial minerals
and Larvik pigment businesses.

Mr de Crespigny said talks with potential buyers were well
advanced and the company was confident of securing better
than the current carrying value of $150 million. He said
the value of the non-gold assets was rarely reflected in
Normandy's share price, and as a pure gold play would be a
more attractive investment for large institutional
investors.

Though analysts agreed the restructure was a sensible move,
the market failed to respond, sending Normandy shares down
1c to 92c by the close. (The Australian  06-April-2000)

ONE.TEL CO.: Listing costs one-off loss of $100M
------------------------------------------------
The Packer and Murdoch-backed telephone company One.Tel
will book a one-off loss about $100 million as part of its
plan to dual-list on the London Stock Exchange.

In order to list, One.Tel had to comply with the UK
accounting policy. To date One.Tel has deferred the costs
of acquiring customers and amortised over a period of time
relevant to the nature of the asset. In the UK these costs
are written off as they are incurred.

As a result the total of the unamortised costs of setting
up its operations in six countries and acquiring its 1.5
million customers was $110 million as at December 31, 1999.
One.Tel spokeswoman Ms Zoe Hawkins said that about 10
percent represented capitalisation of mobile handset
subsidy costs, which meant that most of the rest of the
$110 million would be booked as an abnormal charge in the
June 30 results.

One.Tel first announced plans of a London listing late last
year, and said it would look at spinning off all its
overseas assets. Under a dual listing One.Tel will not be
raising any capital.  One.Tel director Mr Rodney Adler said
that the company was advised by investment banks to seek a
dual listing rather than spin off some of its assets.

Mr Adler said it did not rule out a future partial sale of
overseas assets on the London Stock Exchange.  One.Tel
shares fell 15c to a five-month low of $1.49 yesterday,
which is just 1c below the $1.50 issue price in last
month's $280 million placement to local institutions and
the $60 million private placement to BT Funds Management.
These placements were to partially fund the $523 million
acquisition of mobile phone spectrum.

Telecommunications analysts welcomed the London listing as
the tougher UK accounting regime would make understanding
One.Tel's financial position easier.  Analysts were
surprised, however, that it did not seek a capital raising
in the UK. One.Tel is still in the bidding for third-
generation mobile phone spectrum in the UK, where the bids
on each of the licences are above œ2.13 billion ($5.46
billion), or more than one and a half times One.Tel's
market value of $3.48 billion.

Its UK mobile phone ambitions are backed by News Corp and
US telecom equipment supplier Lucent Technologies. (Sydney
Morning Herald  06-April-2000)

TELSTRA : Union seeking injunction to stop sacking
--------------------------------------------------
Unions covering Telstra employees are seeking an urgent
court injunction to stop the Corporation from sacking
around 16,000 staff.

The action has been taken amid allegations Telstra will
target union members.  The Community and Public Sector
Union (CPSU) has lodged an application in the Federal Court
in Melbourne to obtain an injuction preventing Telstra's
planned job cuts, which were announced last month.

The union says it has evidence Telstra is planning to sack
union members first.  It has received a copy of an email
allegedly written by Telstra's industrial relations head,
directing managers to target union members on collective
agreements and to protect staff on individual contracts
when they start handing out termination notices next week.

The CPSU's application has been supported by other Telstra
unions.  They have accused the organisation of
discriminatory behaviour and political bias. The unions
have retained the high profile lawyers, Julian Burnside QC
and Josh Bornstein for the legal challenge. (Sydney Morning
Herald  06-April-2000)

TELSTRA: Sets April deadline for jobs purge plan
------------------------------------------------
Telstra said today it expects to finalise by the end of the
month a decision on its program to cut 10,000 jobs.

Telstra chairman Bob Mansfield said he expects the board to
make a decision in the next two to three weeks.  "The last
update I had from (chief executive) Ziggy (Switkowski) was
that he was hoping to get that finalised in the next two to
three weeks," Mansfield told reporters. "We are well
advanced on the work on that."

Telstra announced in March it would cut 10,000 jobs as part
of a cost saving exercise. The decision prompted outrage
from unions nationwide. (I.T. Daily News  06-April-2000)


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

JOYCE BOUTIQUE HOLDINGS: Stock dives on takeover
------------------------------------------------
Investors yesterday shunned the HK$236 million takeover of
Joyce Boutique Holdings by an e-commerce investment
company, dumping the upmarket retailer's shares and
contributing to a 47.72 per cent slump in the counter's
price.

The shares, which have been suspended from trading since
March 17 pending Tuesday's takeover announcement, slid by
as much as 53.78 per cent to an intra-day low of 30.5
cents, before rebounding slightly to close at 34.5 cents.
The fall, which made the counter yesterday's second-biggest
loser in percentage terms, presented a sharp contrast to
its gain of 55.29 per cent on its suspension day, when
speculation had it as a backdoor listing target.

Both the Ma family, the controlling shareholders, and
prospective buyer Strategic Capital Group (SCG) dismissed
concern over yesterday's share slump.  SCG is proposing to
pay HK$202.8 million to acquire a 51.7 per cent stake in
two phases of new share subscription.

Joyce Boutique managing director Adrienne Marie Ma said:
"Compared to the NAV [net asset value] per share of 25
cents, the existing price level is still reasonable."
Meanwhile, SCG managing director Eric Solberg said: "The
market will go up and down, but it is nothing to do with
us."

Under the proposed transaction, independent investor
Elliott Yuen Wai-kuen, who will become chief executive of
the company, will take a 10.7 per cent stake by investing
HK$33.42 million to subscribe to new shares.  The Ma
family's holding will be diluted from 47.2 per cent to 18.8
per cent after the subscriptions.

However, Ms Ma said in terms of management structure and
business participation, the family "is not giving up the
company. We do want to make Joyce bigger and stronger," she
said.

Development of e-commerce business was expected to help the
company "maintain the leading role in the new economy".

SCG is to help Joyce establish a Web site - Joyce.com -
which will be integrated with its merchandising and supply-
chain management to provide fashion and beauty products on-
line.  The Bermuda-based company might also inject its
other lifestyle-related investments into the company in
future, Mr Solberg said.

SCG holds majority stakes in four Web sites - Asia
Entertainment, Asia Property, TravelNet Systems and
Financial Intelligence - and a minority stake in a software
company, Logistic Software.  SCG was considering a
flotation either on the Growth Enterprise Market or Nasdaq,
Mr Solberg said. Joyce has suffered losses since 1998 but
Ms Ma said its financial background remained sound. (South
China Morning Post  06-April-2000)

NEW WORLD TELEPHONE: Loses round one in court
---------------------------------------------
New World Telephone yesterday failed in its application to
have the Court of First Instance determine some legal
questions relating to civil litigation commenced by Cable &
Wireless HKT International over delivery fees.

"This application has effectively caused this action to be
stalled for a full six months," Justice William Stone said.
"The delay and the expenditure of what doubtless are very
considerable costs are regrettable."

HKT, formerly known as Hong Kong Telecom International,
filed writs against two of its rivals, New World and New
T&T, in February 1999 alleging the diversion of delivery
fees.  HKTI was seeking to recover $280 million it
allegedly paid by mistake to New World in delivery fees, as
said calls actually terminated on New World's network.

While formal hearing for the civil lawsuit got underway,
New World made an application to the Court of First
Instance for determination of legal questions concerning
delivery fees. The application also sought an
interpretation of HKTI claim deemed inconsistent with terms
and conditions issued by the Office of Telecommunications
Authority in September 1995.

