---

     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, May 4, 2000, Vol. 3, No. 87

                                 Headlines


* A U S T R A L I A *

BHP: HBI weakens an otherwise strong third quarter
BURNS PHILP FOOD NORTH AMERICA: Gets OK to redeem debt
MOBIL REFINERY: Refinery shutdown casts doubt on future
REINSURANCE AUSTRALIA CORP.: APRA inspector to investigate


* C H I N A  &  H O N G  K O N G *

CHEUNG SHING (HOLDING)MEDICINE: Facing winding up petition
SAM MEI CONTAINER TRANS.CO.: Facing winding up petition
THREE GORGES DAM PROJECT: Official flees with HK$930M


* I N D O N E S I A *

PT BANK OF NEGARA: Credit Lyonnais appointed finan.advisor
PT BAT INDONESIA: Threatens to shut down one plant


* J A P A N *

DAICHI INSURANCE CO.: Administrators to use new law
KAKUEI CORP.: Joint Corp. mulls coming to aid
KYOEI LIFE: S&P puts on watch, mulls downgrade
LIQUID AUDIO JAPAN INC.: Posts 681M Yen 9-mo. net loss
TOMEN CORP.: Creditors agree to $2Bil debt waiver


* K O R E A *

DAEWOO MOTORS: GM chair to visit Korea for purchase
DAEWOO MOTORS: GM requests equity swap in acquisition
KORAM BANK: Gov't rejects KorAm-Carlyle deal
KOREA HEAVY INDUSTRIES: Gov't to reschedule privatization


* M A L A Y S I A *

EDARAN OTOMOBIL NASIONAL: Proton-Hicom sale talks stalled
TIME dotCOM: Sapura bid seen as negative
TIME ENGINEERING: Sapura was working on Time debt


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

BW RESOURCES CORP.: D.Tan snubs DOJ hearing, seeks halt
BW RESOURCES CORP.: Officials get to answer charges
URBAN BANK: Keppel seen vying for acquisition
URBAN BANK: Execs face charges
WESTMONT INVESTMENT CORP.: SEC asks to answer charges
WESTMONT INVEST.CORP.: Files countersuit vs Pearlbank


* T H A I L A N D *

BAN CHANG GROUP: 2 creditors object to bankruptcy petition
PRASIT COURT CO.: Court dismisses bankruptcy petition
PREMIER PRODUCT CO.: Court appoints restructure overseer
SAHAVIRIYA STEEL PLC.: To find investor by year-end
SOON HUA SENG GROUP: Creditors pressure nonpayments
SUBMICRON TECHNOLOGY: Creditors seek rehab advice
THAI OIL: To sell 19% stake to B.Grimm, Swiss Electric
UTHAI-THANI: Fujitsu to close shutter on camera arm


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

BHP: HBI weakens an otherwise strong third quarter
--------------------------------------------------
A further writedown of the book value of BHP's troubled hot
briquetted iron (HBI) project could dampen what is tipped
to be robust third quarter earnings for the company.

Stockbroking analysts expect BHP to reveal a writedown as
high as $500 million of the HBI assets when it announces
third quarter earnings tomorrow, reducing the book value
from $1.2 billion to just $700 million.

Technological problems continue to plague progress of the
HBI plant, which is already more than 12 months behind
schedule and almost $1 billion over budget. Analysts expect
HBI will post an operating loss of around $60 million for
the quarter.

The petroleum division, meanwhile, is again expected to be
the key contributor to a strong result with analysts
tipping BHP's net profit before abnormals at between $530
million to $550 million for the three months to the end of
March.  That figure is likely to jump to more than $600
million after taking into account an additional month to
incorporate the change of BHP's fiscal year from a May end
to a June end.

Petroleum is expected to generate around $265 million or
about 60 per cent of BHP's profit over three months and
$353 million for four months after crude oil prices
averaged $US28.69 a barrel for the quarter.

Increased copper sales are also expected to drive a strong
performance from the minerals division, tipped to
contribute around $235 million for three months and $303
million for four months, well up from $101 million
previously.  Analysts said BHP's third quarter result
should put the company on course for a pre-abnormal profit
of around $2 billion for the full year. (Sydney Morning
Herald  03-May-2000)

BURNS PHILP FOOD NORTH AMERICA: Gets OK to redeem debt
------------------------------------------------------
Burns Philp Food North America Inc. bondholders approved
the early redemption of A$300 million (US$174million) in
notes as part of the company's debt-refinancing plan. The
notes mature in mid-August 2003.

Burns Philp Food is a wholly owned unit of Australian food
company Burns Philp & Co. Tom Degnan, chairman of Burns
Philp Food and managing director of Burns Philip & Co.,
said the vote by bondholders marks an "important step
toward a successful refinancing of Burns Philp's debt.'
(The Asian Wall Street Journal  02-May-2000)

MOBIL REFINERY: Refinery shutdown casts doubt on future
-------------------------------------------------------
The troubled Mobil refinery at Port Stanvac will close
indefinitely from Saturday, casting a shadow over its
future.

The company yesterday promised that supplies of petrol
would not be interrupted, despite the closure.  Doubts over
the future of Adelaide's only fuel refinery have surfaced
again after Mobil moved to head off expected industrial
action over protracted enterprise bargaining with the
site's biggest union.

Mobil said yesterday that it was closing the refinery to
"assure continuity of supply through the industrial
relations negotiations."  The move is seen as an attempt to
cut the risk of a fuel shortage if workers walked off the
job.

Minerals and Energy Minister Wayne Matthew said he had been
reassured by Mobil the closure should have no effect on
petrol prices in SA.

"They have advised me that if there is an effect on price
it would be due to other market-related factors, but not
due to the closure of the refinery operation," Mr Matthew
said.

The National Union of Workers, representing 130 of the
site's estimated 350 employees, said it believed Mobil
planned to lock its members out after the closure, in an
effort to force an agreement.

"The company has signalled they want our members to shut
down the refinery," union state secretary Ron Docherty said
yesterday.  "To do it safely would take four to seven days
and we suspect at the end of that period they'll lock us
out."

But Mr Docherty said the union not Mobil would set the
refinery's industrial agenda.  A spokeswoman for Mobil said
that while the period of shutdown was not known, the
refinery would open again.

"There is a possibility of industrial action and we have
decided to shut down the refinery to assure supply," she
said. "The decision has been made to make alternate
arrangements for supply. Most of the requirements will be
sourced from Victoria."

The company has also been stockpiling fuel in SA over the
past few weeks.  The refinery has been working at 60 per
cent capacity about 60,000 barrels a day since Shell and BP
decided to obtain their South Australian fuel requirements
from interstate earlier this year.  The spokeswoman said
the workers at the refinery would not be laid off during
the shutdown, but would carry out maintenance and training.

A statement from the company late yesterday said
negotiations with the unions were progressing well.

"Negotiations between the company and the NUW are
proceeding positively with the assistance of the Australian
Industrial Relations Commission," refinery manager Glenn
Henson said.  "The agreement is critical to the future of
Mobil's South Australian refinery. Both parties have shown
willingness to discuss the issues." (The Advertiser  03-
May-2000)

REINSURANCE AUSTRALIA CORP.: APRA inspector to investigate
----------------------------------------------------------
Reinsurance Australia Corp has belatedly come under the
microscope of the Australian Prudential Regulation
Authority, which yesterday appointed an inspector to the
troubled group almost three months after it reported a
whopping $467 million net annual loss.

On March 24, ReAC announced it had received notices from
APRA, the insurance industry's key regulator, that it might
appoint an inspector. Yesterday, APRA moved in, revealing
Ernst & Young's Mr Kim Smith would report on "certain
aspects of the affairs of ReAC and its wholly owned
subsidiary Monde Re", including the group's assets and
liabilities and the managed run-off plan developed by ReAC.
ReAC rose 0.6c to 8.6c.

ReAC revealed in February soft premium rates and an
extraordinary sequence of claims events, including
windstorms in Europe and earthquakes in Turkey and Taiwan,
had resulted in an operating loss of $373 million and a
total loss after abnormals of $467 million. APRA is
responsible for looking after the interests of
policyholders under the Insurance Act. Under the Act, APRA
can appoint an inspector where it appears an insurance
company is unable to meet its liabilities or has
contravened the Act.

Through its run-off process, ReAC is settling obligations
to its policyholders and cancelling contracts. ReAC
declined to comment further but said it continued to liaise
with APRA on a co-operative basis, and welcomed the
opportunity of working with Mr Smith. APRA also declined to
comment. (Sydney Morning Herald  03-May-2000)


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

CHEUNG SHING (HOLDING)MEDICINE: Facing winding up petition
----------------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Court of First Instance,
has scheduled a hearing for May 24 on the petition of
Ng Hoi Ying for the winding up of Cheung Shing (Holding)
Medicine Ltd.  A notice of leagl appearance must be filed
on or before May 23.