Roger Henderson, counsel for New World, argued that if a
party had made what turned out to be a harsh agreement, it
was not the function of the court to come to its aid. He
also argued that interconnection in the technical sense had
indeed taken place, the calls in question had ultimately
been delivered and New World indisputably had played a part
within that delivery process.

But Richard Field, counsel for HKTI, argued that what was
apparently being done by New World,in terms of intermediate
delivery, conferred no benefit whatever on the party or
HKTI, which actually paid the delivery fee.

"After reflecting upon the argument, together with the
wealth of material placed before the court, I have decided
that in the exercise of my discretion I should decline this
application," Mr Justice Stone said in his judgement
dismissing the application. (Hong Kong Standard  06-April-
2000)


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

DAI-ICHI HOTEL LTD: Asks banks to forgive debt
----------------------------------------------
Dai-Ichi Hotel Ltd (TSE:9710) says it has asked Long-Term
Credit Bank of Japan and other financial institutions to
relinquish 23 billion yen (US$ 219.05 million) in loans,
eliminating the firm's negative net worth and allowing it
to shoot for an earnings recovery in its core hotel
business.

Dai-Ichi Hotel faces a negative net worth of 23 billion yen
for the fiscal year ended Friday, due to an extraordinary
charge of 26.9 billion yen.  The company aims to have its
lenders sound off on the request this month.  It has asked
LTCB, which recently came out from under state control, to
abandon claims to 5.5 billion yen in loans.

Assuming that the loans are forgiven, Dai-Ichi Hotel will
reduce its capital by roughly 3.7 billion yen for fiscal
1999.  The Hankyu Corp (TSE:9042) group, a major
shareholder, will then buy three billion yen worth of new
shares to be issued in fiscal 2000.

Dai-Ichi Hotel President Takeshi Nebashi will step down to
take responsibility for his firm's performance. The hotel
operator has asked the Hankyu group to dispatch his
successor.  The firm also announced that it will trim
expenses by 2.8 billion yen via personnel cuts and other
measures over the two years through fiscal 2001.  It will
scale back nonhotel businesses like real estate and travel.

Through these measures, Dai-Ichi Hotel will shoot for a
pretax profit of 200 million yen on revenue of 15.6 billion
yen in fiscal 2001.  (Asia Pulse  05-April-2000)

JAPAN VILENE CO.: Forecasts 2.2B Yen group net loss
---------------------------------------------------
Japan Vilene Co. (3514) forecasts a consolidated net loss
of 2.2 billion yen for the year through March 2001, it was
learned on Wednesday. Japan's largest maker of nonwoven
cloth estimates a net loss of 2.3 billion yen.

The bottom line will improve in the year starting April
thanks to the absence of special retirement benefits paid
to early retirees in fiscal 1999. Even so, an extraordinary
loss of 5.5 billion yen to cover underfunding of the firm's
pension benefit program will offset this positive effect.

Revenue is projected to increase 5% to 53.5 billion yen
from the estimate for fiscal 1999.  Pretax profit is
expected to rise 150% to 2.4 billion yen on staff
reductions and other cost-cutting measures.

As of the end of February 2000, the company's total pension
liabilities stood at 20.1 billion yen against assets of
14.6 billion yen, assuming a discount rate of 3.5%. The
firm plans to cover the shortfall in fiscal 2000.

For fiscal 1999, revenue will rise 2% to 51 billion yen due
to stronger demand for floor mats for minivehicles and
separators for cell phone batteries.  Japan Vilene will
chalk up special retirement benefit payments of 2.9 billion
yen for some 150 workers who leave the company before the
mandatory retirement age. (Nikkei  05-April-2000)

NAGASAKIYA CO.: Cerberus named rehab sponsor
--------------------------------------------
Cerberus Group has been named as a sponsor for the
rehabilitation of supermarket chain operator Nagasakiya Co.
(8262), the first time a foreign company has been tapped to
lead the revival of a domestic nonfinancial firm.

The introduction of foreign money seeking riskier
investments could invigorate the Japanese economy, analysts
say, pointing out that with domestic investors tending to
shun high-risk investments, the recent moves by Cerberus
could signal the start of corporate rehabilitation being
led by overseas groups.

Cerberus Group's success in nabbing Nagasakiya comes after
it was frustrated in bids for Nippon Credit Bank and the
former Japan Leasing Corp.  It is estimated that the cost
of acquiring Nagasakiya will run to tens of billions of yen
-- and the price could balloon even further.

Nevertheless, Cerberus Asia Capital Management LLC
President William Richter emphasizes that the amount is no
problem when compared to the size of the fund.  Cerberus
Group has about 6.7 billion dollars at its disposal, of
which some 2 billion dollars has been earmarked for
investments in Japan. Moreover, Cerberus Group will bring
in other foreign partners to help with the rehabilitation
of Nagasakiya.

Cerberus this year is weighing two or three more
investments on the same scale as Nagasakiya, according to
an executive with the group.  In addition, Cerberus has
already acquired about 2.5 trillion yen in bad loans from
domestic financial institutions, making it a major creditor
to many failed firms. (Nikkei  06-April-2000)

SOGO CO.: To ask for 639B Yen debt waiver;Chairman to quit
----------------------------------------------------------
The Sogo Co. (8243) group finalized a decision Wednesday to
seek a debt waiver totaling 639 billion yen from creditor
banks as part of a sweeping restructuring initiative.

The Sogo group's lead bank, Industrial Bank of Japan
(8302), is expected to agree to the debt forgiveness
package, informed sources said. The debt cancellation would
be the largest on record for non-financial firms in Japan.

As part of the deal, Sogo Chairman Hiroo Mizushima, who
effectively controls the Sogo group, will resign from all
Sogo board positions to take responsibility for the losses,
as well as sell off his entire equity stake in the group.
The Sogo group, which includes 27 domestic department
stores, is saddled with about 1.7 trillion yen in interest-
bearing liabilities.

But Sogo expects to book gains of about 69 billion yen on
the sale of its Osaka department store and shares from its
securities portfolio. With these gains, plus the debt
cancellations, the group aims to pare down its debt load by
710 billion yen.

Under the debt waiver package outlined by Sogo, Industrial
Bank of Japan will cancel roughly 180 billion yen in loans,
shouldering about 28% of the total. Long-Term Credit Bank
of Japan will waive 97 billion yen, for just over 15% of
the total. A group of 70 other credit banks will be asked
to write off 362 billion yen.

The Sogo group is expected to report a pretax loss of about
3 billion yen in the fiscal year ended February, with some
70% of its department stores operating in the red. (Nikkei
06-April-2000)

TOKYO SOWA BANK: LTCB in lead for purchase
------------------------------------------
The Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan (LTCB), a failed bank
reborn as a unit of a US investment group, is heading the
running to buy another failed Japanese bank, according to
sources.

Success for the bank in its bid to buy Tokyo Sowa Bank, a
second-tier regional bank that failed last June, would be a
boost to plans by Ripplewood Holdings to expand its
presence in Japan's promising retail market following its
121 billion yen (about HK$8.93 billion) takeover of LTCB
earlier this year.

However, some government officials and ruling party
politicians are said to be unhappy that a successful bid by
the bank would see it getting a second hand-out of public
funds.

"LTCB is currently ahead of the race because its takeover
plans look better than those of other contenders," one
source said. "But this does not mean victory is already
ensured."