SAM MEI CONTAINER TRANS.CO.: Facing winding up petition
-------------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Court of First Instance,
has scheduled a hearing for May 24 on the petition of
Wong Kwong Leung for the winding up of Sam Mei Container
Transportation Co.Ltd.  A notice of leagl appearance must
be filed on or before May 23.

THREE GORGES DAM PROJECT: Official flees with HK$930M
-----------------------------------------------------
In a fresh example of corruption plaguing the massive Three
Gorges Dam project, a senior official suspected of having
siphoned off more than one billion yuan (HK$930 million) of
state funds into overseas bank accounts has gone missing.

Staff at the Three Gorges Economic Development Corporation,
a subsidiary of the Three Gorges Project Construction
Committee, say they have not been paid for 11 months. The
man who has gone missing is manager Jin Wenchao, who they
say spent six years selling official posts and embezzling
money borrowed from state banks and investment funds. Jin
was detained by Beijing police last year but was later
released and has since disappeared. His son Jin Jiyuan is
under investigation by authorities in Zhengzhou.

The case, details of which are disclosed in today's South
China Morning Post, follows a report by state auditors
which revealed 470 million yuan was stolen last year. Since
then more than 100 officials have been punished. However,
critics of the project say corruption on a far greater
scale has taken place.

Dai Lansheng, a top executive at the Three Gorges
Industrial Company, which has carried out two-thirds of the
dam construction, was charged in January with embezzling
billions of yuan by importing hundreds of used lorries,
bulldozers, excavators and loading vehicles instead of new
ones.

From 1994 on, Dai allegedly imported a billion yuan's worth
of these products from the United States through a Hong
Kong dealer. But instead of new products, those he bought
were more than 20 years old. Engineers and workers
complained they did not work properly and this led to
costly repairs.

Dai worked for Qiao Shengxiang, who for 16 years ran the
Gezhouba Corporation that built and operated the Gezhouba
Dam. Some 64km downstream from the Three Gorges Dam, this
was another planning mistake. Instead of five years, it
took two decades to complete and cost four times the
original budget.

Qiao was fired last March and is under investigation. Dai
worked through a network of officials, up to the central
Government, who were said to have received kickbacks. Even
the education of Qiao's son was paid for out of public
funds.

Dai controlled all accounts at the Three Gorges Industrial
Corporation and used it like his personal enterprise,
denying access to auditors from the Gezhouba Corporation.
One-third of the US$122 million (HK$946 million) Dai
charged to the Three Gorges Industrial company for second-
hand equipment remains unaccounted for. He claimed to have
spent US$9 million renovating the Gezhouba Hotel but
provided no receipts.

Angered by the corruption, Premier Zhu Rongji has cut off
the Three Gorges Project Development Corporation's access
to direct subsidies and it has instead been largely relying
on issuing domestic bonds. The China Development Bank is
responsible for raising 65 per cent of funds.

The dam was approved in 1992 by the National People's
Congress to build the world's biggest hydroelectric station
on the Yangtze River near Chongqing, Sichuan province. The
project, expected to be completed in 2009, will now cost
more than 200 billion yuan and involves the resettlement of
1.2 to 1.5 million people. (South China Morning Post  03-
May-2000)


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

PT BANK OF NEGARA: Credit Lyonnais appointed finan.advisor
----------------------------------------------------------
Publicly listed state Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) announced
on Tuesday that it had appointed Credit Lyonnais Securities
Asia Ltd. as financial advisor to help turn around its
money-losing operation.

BNI president Saefuddin Hasan said that Credit Lyonnais
would help the bank in meeting several targets set in its
business plan agreed upon with the government as a
precondition to its recapitalization.  He said that Boston
Consulting Group and IBM would also help the bank meet the
targets.

Saefuddin said the government would complete the
recapitalization of BNI only if it could meet the targets
set in the business plan.  BNI needs some Rp 61.8 trillion
(US$7.8 billion) in recapitalization funds to help boost
its capital adequacy ratio (CAR) to the minimum 4 percent
level.

The bank completed its first phase recapitalization program
on April 7, in which the government issued bonds worth
around Rp 30 trillion to the bank.  BNI is expected to
complete the recapitalization program on June 30.
BNI has already transferred a large amount of bad debt to
the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency, which is has the
task to restructure the loans.

Saefuddin said the bank had been targeted to reduce the
amount of its nonperforming loans from 37 percent at the
end of 1999 to 12.5 percent in 2001, 8.9 percent in 2002
and 7.5 percent in 2003.

"Our main goal is to make BNI a healthy bank and to help it
become competitive in the long term," said Philip Braun of
Credit Lyonnais Asia Ltd.  "We'll try to clean up the
balance sheet through asset rehabilitation," he said,
adding that its current contract with the bank was set for
18 months, but he estimated the job might take two to three
years. (Jakarta Post  03-May-2000)

PT BAT INDONESIA: Threatens to shut down one plant
--------------------------------------------------
Cigarette maker PT BAT Indonesia has threatened to close
down one of its plants if the government does not review
the new regulation on prices for white cigarettes.

BAT Indonesia president Mark Jennings told Bisnis Indonesia
the regulation could create a fall in the firm's output.
The company had earlier estimated sales would fall this
year to 14 billion sticks because of the government's move
to raise excise on cigarettes to 40 per cent. (Asia Pulse
02-May-2000)


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

DAICHI INSURANCE CO.: Administrators to use new law
---------------------------------------------------
The administrators of failed Daiichi Mutual Fire & Marine
Insurance Co. are considering using a new bankruptcy
resolution framework for the insurance industry that is
expected to be approved by the Diet as early as this month,
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun has learned.

According to informed sources, the administrators' first
priority is to quickly find a buyer to take over the
company's policies, even if the transfer takes place under
the current legal framework, which puts the initial burden
of a failure on policyholders.

However, the process of assessing Daiichi Mutual Fire's
assets could take months, and if the new legal system is
put into place in the meantime, the chances are high that
the administrators would use it, the sources said. The
administrators are led by Noboru Araki, executive director
of the Marine & Fire Insurance Association of Japan.

Daiichi Mutual Fire would be the first insolvency handled
under the new rules, and it would come under close scrutiny
as a key test case for life insurance companies with mutual
ownership. Daiichi Mutual Fire is a rare example of a
property and casualty insurer with a mutual-company
structure.

The new resolution framework is expected to take effect in
July, and it opens the way for mutual insurers to file for
rehabilitation under court direction. It offers several
advantages over the current system, insurance industry
executives say.

The current system dictates that all policies of a
collapsed insurer should be transferred in a single
package. The new system would allow a buyer to take over
only a portion of an insurer's policies.  By enabling
partial transfers of policies, the new system would make it
easier to find buyers, and it would also allow policies to
be split up and transferred by type.

Court-directed rehabilitation proceedings would also make
it easier to secure cancellations of subordinated debt.
Cutting subordinated debt would reduce the negative net
worth of a failed insurer, encouraging potential buyers to
step forward.  The new system would also allow a mutual
company under rehabilitation proceedings to shift to a
stock-company structure. (Nikkei  03-May-2000)

KAKUEI CORP.: Joint Corp. mulls coming to aid
---------------------------------------------
Condominium developer Joint Corp. is considering bailing
out failed medium-standing property developer.

Kakuei Corp., Joint officials said Monday. Joint is
apparently interested in L Kakuei's businesses including
development of large-scale housing complexes and building
maintenance services, informed sources said.

While several companies are showing readiness to support L
Kakuei, Joint is emerging as a leading candidate to take
over L Kakuei's businesses, the sources said.  In February,
L Kakuei filed for court protection from creditors,
leaving 135,165 million yen in debt.

Joint, set up in 1986, develops condominiums and sells and
leases real estate in Tokyo and surrounding areas. In the
year to March 1999, it reported a recurring profit of 1.2
billion yen on sales of 18 billion yen. (Jiji Press English
News Service  01-May-2000)

KYOEI LIFE: S&P puts on watch, mulls downgrade
----------------------------------------------
Standard & Poor's Corp. announced Tuesday that it has
placed Kyoei Life Insurance Co. on CreditWatch with
negative implications for a possible downgrading of its
credit rating.

The insurer has a 30 billion yen interest in the failed
Daiichi Mutual Fire & Marine Insurance Co. The U.S. credit-
rating agency said it is uncertain whether Daiichi Mutual
can repay the 30 billion yen to Kyoei Life.