After being placed under state control in October 1998,
LTCB was rehabilitated with a 3.6 trillion yen injection of
public funds and Tokyo Sowa is also expected to receive
public cash to clean up its debts.  Tokyo Sowa said in
December that its debts exceeded assets by 381.6 billion
yen as of September 30, almost four times the level at the
end of March last year.

"If LTCB took over Tokyo Sowa, the bank would end up
receiving public money twice," said one government
official. (South China Morning Post  06-April-2000)

ZEXEL CORP.: Stock still down 60% since last October
----------------------------------------------------
Shares of fuel injection pump producer Zexel Corp. (6041)
held steady at around 400 yen until October 1999, but fell
to a record low of 126 yen on March 24 as investors grew
nervous that cost-cutting efforts by automakers would choke
parts manufacturers' earnings.

Bargain hunters have been moving in more recently, pushing
the price back up to about 160 yen.  Zexel revised its
parent earnings outlook for fiscal 1999 downward in late
February, fueling pressure to sell. It said it will take an
extraordinary loss to dispose of one of its car air
conditioner businesses, and likely record a net loss of 8
billion yen, worse than an earlier forecast of a 2.5
billion yen loss.

"The market lost faith because the company parceled out the
bad news," says Nomura Securities Co. analyst Koichi
Sugimoto.

Analysts say Zexel's earnings are strongly influenced by
domestic truck sales, which are forecast at just 84,000
units this fiscal year, well below the 100,000 level that
was the norm in the first half of the 1990s. Company
officials say they are undertaking reforms that will make
the firm profitable even if truck sales reach only 80,000.

A Daiwa Institute of Research analyst disagrees, saying,
"Domestic truck inventories are large, and the near-term
earnings outlook is difficult."

It will be hard for the share price to move higher without
clear signs of an earnings recovery. (Nikkei  06-April-
2000)


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

DAEWOO GROUP: Sued for high-handed shareholder acts
HYUNDAI CONSTR.ENG.: Sued for high-handed shareholder acts
KOOKMIN BANK: Sued for high-handed shareholder acts
----------------------------------------------------------
A few large companies did things the old way in recent
shareholders' meetings _ throwing out angry and talkative
minority shareholders and railroading key agenda without
their presence.

But with a new resolve, minority shareholders are no longer
putting up with brazen-faced corporate managers and keeping
their anger to themselves.

Lee Woo-yong was pulled out by Hyundai employees during the
shareholders' meeting at Hyundai Construction and
Engineering March 29 while protesting the sharp fall in
share prices. He filed a complaint with the prosecutor's
office against Hyundai President Kim Yoon-kyu Saturday.

"We minority shareholders were completely blocked from
voicing a statement during the meeting due to all the
proxies from the company," Lee claimed.  "I finally got a
chance to speak out. But as soon as I started to speak I
had Hyundai employees all over me and dragging me out of
the room."

Lee complained in the petition that he received injuries
that required three weeks of hospitalization.  "If I shut
up this time, Hyundai's unilateral management will go on
forever and our rights as minority shareholders will remain
ignored. The prosecution must punish Hyundai for the
assault," he said.

Lee is not alone in the fight against Goliath in taking
legal action against high-handed corporate management,
which has little regard for minority shareholders.

Kookmin Bank changed the location for its shareholders'
meeting March 18 without advance notice to shareholders. It
passed the appointment of a new president allegedly
handpicked by the government with few minority shareholders
present.  Unionists of Kookmin will file a petition at the
Seoul District Court to nullify the meeting and also
applied for a suspension of new president Kim Sang-hoon's
appointment.

Daewoo companies are seeing a handful of lawsuits on top of
the group's numerous other problems, but they asked for it.
Having to pass a capital decrease and corporate break-up
under the workout arrangement with their creditors, they
had ignored minority shareholders from the start.

"We minority shareholders arrived at the shareholders'
meeting site before 6:30 a.m., but the place was already
packed with over 500 proxies from companies," said Yoon
In-suk, a minority shareholder of Daewoo Electronics.
"All ten of us could not set foot in the room. The meeting
ended in only 10 minutes."

Yoon is raising funds via the anti-Daewoo site
(www.antjuju.com) after filing a petition for provisional
disposition. The first trial opens Saturday.  Minority
shareholders of Daewoo Heavy Industries also filed a suit
to nullify the results of the meeting.

Most listed companies all promised to turn more
shareholder-oriented and respect the voice of minority
shareholders in management. But few have kept their word.
Some intentionally chose a small room and filled it with
its own employees in order to prevent minority shareholders
from entering. Others hired musclemen in the meeting site
to create an intimidating atmosphere.

"Minority shareholders are not acting like they did in the
old days. They are no longer mere investors but want to
help make management decisions," said Lee Seung-hee of the
People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD). The
PSPD provides legal support to minority shareholders. "But
the problem is that local companies are still not ready to
accept this change in minority shareholders," Lee said.

She warned companies to brace up for more powerful minority
shareholders because they will be seeing a lot of them in
the future. (Korea Times  05-April-2000)

DAEWOO MOTOR CO.: Hyundai Motor union workers protest sale
----------------------------------------------------------
About 38,000 union workers at Hyundai Motor Co., South
Korea's largest carmaker, walked off the job as planned to
protest the possible sale of Daewoo Motor Co. to a foreign
buyer.

The union workers plan to return home after a 10 a.m.
meeting at their plants on the first day of a seven-day
strike, Hyundai Motor union spokesman Han Hyung Keen said.
Hyundai workers had been holding two-hour strikes on Monday
and Tuesday.

"Halting the work is part of our protest to keep our job
security," Han said. "We are concerned the possible foreign
acquisition would lead to the massive layoff of workers in
the Korean auto industry."

Hyundai's all-out strike follow similar measures at Daewoo
Motor. Union workers at Kia Motors Corp. and Sssangyong
Motor Co. are also scheduled to join the strikes. The
widening strike, which began Friday when 10,000 Daewoo
plant workers stopped work, could disrupt the rapid
expansion of Korean auto production.

Employees are concerned that Daewoo Motor, which can
produce 1.07 million cars at home and 784,000 vehicles
overseas, will face major job cuts if the company is
acquired by a foreign company.  Among those looking to buy
the company are General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co.,
DaimlerChrysler AG, Fiat SpA, and Hyundai Motor. (Bloomberg
05-April-2000)

DAEWOO MOTORS: GM still interested in acquisition
-------------------------------------------------
A top General Motors (GM) official yesterday reaffirmed
GM's interest in troubled Daewoo Motor Co. and said the
troubled South Korean car maker was "slowly dying" amid an
ongoing strike.

Rudolph Schlais, president of General Motors Asia Pacific,
said the company was awaiting more certainty on the
situation of Daewoo Motor before pursuing its planned
acquisition.

"We feel very strongly though that we can help the
company," Schlais told reporters here following the launch
of a new vehicle under GM's Opel marque. "Our concern is in
fact, today, the company is operating on 40 to 45 percent
of capacity and so it's slowly dying."

Some 10,000 workers of Daewoo Motor have been on strike
since last Friday to protest the planned sale of the ailing
auto maker to a foreign firm.  The union strike came after
four foreign companies - US auto giants Ford and GM,
Italy's Fiat and Germany's DaimlerChrysler - as well as
South Korea's top manufacturer Hyundai Motor Co. applied to
take over Daewoo Motor.