But S&P hastened to add that it could maintain Kyoei's
current rating, or even upgrade it, if the life insurer
succeeds in boosting its capital base. Kyoei Life is now
negotiating a possible tie-up with a foreign insurance
firm. (Nikkei  03-May-2000)

LIQUID AUDIO JAPAN INC.: Posts 681M Yen 9-mo. net loss
------------------------------------------------------
Liquid Audio Japan Inc. (4740) said Tuesday it had a net
loss of Y681 million for the period from July 1 to March
31.

The company forecasts a net loss of Y952 million for the
12-month period ending June 30.  The company, a provider of
services and software for digital delivery of music over
the Internet, had consulting revenues of Y1 million in the
July-March period. It had no software revenues.

In the period from July 16, 1998 to June 30, 1999 for which
comparisons were given, Liquid Audio Japan had consulting
revenues of Y20 million and software revenues of Y32
million, giving it total revenues of Y52 million. The
company also recorded a loss of Y306 million during that
period.

Liquid Audio Japan said that in the nine-month period
through March 31, the Japanese economy showed signs of
improvement, as public spending and exports increased and
reforms continued. But there were no discernible signs of a
self-sustaining recovery in private demand, the company
added. (Nikkei  02-May-2000)

TOMEN CORP.: Creditors agree to $2Bil debt waiver
-------------------------------------------------
Ailing Japanese trading house Tomen Corp. said Monday it
was celebrating its 80th anniversary in a confident
mood after agreeing to a debt waiver worth two billion
dollars.

"We will begin our 81st year with a new sense of mission to
combine our expertise in global trade with the tools of
this new communications era," Tomen's newly installed
president Morihiko Tashiro said in a statement.

Japan's seventh biggest trading company agreed in March to
a debt waiver of 219 billion yen (two billion dollars) with
five creditors, led by Tokai Bank Ltd. That represented
just over half of Tomen's total debt expected to stand at
407 billion yen by the end of next March, said Tomen
spokesman Ken Koiwai.

On March 28 Tomen also finalised a deal with rival Toyota
Tsusho Corp., the trading arm of Toyota Motor Corp., which
will become Tomen's single biggest shareholder.

"They will take about 7.5 billion yen in Tomen new shares,
and if the share price is maintained at current levels, the
stake will be around 10 percent," Koiwai said.

Tashiro, who succeeded Akihiro Tsuji on April 1 after the
debt forgiveness was clinched, said Tomen was now well
placed to exploit its core businesses of
telecommunications, power generation, textiles, grain and
agro-chemicals.

"Our core businesses are solid and profitable," he said.
"Now that we have rid ourselves of prior financial burdens,
we are able to truly focus on the areas in which we excel
and have developed a reputation for excellence," he said.
"Our new business alliance with Toyota Tsusho will further
enable us to strengthen our market position and to generate
mutually beneficial results."

Tomen has said it expects to incur a parent company net
loss of 109.3 billion yen in the financial year to March
because of the liquidation of unprofitable operations.
But Tashiro said the 80th birthday, which fell last month
and is being celebrated by a shift to new Tokyo
headquarters on May 8, had consigned Tomen's tag of a
"financially troubled company" to history. (Agence France
Presse  01-May-2000)


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

DAEWOO MOTORS: GM chair to visit Korea for purchase
---------------------------------------------------
General Motors (GM) Chairman Jack Smith will visit South
Korea on May 9 as a part of efforts to buy Daewoo Motor,
accelerating competition with other foreign companies over
acquisition of the ailing automaker.

"Chairman and CEO Jack Smith will visit Korea for two days
from May 9 through 10 to show that GM is really serious
about the Daewoo Motor issue," GM President Rick Wagoner
said Monday night through video-taped speech in a
reception held at the Grand Hyatt Seoul.

The top executive of the U.S. auto giant will attend the
Korea Import Motor Show, May 4 to 10, and meet with
government officials and Daewoo Group restructuring
committee officials, said Wagoner, who is to succeed Smith
as the GM's CEO in June.

"We are sure that GM is the right partner of Daewoo, and
Daewoo will also help GM become major player in the Asia-
Pacific market," Wagoner said.  "GM's takeover of Daewoo
Motor will be a 'Win-Win' strategy which will be
preferable for Korean consumers and Korean automobile
industry as well as GM and Daewoo," he added.

GM's president of Asia-Pacific business Rudy Schlais, who
will direct acquisition of Daewoo Motor in the nation, also
stressed in a speech how serious GM is over the Daewoo
Motor matter.  Asked about how to deal with Daewoo Motor
labor union and its auto part suppliers who express worries
over acquisition of Daewoo Motor by a foreign company,
Schlais said GM has its own long-term and firm plans for
the company workers in partnership with Daewoo.

"The unionized workers are concerned because they do not
know what's happening," he said, stressing GM will explain
its plans to the workers once the company is put on the
government's final candidate list for negotiations.

As for Daewoo Motor creditors, Schlais said they will get
parts of their credits back by debt-equity conversion first
and then the rest by shares in the long term.  However, how
much share the creditors will get will be decided through
negotiations in the future, he said.  GM is advancing to
acquire Daewoo Motor by itself, not considering making
consortium with other companies for the acquisition, he
added.  (Asia Pulse  02-May-2000)

DAEWOO MOTORS: GM requests equity swap in acquisition
-----------------------------------------------------
General Motors (GM) wants creditors of Daewoo Motors to
swap loans for equity if the US giant acquires the troubled
South Korean company, a senior GM official has said.

Alan G Perriton, executive-in-charge of Alliances and
Partnerships for GM Asia Pacific, said here late Monday
that GM would like to have the creditors "convert some of
the outstanding debt for equity."  Perriton, on a visit to
Seoul for the Korea Import Motor Show, said creditors could
get some of their money back upfront and recover more over
time by owning equity and sharing in profits.

"So our anticipation is first, conversion of some debt for
equity, and then, for the longer term, share in the profits
generated from the company to help recover their [the
creditors'] original debt position," Allen said.

The proportion of debt to be converted and the swap ratio
would be subject to negotiation between GM, the creditors
and Daewoo, he said.  GM, whose technology and strategic
tie ups with Daewoo date back three decades, is seen here
as the favourite to acquire the ailing automaker.

GM, Fiat, Ford Motors, Hyundai and DaimlerChrysler have all
completed or are carrying out due diligence examinations of
Daewoo Motors ahead of the announcement of a preferential
negotiator in June.  GM has indicated it is not prepared to
offer more than Ford for Daewoo. Ford has reportedly
offered around $7 billion.

Daewoo Motors is lumbered with about 8.6 trillion won ($7.6
billion) in debt against 12.9 trillion won ($11.6 billion)
in assets.  The Daewoo Group collapsed last year under the
weight of $77 billion in debt.

Asked to comment on GM's intentions towards Daewoo's
suppliers, Perriton said GM "understands very clearly" the
suppliers are "in fact quite competitive and in many
instances very competitive."

He noted that over the past six to eight months, GM had
placed contracts worth $1 billion with South Korean
suppliers.  "Now our intention here is ... for Daewoo to be
part of our Asia-Pacific strategy of expansion and
supportive of all the global operations of GM, including
the development of new products."

If the takeover went ahead, the suppliers could help
support GM's global production volume of some nine million
units a year, which would provide the suppliers with
"fabulous opportunities" to grow, he said.  As to the
possibility of GM joining with Fiat to bid for Daewoo,
Perriton said: "At this point, we have no intention other
than to proceed with an independent approach to this
proposal."

GM "basically" plans to keep Daewoo "largely intact," he
said, indicating GM would retain Daewoo's operations and
its brand.  "Obviously the Korean portion would be totally
intact and [Daewoo's] export business [would also be kept]
intact," he said. Exports account for some 50 percent of
Daewoo's production.

Daewoo, which has an annual capacity of some two million
units, has been operating at around 40 percent of its full
capacity. (Business Day  03-May-2000)

KORAM BANK: Gov't rejects KorAm-Carlyle deal
--------------------------------------------
The financial authority rejected the planned U.S. Carlyle
Group's takeover of KorAm Bank.

A foreign source closely involved with the deal said
yesterday that the Financial Supervisory Commission refused
to approve the Carlyle's ownership of majority shares in
the Korean Bank.

"The Korean government turned down the transaction. Still
the reason seems unclear as the financial authority earlier
offered some encouraging views toward the deal," he told
The Korea Times, requesting anonymity.

The two sides have been negotiating for the last six months
on partnership that would allow the U.S. investor to
purchase KorAm's newly issued global depositary receipts
(GDR) constituting a majority 34 percent of the bank stake.
However, the negotiation had faced some challenges that had
to be resolved before any agreement could be reached.