South Korea views its auto industry as one of the symbols
of national economic pride, and the first sale of a Korean
car firm to a foreign company would mark a turning point in
its industrial history. (Business Day  06-April-2000)

DAEWOO MOTORS: More affiliates crying foul
------------------------------------------
Amid attacks from Hyundai Motor in India that Daewoo Motor
is headed for bankruptcy, Daewoo's other affiliates are
also getting attacked by its Korean competitors abroad.

According to sources from Daewoo yesterday, Daewoo's
competitors are telling its contractors and customers that
"Daewoo is going bankrupt," and asking "How can you trust
companies that are under debt workout?"

The source said despite their difficult situation, the
attacks have not decreased. For example, Daewoo Corp., the
trading arm of the business group, is in the midst of
contract negotiations with the Tajikistan government for a
200 million dollar deal. However, one its competitors in
Korea sent negative newspapers clippings about the debt
workout programs to the Tajikistan government - lowering
Daewoo's chance of inking the deal, according to the
sources.

Furthermore, Daewoo was attempting to extend a business
contract with a company in Uzbekistan, but its bid to
secure the deal was hampered by another one its domestic
competitor, which explained, in detail, Daewoo's debt
situation to the company. To add more salt to the wound,
while Daewoo won the rights to redevelop a neighborhood in
southern Seoul, with a consortium that includes Samsung
Corp., a rival consortium sent promotional materials,
asking if a consortium with Daewoo in it can be trusted.

Similarly, in December last year, one domestic electric
alliance company placed an ad in the newspaper stating that
Daewoo's washers are the worst in Korea. In response,
Daewoo, earlier this year, placed its own ad saying that
the statement was false. Daewoo Heavy Industries' also
received similar attacks, but it said it will not respond
to such attacks.

"It's hard to accept the attacks from our competitors as
marketing tactics. What would the foreign companies think
when they see Korean companies bickering over each other,"
said a source at Daewoo Corp.

On Wednesday, Daewoo Motor announced that it is planning to
take legal actions against Hyundai Motor both at home and
in India where it placed newspaper ads a vising readers not
to buy Daewoo cars since the company is headed for
bankruptcy. (Korea Times  05-April-2000)

SAMSUNG MOTORS: Creditors agree to extend negotiations
------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of Samsung Motors have agreed to extend
negotiations until April 21 on the sale of the bankrupt
South Korean carmaker to Renault of France as they try to
resolve a dispute over debt issues.

A three-month period in which Renault had exclusive
negotiating rights ended on March 31. However, the two
sides resumed talks on Monday in Seoul.  A recent
disclosure that Samsung Motors owed a hidden debt of $262M
to Samsung Corporation had delayed the deal.

Samsung Corporation demanded that Renault pay the debt but
the French carmaker said it would not assume any of the
Dollars 3.77bn owed by Samsung Motors.  (Financial Times
[London]  05-April-2000)


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

EDARAN OTOMOBIL NASIONAL: Facing serious losses
-----------------------------------------------
Edaran Otomobil Nasional Bhd., or EON, could become an
unlikely casualty in Malaysian state oil company Petroliam
Nasional Bhd's takeover of the country's national car
project.

For more than a year, Petronas's planned purchase of a
controlling 32% interest in EON, Malaysia's biggest car
distributor, from Hicom Holdings Bhd. has been bogged down
by disagreements over how much the oil company should pay.
The negotiations have been complicated recently by a
dispute over a distribution agreement between EON and
national car maker Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Bhd., or
Proton.

That agreement became a sticking point last month, when
Petronas signed a deal to acquire Hicom's 27.2% equity
stake in Proton for 1.03 billion ringgit ($271.1 million).
Hicom officials insist the EON sale is still on track. But
financial executives close to Petronas say continued delays
in closing the deal could cause EON to lose its position as
Proton's main distributor to Usahasama Proton-DRB Sdn.
Bhd., or USPD, an 85%-owned Proton unit that already
distributes some Proton models.

"The longer the (EON) sale stakes, the bigger the
attraction it will be for Petronas and Proton to develop
USPD," says a senior executive close to national car
project.

The developments could deal a serious blow to EON, a blue-
chip company that controls one of the Malaysia's top 10
banks and holds a 20% equity interest Singapore's Cycle &
Carriage Ltd., which recently led a consortium that
acquired a 40% interest in Indonesian auto maker PT Astra
International. Nearly 60% of EON's earnings comes from
distributing Proton cars; another 30% comes mainly from
financing the vehicle purchases.

Analysts tracking EON haven't downgraded the car
distributor's prospects. But several say they are watching
the situation closely. "It is easy to argue why Proton and
Petronas want to develop a company where they own 85%
rather that an associate concern," says one auto industry
analyst, who declined to be named for fear of being cut off
the information stream of the national car maker and EON.

"EON is surely going to lose part of its car business to
USPD. How much will depend on details of the new
distribution agreement," says another analyst who follows
the company.

Analysts estimate that EON will post an after-tax profit
between 435 million and 450 million ringgit in the year
ending Dec. 31. That is down from the 512 million ringgit
EON earned last year, in part, because Malaysia declared
1999 a one-time, tax-free year for local companies as part
of its economic recovery program.

EON's managing director Adzmi Abdul Wahad declined to
comment on the threat of USPD emerging as rival in the
distribution business. Nor would he discuss the status of
negotiations over EON's distribution agreement with Proton.
But Mr. Adzmi said in a written response to questions that
negotiations "will take some time" because the distribution
agreement is a "long-term business arrangement and requires
in-depth study by both parties."

Hicom Holdings Chairman Saleh Sulong sayd negotiations to
sell EON are continuing with Petronas. He contends that
Petronas initially pledged to acquire Hicom's interest in
both Proton and EON as part of its takeover of the national
car project, which was unveiled in October 1997.

Petronas officials weren't available for comment. But
financial executives close the state oil company say that
the pricing of EON's stock remains a key obstacle to a
deal. Bankers close to negotiations say Petronas has valued
EON at 11 ringgit a share, a discount to EON's current
stock price of 14 ringgit on the Kuala Lumpur Stock
Exchange.

Petronas believes it has the upper hand in the talks, the
executives say. Since EON is heavily dependent on Proton
for business, they say, Petronas doesn't necessarily need
to acquire control of the car distributor, and an arm's-
length relationship with EON is sufficient.

They add that Petronas is only interest in EON's car sales
business and is reluctant to take over the netire company,
because it would then be saddled with the task of selling
EON's other assets, including its financial services
business and its investment in Cycle & Carriage. (The Asian
Wall Street Journal  05-April-2000)

HALIM SECURITIES: Being acquired by Apex unit
---------------------------------------------
A subsidiary of Apex Equity Holdings Bhd is to acquire the
business of Halim Securities Sdn Bhd for RM100mil, plus an
additional RM8.52mil for unabsorbed tax losses following
the acceptance of its tender by Halim's special
administrators.

Kajang-based JF Apex Securities Bhd will not assume any of
Halim's liabilities which run into the millions of ringgit,
and upon completion of the tender, it will be allowed to
establish a branch office in Petaling Jaya.

In an statement to the KLSE yesterday, Apex said JF Apex's
tender comprised the acquisition of both Halim's
stockbroking business and the full rights to access and re-
activate Halim's database of clients.  The RM100mil offer
price would be satisfied via RM35mil in cash from JF Apex's
internally generated funds, and RM65mil in irredeemable
convertible unsecured loan stocks (Iculs) which carry a
coupon rate of 5% annually payable in arrears.