The financial authority pointed out that the U.S. investor
did not fully satisfy requirements for the ownership of a
Korean financial institution as it is not a bank but an
equity investor.  The Korean regulation stipulates that
foreign institutions seeking ownership of bank shares in
excess of 10 percent be bank in nature.  Another issue was
the pricing of the new shares.

After the stock prices of local banks plunged on the
market, the two sides had a difficulty over revising the
GDR value of 9,000 won per share.  KorAm yesterday admitted
that the government had expressed a denial to its deal with
Carlyle.

"We have not been informed officially that the government
turned the deal down. Yet, we are aware that the financial
authority had refused to approve the transaction," said a
senior member of KorAm Bank.  "Still this does not mean
that Carlyle has completely pulled out from the deal. We
are considering various other options."

Yet, a senior FSC official declined to confirm the deal's
collapse, saying that the final decision is yet to come.
"We have not received any formal application from Carlyle.
The dialogues between the government and the U.S. investor
are all unofficial," he said, adding that no final decision
has been reached.

Carlyle and Deutsche Bank were leading members of the
consortium that expressed interests in purchasing KorAm
shares. KorAm, the bank which has sought a capital increase
in order to survive from the second phase of bank mergers
in Korea, said on Jan. 8 this year that Deutsche Bank will
become its majority shareholder with a 36 percent stake.

Deutsche Bank, however, declared a withdrawal from the
KorAm deal on Jan. 31, a few weeks after it had a dispute
with KorAm over the premature information release. (The
Korea Times  02-May-2000)

KOREA HEAVY INDUSTRIES: Gov't to reschedule privatization
---------------------------------------------------------
The government will reschedule the privatization plan for
Korea Heavy Industries and Construction (Hanjung) and the
listing of the company on the bourse.

The government will reexamine the privatization schedule
and make an announcement this week, an official of the
Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said.  It
originally planned to complete the sale of up to 25 percent
of Hanjung to General Electric and ABB-CE while offering 24
percent for trading on the bourse by the end of April.

However, it failed to meet the original schedule as stock
prices plummeted. The Korea Stock Price Index lost a
whopping 31.5 percent this year from 1,059.04 on Jan. 4 to
725.39 on Friday.  Final negotiations with GE and ABB-CE
were also postponed as the price for the public offering
was not decided.

The privatization plan is likely to face delay since some
government officials as well as lead managers like Daewoo
Securities and LG Securities are suggesting postponement of
the listing until the bourse recovers, though others insist
the move could damage the nation's credibility. (Korea
Times  01-May-2000)


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

EDARAN OTOMOBIL NASIONAL: Proton-Hicom sale talks stalled
---------------------------------------------------------
Talks between Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Bhd (Proton) and
Hicom Holdings Bhd on the proposed acquisition of Edaran
Otomobil Nasional Bhd (EON) by the former have stalled.

"As fas a we are aware, talks between Proton and EON have
stalled. No discussions are taking place," said Petroliam
Nasional Bhd (Petronas) president Tan Sri Mohd Hassan
Marican.

Petronas recently signed a deal with Hicom to buy a 27.2%
stake in Proton for RM1.03bil and, under the plan to
consolidate the national car industry, Proton was to buy
EON.  Speaking to reporters in Kuala Lumpur yesterday after
handing over turnkey contracts to 10 contractors to build
petrol stations, Hassan said there was a "composite deal"
for the purchase of Proton and EON but "as things
developed, we have moved away from that."

He said Petronas was now conducting due diligence on Proton
and the target date to seal the acquisition in late July or
early August was subject to approval by the authorities.
However, DRB-Hicom Group chairman Tan Sri Saleh Sulong was
reported to have said after the group's EGM last week that
Proton and Hicom were unable to agree on the price for
EON's shares.

At yesterday's ceremony, Petronas Dagangan Bhd awarded
contracts valued at RM40mil to 10 local contractors for the
construction of 26 new petrol stations and the revamping of
four existing stations nationwide.  Hassan said the
decision to award turnkey contracts was to ensure lower
costs and faster delivery of the petrol stations.

He also said Petronas Dagangan was planning more petrol
stations this year and that the company intended to be the
best provider in the oil service industry.  "The number of
stations we have is not an indicator," he said.

Hassan said Petronas Dagangan now had limited choice of
prime locations for petrol stations after having been in
the industry for 18 years.  "Most urban sites now are not
available or too costly," he said. (The Star  03-May-2000)

TIME dotCOM: Sapura bid seen as negative
----------------------------------------
Sapura Group's claim that its bid for TimedotCom was
superior had analysts scrambling to crunch numbers to see
whether its proposal or Time Engineering Bhd's is better.

The bottomline: Sapura's bid will have adverse impact on
Time and its parent, Renong Bhd, The Sun reported
yesterday.  Analysts said that based on simple calculation
and assuming Time's only asset is TimedotCom, Sapura's
valuation of RM5.75 billion (S$2.58 billion) for TimedotCom
will peg Time's revalued net asset value (RNAV) at RM1.61 a
share.

Under Time's proposal, the valuation of RM8.35 billion for
TimedotCom will give Time an RNAV of RM6.16 a share.
Likewise, Renong's share of TimedotCom will be reduced or
increased in line with Time's share of the dotcom company.
The fact that Renong and Time are interlinked also means
the snowballing effect must be taken into account in
evaluating the deal.

Singapore-based Kim Eng Securities said under Sapura's
proposal, Time's NAV would be between RM2.02 and RM2.36 a
share while under Time's proposal, Time's NAV is estimated
at RM6.91 a share.

"The numbers speak for themselves," one analyst said,
adding that the two proposals should be evaluated on
commercial relevance and their respective benefits to
shareholders, creditors and employees of the companies. He
believes the respective proposals should be looked at on a
macro level.

Another analyst agreed, adding that "this is not a case of
Halim Saad versus Shahril Shamsuddin or whose bid is
superior." The parties involved should look at the
implications of both proposals before deciding on which
deal is better, he said.

Sapura claimed its bid is more credible on the grounds that
it is injecting fresh funds into TimedotCom immediately
while Time's proposal promises to only deliver the funds
after IPO listing. It also expressed confidence in its
ability to add value to TimedotCom given its pioneering
record in telecommunications. An analyst with a foreign
research house said though Sapura's contention is valid, it
should also not deny the fact that Singapore
Telecommunications Ltd (SingTel)'s presence as a strategic
partner in TimedotCom will enhance the operations and image
of TimedotCom.

SingTel is estimated to handle about RM1 billion worth of
inbound and outbound telephone traffic and Time can be
expected to be one of the prime beneficiaries of this
business following the tie-up. Given the trend for
mergers in telcos, investors are likely to favour the Time-
SingTel alliance, the analyst said.

He added: "Even if Sapura were to team up with Hutchison
Whampoa, there is no guarantee that Hutchison is likely to
add value to TimedotCom given Hutchison's track record of
wheeling and dealing."

He believes Time's proposal is better in that it would also
help resolve the debt problem in Time and Renong. Time's
proposal will see TimedotCom's debts totally paid off and
its own debts slashed to a manageable RM1 billion plus
(from RM4.8 billion now) via an IPO, issue of bonds and
sale to SingTel. In tandem with this, Renong's share of
debt will also be reduced in proportion to its shareholding
in Time.

In the case of Sapura, Time will lose control over
TimedotCom and may still be left grappling with its debt
problem. Likewise, Renong will share the same fate as Time.
However, for Sapura, its offer will make it the largest
shareholder with a 40 per cent stake in TimedotCom. Sapura
had proposed to inject some RM1.8 billion into TimedotCom
by taking a loan to be settled by an issue of 600 million
new TimedotCom shares at RM3 apiece.

The RM440 million owed to Sapura arising from the latter's
sale of its payphone business to Time will also be settled
by an issue of shares valued at RM3 each. The 600 million
new shares and the 147 million shares from the conversion
of RM440 million debt will ensure Sapura its pole position
in TimedotCom.

Some pertinent questions that need to be raised on both
bids, one corporate observer said, would be whether the
domestic market is able to absorb TimedotCom shares when it
goes public and whether there will be underwriters for the
shares, The Sun report said.  (The Nation  02-May-2000)

TIME ENGINEERING: Sapura was working on Time debt
-------------------------------------------------
The Sapura group has been trying to put together a deal to
help eliminate Time Engineering Bhd's mountain of debt for
the past one year but its efforts were recently superceded
by a proposal by Renong Bhd and Time Engineering to tie up
with Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (SingTel), said
sources close to the company.

The sources refuted claims that the Sapura proposal was put
forward at the last minute to scuttle the Time-SingTel
deal. Renong owns 46.8% of Time Engineering while Sapura is
one of the major creditors of Time Engineering with about
RM440mil of outstanding debt.