The 5-year Iculs are convertible into ordinary shares in
Apex at RM3.60 per share, which represents a 10% discount
on the weighted average share price of Apex for the five
market days up to and including Feb 18.  The acquisition is
expected to have a positive impact on the future earnings
of the Apex group. Assuming full conversion of the Iculs,
Apex's share capital would be enlarged to RM278.58mil from
RM213.56mil now.

Apex said the acquisition would enable the group to expand
its stockbroking business into the lucrative Klang Valley
as part of its plans to position itself as a key player in
the industry.  At the same time, it would enable Halim's
special administrators to formulate a workout proposal to
settle the company's debts.

The tender is subject to the execution of a business
merger/takeover agreement with Halim's special
administrators, and approval of the relevant authorities
and shareholders of Apex and JF Apex.  JF Apex's successful
tender is believed to have been at the expense of five or
six other bidders, some of which are much bigger than the
company.

This was JF Apex's first bid for Halim, and its financial
capability, management expertise, plus clean track record,
are said to have helped it clinch the deal.  Halim had been
greatly coveted by numerous parties keen to get a piece of
the Petaling Jaya-based stockbroking company's business.
But Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Bhd's two previous offers
of Halim's business via sale by tender drew no winners.

Danaharta noted that while there was "significant interest"
in Halim, the previous bidders had not met the requirements
of offering a price equal to, or higher than, the estimated
fair value of the business, and satisfying the initial
suitability criteria set by the Securities Commission.

The debt-ridden stockbroking firm had reported a pre-tax
loss of RM32.7mil for its financial year ended June 30,
1999, due to its interest burden. In the previous
corresponding period, it had posted a pre-tax loss of
RM365mil.

The firm was put under the management of the special
administrators on Feb 12 last year after its dealer's
licence was suspended on June 8, 1998 due to its failure to
fulfil the KLSE's minimum liquid funds requirement, and
failure to settle RM9.67mil outstanding due to the
Securities Clearing Automated Network Services.

Halim is the 80%-owned subsidiary of Uniphoenix Corp Bhd,
which is still under court-sanctioned protection from its
creditors by virtue of numerous restraining orders under
Section 176 of the Companies Act.  Shares of Apex were last
traded at RM4.10 last Friday. They will resume trading
tomorrow. (The Star  06-April-2000)

LEADER UNIVERSAL HOLDINGS: Subsidiary declared distressed
---------------------------------------------------------
Leader Universal Holdings Bhd said its unit Incab
Industries Ltd of India has been declared "financially
distressed".

The company said in a statement that Incab had been awarded
legal immunity while it completed a suitable debt
restructuring arrangement with creditors. Leader said it
had made full provisions for its investment and possible
liabilities in Incab in its 1999 accounts.

In a separate statement, Leader revised up its 1999 net
loss to RM341.411mil from RM320.794mil mainly due to a
provision of RM19.426mil for the corporate guarantee given
to Incab Industries Ltd. (The Star  06-April-2000)

PILECON ENGINEERING: Debt-restructuring agreement inked
-------------------------------------------------------
Pilecon Engineering Bhd's debt restructuring agreement with
selected financial institutional creditors in relation to
its issuance of up to RM181.9mil nominal value of 5-year
redeemable secured floating rate note (RSFN) had been duly
executed on March 30 this year.

The issuance of the RSFN to the selected financial
institutional creditors is pending finalisation and
execution of the trust deed and other relevant
documentation. (The Star  06-April-2000)


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

NATIONAL POWER CORP.: IPPs not keen on buyout plan
--------------------------------------------------
Independent power producers (IPPs) contracted by the state-
run National Power Corp. (Napocor) to supply electricity
are not too keen on the proposed buyout of power supply
deals.

First Private Power Philippines, Alsons Power Corp., and
Southern Energy Philippines said that while the buyout of
the contract is legal under the signed deal with Napocor,
it may not be an "easy task." The three companies have
existing Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) agreements with the
Napocor.

"This is not an easy thing to do. We have lenders that we
have to consult. We have more than one lender. Some IPPs
have two to 56 lenders. We have to consider the position of
all our stakeholders," Southern Energy vice-president for
external affairs Allan Paul M. Flake told BusinessWorld in
a telephone interview.

In another telephone interview yesterday executive vice-
president and chief operating officer of First Private
Power Philippines Ernesto B. Pantangco agreed that the
buyout should be conducted within the framework stated in
each contract signed between the IPP and Napocor.

"It is Napocor's option. There is a specific provision in
the contract stating a buyout. There is also a specific
formula for a buyout. It's really Napocor's option. But
they have not talked to us. In the end of the day what
should matter is our responsibilty to our creditors," he
said.

First Private Power has a contract with Napocor for the
225-megawatt (MW) Bauang diesel plant in Bauang, La Union.
The contract has still nine more years left before expiring
in 2010.  Last week, Napocor president Federico E. Puno
said the state firm is considering to buy out contracts to
cut costs.

Napocor has been bleeding from its obligations to these
IPPs as it has agreed to pay the companies even if the
plants are not running in full capacity. This is prevalent
considering a current oversupply of power in the country.
The contract price of the electricity is also higher than
the actual price Napocor sells its customers.

In a bid to save on costs, Mr. Puno said a buyout will be
an enticing option. Early this year, Napocor bought the
nine power barges from Southern Energy. Napocor had a
rehabilitate-maintain-operate contract with Southern for
these barges. Mr. Puno said Napocor was able to save 1
billion Philippine pesos (PhP) (US$24.30 million at
PhP41.172:US$1) from buying these out instead of finishing
the deal. The contract was supposed to expire in 2003.

Southern Energy has still three more contracts with Napocor
-- the Sual coal-fired power plant in Pangasinan, another
coal-fired power plant in Pagbilao, Quezon and the Navotas
1 and 2 diesel power plants. The 300MW Navotas 1 and 2 was
contracted for a 12-year period and is expected to expire
on 2006.  The 1,000MW Sual and 700MW Pagbilao coal-fired
power plants under a buil-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme
will expire on 2025.

For his part, Joseph C. Nocos, business development manager
of Alsons Power Corp., said Napocor haven't talked to them
about the planned buyout. But he said Napocor and Alsons
are presently talking about the possiblity of prolonging
the payment scheme of Napocor.

"Napocor has not approached us. But there are provisions in
the contract that govern the buyout move. We cannot comment
on the acceptability of the proposed buyout at this time,"
he said.  "But we are discussing in earnest with Napocor to
help them alleviate their financial condition. The
discussion is on the request to defer payment for a portion
of our capacity fee."

This will give Napocor a breather from its financial
obligations.  Senator Juan Ponce Enrile has sought the
investigation of the IPP contracts alleging that these are
onerous and disadvantageous to the government.

Mr. Enrile alleged that the state-owned firm incurred
PhP230 billion ($5.58 billion) in financial obligations as
a result of these deals. To recall, Napocor inked several
long-term power supply deals with IPPs during the power
shortage in the late 1980s to early 1990s. These deals have
contract periods covering 10 to 20 years.

Under the contracts, Napocor agreed to pay for the power,
regardless of whether it is actually produced or consumed,
at an average price of $76 per megawatt-hour. In contrast,
Napocor-generated power costs only $57 per megawatt-hour
(Business World  06-April-2000)

PETRON CORP.: Executives charged in tax scam
PILIPINAS SHELL PETROLEUM: Executives charged in tax scam
---------------------------------------------------------
Several former and present officials of Philippine oil
refiners Petron and Pilipinas Shell Petroleum are among 28
people to be charged for a tax-credit scam.