"It's going up by the hour unless it's paid," a Sapura
official said in reference to the debt.

The sources said Sapura officials had been meeting those of
Time Engineering to strike a deal for the past few months
and they were surprised by the sudden announcement of the
proposed alliance with SingTel in early April.  There had
been suggestions that the Sapura proposal was put together
just before Renong and Time Engineering were to sign an
agreement early this month with SingTel after the
completion of a due diligence exercise.

Datuk Shahril Shamsuddin, president and chief executive
officer of the Sapura group, when contacted about the
group's proposal, said: "Our approach has always been
consistent to ensure that they (creditors) get paid fully
and, if they so wish, to have a choice of taking the upside
of the company by offering them shares directly instead of
paper."

Under Sapura's plan, creditors would get RM3.9bil--RM1.4bil
in cash and RM2.5bil in Time dotCom shares. Time
Engineering's proposal provides creditors with RM2.9bil in
all--RM1.465bil in cash and RM1.5bil in zero coupon notes.
The Sapura side contends that creditors, of which it is
one, should be paid before the interests of shareholders.

The rescue plans and the current tussle date back to the
time when Sapura wanted to get back the RM440mil it had
expanded on the two subsidiaries it sold to Time
Engineerng--Time Wireless and Time Reach. Sapura now owns
25% of Time Wireless and Time Reach. Time Wireless operates
the 017 Adam mobile phone network while Time Reach runs the
Uniphone payphone network.

Asked why Sapura had sold them to Time Engineering in the
first place, the sources said the sale was made because
Sapura felt then that it was better to allow a full-fledged
telco like Time Engineering to run everything.  At that
time, some companies had a full suite of telecommunications
licences while others had one or two, like Sapura.

But Time Engineering subsequently went into debt; hence the
rescue plans from both parties.  Under Time Engineering's
restructuring plan, it would hold 55% of Time dotCom, the
company that would spearhead the Time Engineering group's
financial resurrection.  But under Sapura's proposal, Time
Engineering's stake in Time dotCom would be reduced to
21.6%.

The Sapura side also contended that Malaysian investors
would be at a disadvantage when compared with SingTel as
they would be asked to pay more than the strategic investor
if numbers disclosed so far for the proposed initial public
offering were taken into account.

"When this happens, it means that SingTel would get a piece
of the action at a discount," said one source. This, he
said, would be disadvantageous to Malaysian investors. "Why
should Malaysians subsidise the entry of a foreign party?"
he asked.

In addition, the Sapura side also contended that by having
a foreign party as strategic partner with a competitive
advantage to route the high volume telecom traffic via
Singapore would mean that efforts to turn Malaysia into a
telecommunications and multimedia hub would come to nought.
(The Star  03-May-2000)


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

BW RESOURCES CORP.: D.Tan snubs DOJ hearing, seeks halt
-------------------------------------------------------
BW Resources Corporation stockholder Dante Tan yesterday
snubbed the preliminary hearing of the Department of
Justice (DoJ) on the country's biggest stock market
scandal, asking the Court of Appeals instead to stop the
probe.

In a five-page motion, Mr. Tan, a known associate of
President Estrada, claimed the charges filed against him by
the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) were void
since he was never given the chance to answer them.

"It's (the SEC report) null and void. It violated (Mr.)
Tan's right to due process," Armando Marcelo, counsel of
the Filipino-Chinese businessman, told reporters.
Mr. Marcelo asked the appellate court to toss back the case
to the SEC's Prosecution and Enforcement Division (PED) for
further investigation.

At the DoJ, Agnes H. Maranan, counsel of Mr. Tan and Jimmy
Juan, another BW Resources major shareholder, asked the
investigating panel to suspend the probe, given the lawsuit
before the appellate court.  Messrs. Tan and Juan did not
file a counter-affidavit to allegations that they engaged
in stock manipulation and price fixing of the gaming firm's
stocks.

The presidents of five securities firms implicated in the
scandal -- PNB Securities, Inc.; Belson Securities, Inc.;
Securities 2000, Inc.; Aurora Securities, Inc.; and Mark
Securities, Inc. -- filed their counter-affidavits.

Ms. Maranan also cited a civil case filed by a James Dy at
a Dagupan City (northern Luzon) regional trial court, where
the plaintiff claimed to have lost five million Philippine
pesos ($0.121 million at PhP41.275=$1) as a result of Mr.
Tan's alleged manipulative schemes.

Assistant chief state prosecutor Nilo Mariano, head of the
DoJ investigating panel, said the preliminary probe will
proceed unless restrained by the Court of Appeals.
"The preliminary investigation will continue because the
respondents have filed their counter-affidavits. But we
will stop if the (appellate court) issues an injunction,"
he told reporters.

Government prosecutors gave SEC-PED chief Ruben C. Ladia 10
days to comment on the counter-affidavits.  Mr. Mariano
earlier said the DoJ investigation will not be affected by
the pending case at the appellate court since the charges
filed by the SEC at the DoJ were not based on the report of
the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

Appellate court Associate Justice Eloy Bello, Jr. issued
last March 22 an injunction that indefinitely stopped the
SEC from filing criminal charges against the seven
respondents. On April 19, the DoJ summoned the respondents
to answer charges of wholesale stock fraud. Mr. Mariano
ordered them to obey the subpoena or risk waiving their
right to participate in the preliminary investigation.

Justice Secretary Artemio G. Tuquero, Jr. earlier issued
Justice Department Order 22, assigning Mr. Mariano to
spearhead the probe. His team is composed of state
prosecutors Susan Dacanay, M. Emilia Victorino, Gregorio
Arizala and Japar Dimaampao.  The SEC filed the criminal
complaint against a number of BW Resources stockholders and
brokers despite the appellate court's preliminary
injunction, insisting its report is independent of the PSE
probe.

Messrs. Tan and Juan were found to have resorted to wash
sale transactions to jack up the price of BW Resources
stocks. They were also charged for violating insider
trading rules.  Belson Securities Inc. president Federico
Lim, former PSE president and uncle of BW Resources
president and chief operating officer Eduardo "Moonie" Lim,
Jr., allegedly violated the broker-director rule. This rule
bans directors, stockholders and officers of brokerage
firms from trading in shares of stocks of listed companies
where they may have interest.

Wash sale, prohibited under Section 26 of the Revised
Securities Act, is effected when a stockholder uses a dummy
to buy his shares, creating an illusion of active trading
to push up the price of a stock. (Business World  03-May-
2000)

BW RESOURCES CORP.: Officials get to answer charges
---------------------------------------------------
BW Resources Corp. majority stockholder and presidential
friend Dante T. Tan and seven other accused in arguably the
country's biggest stock market scandal will finally have
their chance to refute charges they conspired to earn a
fast buck by manipulating the share price of the gaming
firm's stocks.

The Justice department will conduct a hearing this
afternoon and allow Mr. Tan, former BW president Eduardo G.
Lim, Jr. and BW majority shareholder Jimmy Juan, Jr. to
answer point by point allegations of the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) they "blatantly and knowingly"
violated the provisions of the Revised Securities Act
(RSA).

Presidents of respondent-brokerage houses Securities 2000,
Inc., PNB Securities, Mark Securities, Inc., Aurora
Securities, Inc., and Belson Securities are also expected
to appear and deny any criminal intent.

In an interview, Mr. Juan's counsel Wehrly S. Gutierrez
said his client will present an "ample and appropriate
defense" before the five-person prosecution panel the DoJ
formed to conduct a preliminary investigation on the
corporate watchdog's complaint.

She said she is "not at liberty to divulge" the contents of
the counter-affidavit she is set to submit to the
department. She did not want the SEC to telegraph Mr.
Juan's punches.

Ms. Gutierrez said the three accused BW officials will not
likely appear at the hearing. She said only their counsels
are expected to represent them in the proceedings.
Lawyer Agnes H. Maranan will attend for Mr. Tan. She could
not be immediately reached to comment on what she expects
in today's preliminary investigation.

DoJ sources told BusinessWorld officials of brokerage
houses are raring to "face the prosecution panel" and clear
their names.  On April 19, the DoJ summoned the seven
respondents to answer charges of wholesale stock fraud the
SEC hurled against them. Chief state prosecutor Nilo C.
Mariano, who also heads the investigating group, ordered
the respondents to obey the subpoena or risk waiving their
right to participate in the ongoing examination of
evidence.

In case of default, the department may be forced to rule
based solely on the complaint SEC filed before it on April
6. In such case, the complaint will skip the formal
preliminary investigation and consider it submitted for
resolution.

Justice Secretary Artemio G. Tuquero, Jr. earlier issued
DoJ Department Order 122 assigning Mr. Mariano to spearhead
the investigation on the BW scam. His team is comprised of
state prosecutors Susan Dacanay, Ma. Emilia Victorino,
Gregorio Arizala, and Japar Dimaampao.

SEC filed the criminal complaint against BW stockholders
and brokers even with an effective preliminary injunction
from the Court of Appeals. The commission pushed through
with the filing, insisting its report is independent from
the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) probe.

Messrs. Tan and Juan were cited for resorting to washed
sale transactions to jack up the price of the BW stocks.
They were also charged for violating the insider trading
rule. Mr. Lim, who is Belson president, supposedly violated
the broker-director rule.

Washed sale, prohibited under Sec. 26 of the RSA, is
effected when a stockholder uses a dummy to buy his shares,
thus resulting in increased trading activity. Increase
stock turnover is a way by which stock price could
skyrocket.

Insider trading, a violation of Sec. 32 of the RSA, is a
scheme where a company officer sells or buys securities
while possessing information that could affect the value of
the shares.  The brokerage houses, on the other hand,
supposedly connived with the stockholders to effect the
reported price manipulation. Aurora was particularly cited
for selling BW shares it did not own, a violation of Sec.
27 of the RSA. The SEC was supposed to file a second
partial report to the DoJ last week but a mix-up of records
prevented it from pushing through with the submission.

Earlier, the DoJ decided to proceed with the preliminary
investigation of the BW case instead of first determining
the integrity of the SEC complaint. (Business World  02-
May-2000)

URBAN BANK: Keppel seen vying for acquisition
---------------------------------------------
Keppel TatLee Bank Ltd. of Singapore has expressed interest
in acquiring Urban Bank Corp. but it wanted its assets
separated from those of Urbancorp Investment, an affiliate
that was blamed for the troubles of the banking unit.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Rafael Buenaventura
said Henry Sy's Banco de Oro, which was earlier reported to
have agreed in principle to acquire and merge with the
beleaguered bank, remained interested in Urban
Bank.

Finance Secretary Jose T. Pardo said he and the President
had even talked to taipan Henry Sy to convince him to
pursue his bid to acquire Urban Bank through Banco de Oro.
International Exchange Bank was also reported earlier to
have expressed its interest in buying into Urban Bank.

"There is quite a number of banks interested in Urban
Bank," said Buenaventura added.

Aside from banking, Keppel Tatlee, through its
subsidiaries, also provides stock brokering, fund
management and financial futures services. It has offices
in Singapore, Beijing, Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh, Taipei and
Myanmar.  Keppel Tatlee has investments in thrift bank
Keppel Monte Bank and is planning to buy 30- to 40-percent
of Equitable PCI Bank. It has just concluded its due
diligence on the newly merged bank and was planning to
acquire a third to half of the 72-percent combined holdings
of the Social Security System, Government Service Insurance
System and Equitable Bank.  SSS has a 15-percent stake in
Urban Bank.

Buenaventura said Keppel had expressed its interest in
Urban Bank through the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp.
chief Norberto Nazareno. Keppel, however, made it known of
its position that Urban Bank's assets should be
distinguished from those of its investment house affiliate.
Urban Bank's liquidity problems were traced by the BSP to
the heavy withdrawals made by its affiliate, Urbancorp
Investment.

Urban Bank has a network of 28 branches and a capital base
of P2 billion, which, however, is below the P2.5 billion
minimum prescribed for regular commercial banks. Meantime,
Pardo said he had also "casually talked" to George Go of
Equitable Bank for the same purpose. "But I think he has
his hands full at present so most likely this is not going
to work. As for Henry Sy, we are all supportive of his plan
to buy Urban Bank," he said.

Urban Bank is 15 percent-owned by the group of Arsenio
Bartolome III, the bank's chair and founder; 15 percent by
Borlongan's group, and 8 percent is owned by the SMC (San
Miguel Corp.) Retirement Plan.  Other owners with 8-percent
stake each in the bank are Dizon Copper and Silver Mines,
National Life, RBL Fishing and Philippine Transmarine
Carriers. Universal Motors Corp. owns 5 percent of the bank
while the remaining. (Philippine Star  02-May-2000)

URBAN BANK: Execs face charges
------------------------------
The Social Security System, the San Miguel Corp. Retirement
Plan, and other stockholders can sue officials of Urban
Bank Corp. for misrepresentation in relation to the bank's
financial woes that led to its downfall late last month.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Rafael Buenaventura
said that based on their initial assessment, Urban Bank
could have misled its shareholders as to the bank's
financial position.

"In other words, if its two directors who are part of the
owners' representatives were misled, what more of a
minority shareholder who is not represented in the board,"
Buenaventura said.

SSS and the SMC Retirement group had complained that they
were not aware of the actual financial position of Urban
Bank until the bank had to close last April 26 following
heavy withdrawals.  SSS, one of the two biggest
shareholders in Urban Bank, bought 2.1 million shares in
November 1998 at P136.50 per share for a total investment
of P286.65 million. This stake, equivalent to about 15
percent of the bank, is now worth only P171 million.

San Miguel had complained to the central bank that it was
not fully appraised of the situation and that nine checks
worth a total of P179 million had bounced even before the
bank had declared a holiday.

"Similar to SMC, I think (SSS) was not properly advised and
they are saying that adequate information was not given to
protect the interest of the minority shareholders,"
Buenaventura said.  SMC Retirement owns 8 percent of Urban
Bank.

Meantime, the Bankers Association of the Philippines,
moving to shore up support in an industry wracked by a
crisis of depositor confidence, unveiled plans to let banks
get emergency funds from each other faster than normal.

An emergency meeting of the group, made up of the nation's
50-odd commercial lenders, yesterday agreed to introduce a
new system allowing banks to get funds more quickly when
trading government securities, loans and commercial papers,
said Vicente Castillo, President of Banco Santander's
Philippine unit and head of the association's open market
committee.

"We have to create the highways to make liquidity transfers
efficient and timely," Castillo said. "These measures
should benefit the entire financial system."

The measures, which bankers started working on as early as
three months ago, are being adopted as several banks try
and stave off runs on deposits by customers rattled by the
closure of Urban Bank. The association, with the
government, is trying to ensure banks which see additional
demands for cash from depositors can get funds quickly.

The measures envisage implementation of a delivery versus
payment system--in which settlement risk is reduced because
transactions are only completed when assets are delivered
and payment is made--from yesterday, with the system to
operate manually until an electronic system can be
implemented in about 90 days. (Philippine Daily Inquirer
03-May-2000)

WESTMONT INVESTMENT CORP.: SEC asks to answer charges
-----------------------------------------------------
Collapsed investment house Westmont Investment Corp.
(Wincorp) will be asked to submit its comments on charges
it broke existing rules on the issuance of commercial
papers.

An SEC official said Wincorp should be able to justify why
its operations should not be suspended. A unit of the SEC,
the brokers and exchanges department (BED), has recommended
the issuance of a cease and desist order (CDO) against the
company.

The BED said the CDO may appear moot and academic since
Wincorp already stopped issuing commercial papers, but it
would at least preserve the assets of the company for the
benefit of the victims and/or investors.  The BED also
recommended that Wincorp be investigated by the SEC's
prosecution and enforcement department (PED) for possible
filing of criminal charges against individuals responsible
for the violation.

The BED recommended the CDO after its audit of Wincorp
revealed the investment house illegally issued long-term
commercial papers (LTCPs) and other papers of indebtedness,
contrary to its claims that it merely acted as a broker.
SEC sources added Wincorp violated several rules governing
the issuance of LTCPs, among them, its failure to register
LTCPs. The rules require that borrowing from institutional
lenders require the registration of LTCPs, especially if
they exceed P5 million and if the lenders number more than
10.

Sources said there is strong evidence showing that the
proceeds from the loans were deposited in the accounts of
several of Wincorp's shareholders.  Wincorp brokered about
P7 billion worth of loans to 20 companies believed to be
mostly controlled by its former president, John Espiritu,
son of former Finance Secretary Edgardo Espiritu. Wincorp
is the investment house of Unioil Resources and Holdings
Corp. which is in turn controlled by the elder Espiritu and
close business associates.

SEC sources said that although Wincorp made it appear it
was only acting in behalf of the borrowers and lenders,
evidence shows it deposited in its own account the proceeds
of the loans.  The BED noted that in case the borrower
fails to pay the principal amount and interest due, Wincorp
pays in advance the interests to the
lenders/funders/investors, and that the instrument is being
renewed upon maturity by Wincorp. It added the evidence of
indebtedness or the loan instrument was also negotiated
without recourse to individual lenders.