Philippine president Joseph Estrada yesterday said that
aside from graft, the suspects would also be "charged for
the heinous capital crime of plunder", an offence which
could result in the death penalty in the Philippines.

Among officials named were Petron's former chairman Monico
Jacob and ex-president Abdulaziz Al-Khayyal, a Saudi
national from petroleum firm Saudi Aramco, who was seconded
to the Philippines oil company, and the Shell general
manager in the Philippines, Pacifico Cruz.

Others alleged to have been involved in the scam of up to
one billion pesos (about HK$188.7 million) were present
Petron vice-president Celso Legarda, former finance
department officials, plus officers of 18 local garment
companies who allegedly illegally secured tax-credit
certificates from the finance department and sold them to
the oil companies at a discount.

Mr Estrada said the state ombudsman had completed
investigations and was ready to file charges. Mr Estrada
has come under constant attack for seeming to tolerate
graft in his administration. But Mr Estrada yesterday said
the government would relentlessly pursue its drive against
graft.

"This is only the first of the many graft and corruption
cases that we will file against big-time grafters and
corruptors," said Mr Estrada, himself implicated in a stock
market insider trading scandal recently.

Ombudsman Aniano Desierto said the officials could face the
death penalty if "it can be shown they were conniving with
public officials in a series of transactions, defrauding
the government."

The graft charges could bring a jail sentence of up to 15
years. (South China Morning Post  06-April-2000)

PILIPINAS SHELL: Claims losses of P1B in last six months
--------------------------------------------------------
Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. (Pilipinas Shell) said it
lost more than P1 billion in the past six months.

"The entire oil industry has suffered so much. It is time
to make some significant recoveries," said Oscar S. Reyes,
president of Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. (Pilipinas
Shell).

Pilipinas Shell earlier said it lost more than P200 million
in January and February this year as prices of imported
crude oil moved upwards. In the last four months of 1999,
Reyes estimated that the oil company lost more than P700
million.

After the March 27 meeting of the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) where it pledged to increase
production by 1.4 billion barrels, prices of crude slipped
to between $23 and $24 per barrel.

Nevertheless, Reyes said the possibility of a price
rollback in the immediate future or within April is remote.
He pointed out that while prices have stabilized in the $24
level, they still have huge losses to recoup since
September last year.

Prices were last increased in March this year by an average
P0.80 per liter although it only covered existing price
changes and not losses experienced since last year. That
could be translated to losses of approximately P2 per liter
in local pump prices of petroleum products as Shell
purchased crude oil at $24 per barrel but sold the same for
something like $22.

Energy Secretary Mario V. Tiaoqui admitted that government
is not prepared to forecast a possible rollback in prices
of petroleum products. (Philippine Star  07-April-2000)

PILIPINO TEL.CORP.: Piltel delayed in debt talks
------------------------------------------------
Beleaguered cellular firm Pilipino Telephone Corp. (Piltel)
says delays in documentation procedures prevented it from
finalizing debt restructuring talks with creditor-banks
last March 31.

In a telephone interview, Piltel investor relations manager
Deborah Anne N. Tan explained the documentation part is
usually the "most tedious" of the processes in a
negotiation.

"In any discussion such as ours, there are always nitty-
gritty details that will be argued about... but I believe
it is already in the process of being finalized and we
expect no major issue to come out later," Ms. Tan said. She
declined to provide a timetable, but said they are
expecting conclusion of debt talks soon.

The Piltel official also explained only the framework for
the debt plan was signed last October with the banks. Ms.
Tan said it will really take a while for the company and
its creditors to finalize the actual debt restructuring
agreement.

Piltel is saddled with 34.9-billion Philippine pesos (PhP)
(US$848.55 million at PhP41.129:US$1) debt to banks,
bondholders and Japanese supplier Marubeni Corp. as a
result of aggressive expansionary activities in 1996 and
1997. After the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding
last October, the cellular company was expecting completion
of debt talks with creditor-banks last March 31.

The terms agreed by Piltel and creditor-banks will be the
same terms used in negotiating with bondholders and
Marubeni.  Reacting to an earlier BusinessWorld report on
the postponed conclusion of debt talks, Piltel said they
are still negotiating the final terms of their debt
restructuring with the banks.

In a letter to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Piltel said
among the terms of the restructuring being ironed out is
the provision of a letter of support by parent firm,
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.

"As we have previously informed the exchange, such letter
of support will necessarily provide a cap on the amount
which PLDT will be prepared to infuse in Piltel and be
subject to PLDT's own contractual obligations," said the
company.

PLDT pronounced commitment of $150 million infusion in
Piltel, which is the limit set by the telecom giant's
strategic partner NTT Communications Corp. (Business World
07-April-2000)


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

BAMRUNGRAD HOSPITAL: Huge sell-off on firm's return
NAKORNTHAI STRIP MILL: Huge sell-off on firm's return
ROBINSONS DEPT.STORE: Huge sell-off on firm's return
SRIVARA REAL ESTATE: Huge sell-off on firm's return
-----------------------------------------------------
Stocks of four small financially-ailing companies took a
heavy beating yesterday, plunging between 50 and 70 per
cent after the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) allowed
them to temporarily resume trading.

The huge sell-off in the stocks failed to drag the rest of
the market down, with heavy speculative buying in Thai
Military Bank (TMB) helping to boost the composite index.
The SET index yesterday rose 2.63 points to 395.33 on a
sluggish trading volume of Bt3.064 billion.

The one-month trading in Nakornthai Strip Mill Plc (NSM),
Robinson Department Store Plc, Srivara Real Estate (S-VARA)
and Bamrungrad Hospital Plc (BH) was in line with the
delisting rule giving shareholders the chance to trade
shares after the companies have shown their intentions to
resolve their financial problems.

According to the regulation, stocks facing possible
delisting can trade freely without the 30-per-cent daily
ceiling or floor.  These stocks, presently listed under the
rehabilitation sector, have been suspended since March 3,
after they were included on the SET's possible delisting
list.

NSM and S-VARA were the most active yesterday, falling 50
per cent and 68 per cent, or Bt1.30 each, to close the day
at Bt1.30 and Bt0.60 respectively. Robinson and BH slid 50
per cent and 58 per cent, or Bt2.60 and Bt1.80, to close at
Bt2.60 and Bt3.10 respectively.

Arunrat Jiwangkul, a senior analyst at UOB Securities
(Thailand) Co Ltd, said it was normal for shares to drop
significantly when they resumed trading since they were
preparing for their rehabilitation plans.

"They are in the early stages of addressing their financial
problems and they will have to suspend again from May 8
until their earnings show a significant improvement.
Therefore, investors heavily dumped the stocks," she said.

Two of the companies have had problems because they were in
stagnating industries, with NSM being a steel manufacturer
and S-VARA a property developer.  NSM was vulnerable to
competition and product oversupply as other countries
dumped steel on the market, forcing prices down.

S-VARA was a victim of the crashing real estate market over
the past four years.  Arunrat said that although Robinson's
debt restructuring had made significant progress, it had
accumulated losses of as much as Bt10 billion and had
recently shut down some branches.

"It is impossible for Robinson to stage a significant
recovery and expand its business soon," she said.