A number of Wincorp investors have earlier asked the SEC to
conduct an investigation of stockholders and owners of the
firm, including United Overseas Bank (UOB), formerly
Westmont Bank.

Apollo X.C. S. Sangalang, legal counsel for some of the
investors who are both depositors of UOB and holders of
securities issued by Wincorp, urged the SEC to expand the
scope of the probe and to look into the past and present
stockholders and beneficial owners, directors, officers and
employees of the investment house and the bank. (Philippine
Star  02-May-2000)

WESTMONT INVEST.CORP.: Files countersuit vs Pearlbank
-----------------------------------------------------
Debunking all allegations of fraud and misrepresentation,
earlier made by brokerage firm Pearlbank Securities,
troubled investment firm Westmont Investment Corp.
(Wincorp) yesterday filed a 70-million Philippine pesos
(PhP) (US$1.70 million at PhP41.258:US$1) countersuit
against the brokerage firm and its chairman Manuel Tan.

In its formal answer, Wincorp asked the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) to dismiss the complaint filed by
Mr. Tan and Pearlbank and order the same to acknowledge and
pay loan obligations amounting to over PhP524 million
($12.70 million).

Wincorp further asked the SEC to compel Pearlbank to pay
over PhP70 million ($1.70 million) in exemplary and actual
damages, citing documentary evidence showing that Pearlbank
and Mr. Tan borrowed over PhP524 million from several
lenders through Wincorp.  The investment company added that
Mr. Tan and his wife, Juanita Tan, availed of a credit line
agreement totaling PhP324 million ($7.85 million) from
November 29,1995 to October 1996.

When the credit line was amended, Wincorp said the Tans
borrowed from lenders through Wincorp, an additional PhP200
million ($4.85 million) between December 1998 and January
1999.  Moreover, Wincorp said Mr. Tan signed promissory
notes to cover the loans whose proceeds he used to pay
several business ventures.

Earlier, Mr. Tan and Pearlbank, in separate pleadings, said
he "owes nothing to Wincorp or its investors."  Pearlbank
further said it was unwittingly named a borrower when
several Wincorp investors demanded payment after the
investment house folded up early this year partly because
several corporate groups identified with Mr. Espiritu
allegedly borrowed PhP5.5 billion ($133.30 million) and
never paid interest.

"(We) have no outstanding loan obligations or borrowing
with Wincorp," Pearlbank said. However, last March 1, Huey
Commercial - a Wincorp investor - said its confirmation
advice showed Pearlbank was the borrower of PhP4.9 million
($118,765) out of a total investment of PhP110 million
($2.66 million).

"(We) have a right not to be charged with said loan
obligations, and not to appear in Wincorp confirmation
advices," Pearlbank said.

Moreover, it said the acts of Wincorp "in representing to
different investor that (Pearlbank) borrowed against their
investments...violates (Pearlbank's) right and reveals a
device or scheme employed by Wincorp...amounting to fraud
and misrepresentation detrimental to the interest of the
public."

For its part, Wincorp -- through its legal counsel Leonard
de Vera -- said "the denials by Mr. Tan that he and
Pearlbank incurred and used the proceeds of their loans are
indeed unfortunate. The records speak for themselves."

The list of lenders of Pearlbank inlcude Huey Commercial,
Inc., Jonelen Management & Realty Corp., John Go Beng Huy,
and Goson G.B.H. Holdings.  "Mr. Tan received and used the
proceeds of these loans but refused to acknowledge the
same," Mr. De Vera added.

Moreover, Wincorp also debunked the claim of Mr. Tan that
he had no knowledge of any loan transaction. As vice-
chairman of Wincorp, the investment house alleged that Mr.
Tan was "in fact present when the original credit line
agreement, in favor of Pearlbank, was approved by the board
and when the same was renewed...during which he signed the
minutes approving the amended credit line agreement."

Mr. De Vera said the petition filed by Pearlbank "could be
just a pre-emptive action on the part of the brokerage
firm, to make it seem that he is not part of this
corporation (Wincorp) that is beginning to expose
liabilities."

Meanwhile, Wincorp said it committed to help settle all
obligations of the borrowers to their lenders.  Mr. De Vera
said the company has been helping in restructuring the
loans and that, repayment plans are being finalized by most
of the borrowers. Moreover, Wincorp claims to have settled
some PhP800 million ($19.40 million) of its PhP7 billion
($169.66 million) loans.

Initial findings by the SEC show that Wincorp violated
provisions of the short-term commercial paper (STCP) rules
when it negotiated and assigned the securities without
registering the same. Under the rules, exemption from
registration applies "provided all evidence of indebtedness
are held on to maturity and neither negotiated nor assigned
to any one other than the Central Bank and Development Bank
of the Philippines."

Moreover, the BED said Wincorp clearly violated the 19-
lender rule, with its 2,200 lenders or investors recorded
to date. (Business World  03-May-2000)


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

BAN CHANG GROUP: 2 creditors object to bankruptcy petition
----------------------------------------------------------
In the case of Ban Chang Group Plc, claiming debts of 2.5
billion baht, Bangkok Broadcasting TV and Bank of Ayudhya
objected to the petition. The Central Bankruptcy Court
scheduled a ruling for tomorrow.  (Bangkok Post  03-May-
2000)

PRASIT COURT CO.: Court dismisses bankruptcy petition
-----------------------------------------------------
The Central Bankruptcy Court dismissed a petition from
Prasit Court Co, which claimed debt totalling 71.3 million
baht. It said the company had failed to prove it was
insolvent and had debt in excess of 10 million baht.
(Bangkok Post  03-May-2000)

PREMIER PRODUCT CO.: Court appoints restructure overseer
--------------------------------------------------------
The Central Bankruptcy Court on Monday appointed Premier
Planner to oversee the 990.3-million-baht debt
restructuring of Premier Product Co.  (Bangkok Post  03-
May-2000)

SAHAVIRIYA STEEL PLC.: To find investor by year-end
---------------------------------------------------
Sahaviriya Steel Plc (SSI), a local steel producer, expects
to sell a stake in the company to a strategic foreign
partner by the end of this year.

Company president Adisak Lowjun said the steel coil
producer was in talks with three potential companies based
in Europe and the US.

"We will conclude the deal before the end of the year. The
company was successful in the sale of American Depository
Receipts (ADR) in the first quarter of the year as a
prelude to being listed on the Nasdaq market. However, the
company cannot give further details about our new partner,
because we are still in the negotiating process," he said.

Sahaviriya recently concluded its debt restructuring, after
which the company said it planned to find a foreign
partner. Thirty-eight per cent of the company is held by
foreign investors Adisak said the company's sales volume
this year should increase 30 per cent from 1.2 million
tonnes last year to 1.6 million tonnes this year because of
an increase in local demand and strong exports.

The company expects to export 30 per cent of its production
this year, compared with 10 per cent last year. Major
export markets are the US, Europe and Asia. He said the
company hoped exports to the US would account for more than
70 per cent of the total this year.

"Export income will earn a similar amount to local sales,
because foreign prices for steel products are higher. As a
result, with the increase in exports, the company expects a
30percent growth in income this year," Adisak said.

The company has also become interested in ecommerce on
websites supporting the steel industry in Europe and the US
as this would expand its global market. Adisak said the
company would begin negotiations with two or three websites
by the end of the year.

The company reported a net income revenue of Bt4.25
billion, 28 per cent from exports, 25 per cent from
coldrolled steel coils and 47 per cent from other steel
products. Its net profit in the first quarter of the year
was Bt222.5 million, up from a loss of Bt475 million during
the same period last year.  Adisak said the company
expected to make similar profits for the remainder of the
year. (The Nation  03-May-2000)

SOON HUA SENG GROUP: Creditors pressure nonpayments
---------------------------------------------------
Creditors of Soon Hua Seng group, an agribusiness giant,
want to bring debt negotiations under the supervision of
the Corporate Debt Restructuring Advisory Committee to
speed up progress.

Soon Hua Seng, which groups a dozen companies, has
interests spanning the farm commodities trade, pulp and
paper manufacturing, property and power generation.
Bankers say total debt for the group, including foreign
loans, exceeds 150 billion baht, making it one of the
largest restructuring cases in the country.

Soon Hua Seng has to date refused to hold talks under the
CDRAC, an advisory committee set up by the Bank of Thailand
to assist corporate debt restructuring.  Instead, the group
has held restructuring talks directly with its creditors,
which include some of the largest banks in Thailand.

Now local banks say they are frustrated by what they call a
lack of co-operation and sincerity on the part of the group
to comply.  By bringing talks under the CDRAC, Soon Hua
Seng would be compelled to operate according to the
committee's negotiating deadlines.