According to Robinson's debt-restructuring plan, approved
by the company's shareholders a few days ago, the main
feature is a 90-per-cent stake to be held by its creditors
through a debt-to-equity swap programme. The department
store operator has US$459 million (Bt17.44 billion) in
debts.

BH, meanwhile, announced plans to issue 140 million shares,
of which 50 million will be sold via private placement and
the remainder reserved for the conversion of its
convertible debentures (CDs).  The CDs, carrying a 12-year
life span, will be divided into three batches and the
proceeds used to settle the company's debts as part of its
restructuring plan.  Arunrat said that investors should
avoid buying the four companies' stock.  (The Nation  06-
April-2000)

ROYAL CERAMIC INDUSTRY: Court orders rehabilitation
---------------------------------------------------
The Royal Ceramic Industry Public Company limited, through
Mr. Chakorn Warintraporn, Managing Director, and Thai
Farmers Bank Public Company limited jointly submitted the
petition for business rehabilitation with the Central
Bankruptcy Court, Bangkok on March 7, 2000 and the court
scheduled of the first hearing on April 4, 2000. The court
ordered for business rehabilitation and appointed The Royal
Ceramic Industry Public Company limited to be the planner.
(Stock Exchange of Thailand  05-April-2000)

THAI PETROCHEM.INDUS.: Creditors reject joint venture idea
----------------------------------------------------------
Thai Petrochemical Industry Plc's creditors have rejected
the company's proposal to establish a joint venture firm
which would oversee the restructuring of the company while
leaving current management in operational control, the
Asian Wall Street Journal reported.

The newspaper cited a letter sent by the creditors'
steering committee to TPI yesterday in which Steven Miller,
an attorney for the creditors, said the TPI proposal was
rejected as "an unnecessary complication."

The newspaper also cited a creditors' steering committee
letter sent to other creditors as saying that the TPI
proposal would delay the company's rehabilitation and
"provide TPI with a platform (from which) to seek
additional concessions from creditors."  (AFX News Limited
05-April-2000)

THAI PETROCHEM.INDUS.: Planners vie for TPI
-------------------------------------------
Ferrier Hodgson, a financial consulting firm with close
ties to Bangkok Bank, and Prachai Leophairatana, the chief
executive officer of Thai Petrochemical Industry Plc (TPI),
have separately mounted roadshows spanning six countries to
lobby for creditor support for their own rehabilitation
plans to lead the petrochemical company out of bankruptcy.

Anthony Norman, managing director of Ferrier Hodgson, is
lobbying hard for its 99-per cent owned Effective Planners
Co to become the planner or operator of TPI, which was
declared insolvent by the Central Bankruptcy Court.

He said Effective Planners has visited creditors in the
major financial centres of Hong Kong, Frankfurt, Seoul,
Tokyo, Singapore and Bangkok to secure their support.
The court has set April 19 as the day that creditors banks
- with a combined loan exposure of about US$3.5 billion
(Bt133 billion) to TPI - will have to choose a planner for
TPI.

Although Prachai did not get his way in the last court
battle, he is not admitting defeat. Instead, he is
countering the move by the Bangkok Bank-led group of
creditors by forming his own advisory firm, TPI Planner, to
contest the role of the planner.

According to Thai law, to be approved as the planner,
Prachai needs the support of only one third of the
creditors while the Bangkok Bank-led group of creditors
will have to muster at least two thirds of the vote among
themselves.

Over the past three weeks, Prachai and his aide,
Vachiraphand Phromprasert, have also been tramping to the
same financial centres that Ferrier Hodgson had visited to
promote their own version of a rehabilitation plan. Last
week, both Prachai and Phromprasert were seen in Seoul.

They claim that Ferrier Hodgson's rehabilitation plan was
hastily drawn up in a non-transparent way without
consulting other creditors.  Norman admitted that at this
point Effective Planners is still short of the two-thirds
support of the creditors needed for its rehabilitation plan
and it will redouble its efforts to get to that figure.

However, he said Effective Planners has got the nods of
most of the creditor banks making up the steering committee
that is negotiating with TPI for a debt-restructuring
agreement. The members of the steering committee hold about
60 per cent of TPI's total debt.

Norman said given the uncertainty of the bank votes, the
traders and suppliers, to whom TPI also owes money, might
cast swing votes.  He said that April 19 might fail to
produce a definite result. But he added that he intends to
invite Prachai to join in the Effective Planners'
management to increase confidence in its rehabilitation
plan.

Representatives from some 25 local creditors attended a
conference held by Ferrier Hodgson at the Regent Hotel
yesterday. Norman distributed a statement reassuring them
that Effective Planners is fully qualified to serve as the
planner and it has a good understanding of the
petrochemical business.

Besides, Norman said, the company has a wealth of
experience in restructuring Thai companies and will be in a
position to attract experts in the petrochemical field to
help run TPI. He rejected Prachai's proposal of March 24,
when he issued a statement drumming. (The National  06-
April-2000)

THAI PETROCHEM.INDUS.: TPI chief invited onto committee
-------------------------------------------------------
In a move to seek compromise with Thai Petrochemical
Industry Plc management in appointing a planner for the
company's rehabilitation, Effective Planner has invited TPI
chief executive Prachai Leopairatna to serve on its
executive committee.

Anthony Norman, managing director of Ferrier Hodgson,
parent company of Effective Planner, said Mr Prachai had
not yet responded to the invitation.  Effective Planner had
been nominated by some of TPI's creditors as the planner
for TPI, but it was opposed by TPI's management, and the
company had established a subsidiary called TPI Planner to
challenge the creditors.

As TPI had nominated a different planner, the planner
nominated by the creditors would have to be supported by
creditors holding two-thirds of the total debts. "It is
logical and sensible [to invite Mr Prachai]," Mr Norman
said, adding that Effective had no intention to remove
existing management from TPI.

On April 19, creditors of TPI will select a planner for the
industrial giant's $3.5 billion debt restructuring plan.
A fierce lobbying campaign has broken out, with Effective
Planner claiming support of around 60% of creditors,
including the steering committee represented by Bangkok
Bank, Citibank, Bank of America, US Export-Import Bank and
the International Finance Corporation.

If TPI is able to win support of more than one-third of
creditors, it would win the mandate. TPI says the new firm
would be jointly owned by a major accounting firm to ensure
neutrality and transparency in the planning process.
Yesterday, representatives of the creditors' steering
committee and Effective Planner met with some 25 financial
creditors to discuss the rehabilitation plan.

"Effective Planner is thoroughly familiar with the TPI
transaction, has considerable experience with the Thai
process for rehabilitation of companies and has the ability
to source superior petrochemical expertise," a steering
committee statement issued on Tuesday to creditors said.

Appointing TPI Planner would delay the restructuring
process, the steering committee claimed, giving the firm
additional time to seek concessions from creditors. TPI,
meanwhile, has proposed setting up a new company, TPI
Planners, to implement the restructuring plan.

Key objectives of TPI Planner would be to maximise
cashflow, ensure equal treatment of creditors and maintain
transparency in the planning process.  The steering
committee said while it agreed with the objectives, "in
view of the history of negotiations to date, it is not
confident in TPI's willingness or ability to act in the
best interests of all parties."

Effective Planner denied criticism lodged by TPI that it
lacked sufficient staff or capital to implement the
restructuring plan. The company said Ferrier Hodgson was
managing transactions in Thailand with debt of around $8
billion, and has retained some 40 chemical engineers to
work with TPI if existing management refuse invitations to
cooperate.