The largest creditor is Bangkok Bank, with nearly 30
billion in loans outstanding. Krung Thai Bank and Thai
Farmers Bank each also have around seven billion baht in
loans outstanding.  Bankers agree that Bangkok Bank has to
take a leading role in restructuring debt. But other
bankers note that Bangkok Bank has been placed in a
difficult position, since Soon Hua Seng is also a major
shareholder of the bank.

Kitti Damnernchanvanich, head of the group, only recently
announced his resignation from the Bangkok Bank board.
"Mr Kitti is close to Chatri [Sophonpanich, Bangkok Bank
chairman], so the restructuring talks have moved quite
delicately to date," one banker said.

Soon Hua Seng, like other major Thai conglomerates, saw its
balance sheet wrecked in the past three years by the
depreciation of the baht, shrinking markets and falling
asset prices.  Other bankers say the group has been unfair
in its treatment of creditors, diverting cashflow to repay
foreign banks and bond holders while refusing to service
its obligations to Thai banks.

"The group is definitely a 'strategic' non-performing
loan," one Thai banker said.

Bangkok Bank, Krung Thai and Thai Farmers Bank, in addition
to loans, had also offered export credits worth $510
million to Soon Hua Seng and group members, including a
$300-million line for Advance Agro, a paper and pulp
manufacturer.

"The group used its export earnings to pay foreign
creditors," one banker said.  "The group also set up
nominees to buy back its own junk bonds and foreign debt at
a sharp discount, while continuing to ask for cuts in
principal owed to the Thai banks. We know that the group
has the ability to repay its debt. It just doesn't want
to."

Another executive said most banks had suspended their
credit lines to the group for more than two years, pending
the outcome of restructuring talks.  "No question, I think
it will be difficult to pressure the group, given the
political ties the company has. "Even the government would
be loath to interfere, because of the sensitive nature of
the agricultural sector," she said.

Executives of Soon Hua Seng declined to comment on the
group's financial position, saying that restructuring talks
were under way. (Bangkok Post  03-May-2000)

SUBMICRON TECHNOLOGY: Creditors seek rehab advice
-------------------------------------------------
Creditors of Submicron Technology are seeking an
independent legal adviser to clarify if the company can be
rehabilitated under receivership.

The creditors meet yesterday to consider the rehabilitation
plan proposed by Bank of America, the financial adviser to
Submicron.  A creditor source acknowledged the confusion.
Creditors were not sure if Submicron could proceed with its
rehabilitation plan since the Central Bankruptcy Court in
January had placed the company and owner Charn Uswachoke in
final receivership after they lost a bankruptcy case filed
by Siam City Bank.

"After legal matters are clarified by the adviser, the
creditors will consider the rehabilitation plan and choose
new partners to invest in the company," he said.

Mr Charn said three or four potential investors in the
wafer fabrication industry had approached Submicron, but
they needed to know if the creditors had a clear position.

"Those investors want to know that whether the Submicron's
creditors will allow the company out of receivership. The
company has until June 4 to resolve the debt or be wound
up," he said.

A source at Bank of America said it had approached about 20
investors but fewer than 10 had shown interest. He said
creditors were to vote on allowing the company to proceed
with rehabilitation on June 23.

"If Submicron can't get out of receivership, Bank of
America has to negotiate with potential investors on their
approach to investment," the source said. (Bangkok Post
03-May-2000)

THAI OIL: To sell 19% stake to B.Grimm, Swiss Electric
------------------------------------------------------
Two European firms have agreed to buy a 19 percent stake in
Thai Oil Power, a holding company under Thai Oil.

Thai Oil yesterday said German B. Grimm Holdings and Swiss
Electric Investment have agreed in principle to buy 15 and
4 percent shareholdings respectively in Thai Oil Power.
Thai Oil and the two European firms are expected to sign a
formal agreement within two weeks, Chainoi Puankosoom, Thai
Oil's Managing Director told Business Day.

B. Grimm's 15 percent stake is equivalent to a US$17
million investment while the Swiss firm's 4 percent
represents $4.5 million. Following the acquisition, Thai
Oil's share of its subsidiary will be cut to 55 percent.
Chainoi disclosed that previously Thai Oil had divested a
26 percent stake in Thai Oil Power to PTT Exploration &
Production (PTTEP), fetching $29 million.

"B. Grimm has expertise in power generating projects and is
operating several small power plants in Thailand. By
acquiring a stake in Thai Oil, the German energy company
could boost its production by 1,400 megawatts from a
current capacity of 700 megawatts," said Chainoi.

Electric Investment, an investment firm, meanwhile, seeks
only to invest in the energy sector.  An energy analyst
said the presence of B. Grimm and PTTEP in Thai Oil Power
was seen as a win-win situation.

"Thai Oil Power can strengthen its financial standing while
B. Grimm increases its production capacity to meet rising
demand. PTTEP, meanwhile, secures a new natural gas buyer.

Recently, the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT)
injected $250 million in new capital into Thai Oil. The
cash will largely be used to pay offshore debts, lessening
interest burdens.  Thai Oil Power is a holding company
which is investing in independent power producers and small
power companies.  (Business Day  03-May-2000)

UTHAI-THANI: Fujitsu to close shutter on camera arm
---------------------------------------------------
Uthai Thani Fujitsu, a leading Japanese computer and
components maker, is exiting the camera components business
in Thailand by divesting its shares and the shares of its
wholly owned Thai unit in their joint venture here with
Copal of Japan.

Fujitsu (Thailand) managing director Koichi Saito said the
divestiture of Fujitsu's shares in Fujitsu Copal, a
manufacturer of camera shutters and micro motors, followed
the termination of its parts supply relationship with
Copal. Copal was a supplier of hard disk drive parts to
Fujitsu and they jointly formed the camera component
venture in Thailand.

The combined ownership of Fujitsu (Thailand) and its
Japanese parent firm in Fujitsu Copal was less than 20 per
cent, with the majority share taken by Copal. Fujitsu's
shares were sold to Japanese electronics firm Nidec,
effective April 1, and the name of the joint venture has
already been changed to Nidec Copal.

The Fujitsu group in Thailand will lose revenue worth Bt1.9
billion a year from its withdrawal from the joint venture,
Saito said.  At the end of next month, when the camera
components maker completes the construction of its new
building, all of the equipment, now located near Fujitsu's
plant in the Navanakorn Industrial Estate in Pathum Thani,
and the workforce will be transferred to Nydec Copal, he
said

However, Saito added that the total revenue of Fujitsu
(Thailand) this year would grow to Bt46.1 billion from
Bt45.9 billion last year as the result of an expansion of
hard disk drive production capacity by 33 per cent from
11.3 million units last year to 15 million units this year.

The hard disk drive capacity expansion will allow Fujitsu's
revenue from that segment to grow by 10 per cent to Bt39.5
billion this year from Bt36 billion last year.  Sales of
hard disk drives, of which all of the output is exported,
accounts for 82 per cent of Fujitsu (Thailand)'s total
revenues.

Ten per cent, or Bt3 billion last year, is generated from
sales of printers and the rest from other hard disk drive
component sales. The printer production line is running at
only half of its capacity to produce 300,000 units a year.
The expansion of hard disk drive production, requiring �10
billion (Bt3.5 billion) in investment, will be completed in
two to three years, at which time total annual capacity
will be 18 million units, or 50 per cent higher than last
year's, said Saito.

He projects that the global hard disk drive market will
grow by 11 per cent this year to about 1.8 billion units, a
slowdown from the 18per cent expansion from 1998 to 1.6
billion units last year.

"In the future, the market for hard disk drives will
continue to grow by double digits a year in line with the
expansion of PC and PC server sales. However, manufacturers
will face more severe competition in price," he said.

Saito said Fujitsu is focusing on reducing costs by 20 per
cent a year through its "Cost Down and Strong
Competitiveness" campaign, as severe price competition is
driving hard disk drive prices down by 20 per cent.

Nidec Copal (Thailand) is currently the wholly owned
subsidiary of Nidec Copal Corp of Japan. Nidec Electronics
(Thailand) Co Ltd manufactures spindle motors for hard disk
drives. According to a company source, Nidec Copal
(Thailand) will increase its registered capital at the end
of July to Bt250 million from Bt70 million.

Currently employing 1,500 workers, Nidec Copal (Thailand)
is applying to undertake new investment here, with a plan
to expand its annual production of camera components to
20.5 million pieces from 7.5 million pieces, and high
precision micro motors to 57.4 million pieces from 34.5
million pieces at present.  Fujitsu (Thailand), with 9,000
employees in total, ranks third among the top exporters of
Thailand, following IBM and Seagate, both from the US. (The
Nation  03-May-2000)


S U B S C R I P T I O N  I N F O R M A T I O N

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