Effective Planner also said allegations by TPI that the
firm had been criticised by the Bank of Thailand had been
denied by the central bank. Effective also challenged
claims by TPI management that it had operated the company
efficiently, citing operating results showing a decline in
profits from 1999 to the year before.

"TPI's auditors have been unable to express an opinion on
the December 1999 financial statements due to uncertainties
about asset values in the balance sheet and the
recoverability of intercompany receivables," the steering
committee said, adding the company had since dismissed its
auditors.

Accepting TPI Planner would lead to additional writeoffs
for creditors and weakening of covenants in the
restructuring plan, the committee said, but TPI insists
that it would comply with terms agreed to earlier with
creditors. (Bangkok Post  06-April-2000)

WONGPAITOON GROUP: Summarizes financial restructuring
-----------------------------------------------------
Wongpaitoon Group Public Company Limited, through Vijak
Sirising, Director, reports to the Stock Exchange of
Thailand on its financial restructuring as follows:
1. Total Restructured Indebtedness to participate in the
plan is approximately Baht 3,880,684,432.22.
2. The Restructured Indebtedness shall be classified to be
4 classes as follows:

Class I Debt Working capital facilities with securities
- Principal payment shall be paid on the tenth anniversary
or after the Class IV Debt is repaid in full. The maximum
outstanding working capital facilities provided hereunder
shall at any one time not exceed Baht 750,000,000.
- The Class I Debt shall bear interest in the rate to each
relevant credit facilities.

Class II Debt New Working Capital, equivalent to the amount
of US$ 15,000,000:
- The repayment of principal of Class II Debt shall be
repaid within 4 years on a monthly basis in the following
manner:
(i) for each first and second month of each calendar
quarter at the amount of not less than 15% each of the
amount due on quarterly basis, and (ii) for the third month
of each calendar quarter for the amount of 70% of the
remaining amount.
- The Class II Debt shall bear interest at the highest rate
of Minimum Lending Rate of the Creditors of Class II Debt.

Class III Debt Matching amount 75% of Existing Loan of the
Class II Creditors:
- The principal shall be repaid within 6 years on a monthly
basis in the following manner: (i) for each first and
second month of each calendar quarter at the amount of not
less than 15% each of the amount due on quarterly basis,
and (ii) for the third month of each calendar quarter for
the amount of 70% of the remaining amount.
- The interest rate shall be pay on monthly basis:
Year Interest Rate (per annum)
1 6%
2 7%
3 8.25%
4 MLR
5 MLR+1
6 MLR+2

The MLR Rate of Class III Debt shall be the average MLR of
Siam Commercial Bank, Bangkok Bank, Bank of Ayudhaya and
Siam City Bank.
- The restructure fee shall pay in full on the sixth
anniversary and shall be mutually agreed upon by the
Company and Class III Debt Creditors to ensure that the
Class III Debt Creditors would suffer no book loss. The
restructure fee shall be the difference between the actual
amount of interests received by each of the Class III
Debt Creditors and the MLR of each Creditors of Class III.

Class IV Debt Balance of Existing Loan which no securities
and some of securities debt:

Class IV (A) Securities Debt - No Debt to Equity
Conversion
Class IV (B) Balance of Existing Debt - Debt to Equity
Conversion
- The principal shall be paid with 9 years in a pro rata by
monthly basis in the following manner: (i) for each first
and second month of each calendar quarter at the amount of
not less than 15% each of the amount due on quarterly
basis, and (ii) for the third month of each calendar
quarter for the amount of 70% of the remaining amount.
- The interest shall be pay monthly basis at the following
rate:
Year Interest Rate (per annum)
1 5%
2 5%
3 7%
Year 4 - 9 MLR

The MLR rate shall be the average MLR of Siam Commercial
Bank, Bangkok Bank, Bank of Ayudhaya and Siam City Bank.
- Class IV (B) Debt shall be Debt to Equity Conversion Baht
700 million or 225.8 million ordinary shares (Debt
Converted Shares). The Company shall issue warrants and
offer to the Class IV (B) Debt Creditors at the rate of 2
warrants per 3 Debt Converted Shares. The warrants shall be
exercisable (on a quarterly basis and in accordance with
the regulations of the SEC and the SET within 5 years) at
Baht 2.25 per share.

3. The Company shall acquire the Reebok outsole production
operating business unit from SUL at the value of Baht 1.284
billion and will be paid by converted shares at Baht 3.10
per share. In accordance with analysis of the Independent
Financial Advisor "Finansa Asian Merchant Banking", this
acquisition value and term of payment is fair and
acceptable.

4. The Company shall increase its share capital from Baht
280 million to Baht 4.422 billion at the par value of Baht
10.00 per share and at subscription price of Baht 3.10 per
share.

5. The restructure of the Restructured Indebtedness will
become effective only upon the fulfillment of all
conditions precedent as set out below:
(i) Restructuring Agreement and Security Agreement in the
form and substance acceptable to the Majority Creditors and
duly executed by the Creditors and the Company;
(ii) Debt Converted Share Purchase Agreement duly executed
between the Company and the Creditors on terms and
conditions acceptable to the Majority Creditors;
(iii) Assets Purchase Agreement duly executed between the
Company and SUL on terms and conditions acceptable to the
Majority Creditors;
(iv) Intercreditor Agreement duly executed among the
Creditors on terms and conditions acceptable to the
Majority Creditors;
(v) All corporate and regulatory approvals of the Company
and the Creditors required for the implementation of the
transactions contemplated hereby have been fulfilled,
obtained and achieved;
(vi) Written consent from Reebok to the restructuring of
the Company as contemplated herein;
(vii) The Bankruptcy Court has approved the Restructuring
Plan of the Company;
(viii) The Management Agreement duly executed between the
Company and executives of the Company as required by the
Majority Creditors; and
(ix) The Shareholders Agreement duly executed among the
Creditors and the Company on terms and conditions
acceptable to the  Majority Creditors as well as the Shares
Custodian Agreement, in the form and substance acceptable
to the Majority Creditors, to be executed among the
Creditors and The Industrial Finance Corporation of
Thailand (IFCT) in its capacity as Custodian.

6. CDRAC Second Vote Result on March 28, 2000

Total indebtedness for voting Baht 3,356,724,068.54
Participate 9 Banks Eligible to vote 8 Banks

From 8 Banks Eligible to vote Debt Amount Head Court
Supported the Restructured Plan 5 Banks 84.58% 62.50%
Not Supported the Restructured Plan 3 Banks 15.42% 37.50%

7. Tentative Timetable on Restructuring:

4 April Conference and discussion on establishment of
Wongpaitoon Planner Co.,Ltd.("Planner Company")
and filing of reorganization petition

7 April Registration of Planner Company at the MOC

4-16 April Prepare documents for filing of reorganization
petition with the Bankruptcy Court

17 April File the reorganization petition with the
Bankruptcy Court and request for appointment of planner

20 April (1) Court proceeds with the inquiry and publishes
the order accepting the petition in daily newspaper.
Automatic stay operates. (2) Submit the copy of petition to
all creditors and Company's registrar

24 April Advertise in daily newspaper twice.

20-25 April Company or creditors may object the petition
not less than 3 days before the first hearing.

2 May Hearing on proof of not less than Baht 10 million
indebtedness, justification of reorganization and
proof of good faith.

9 May Order for reorganization and appointment of planner
(Stock Exchange of Thailand  05-April-2000)


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