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                              A S I A   P A C I F I C

             Wednesday, August 2, 2000, Vol. 3, No. 149

                                     Headlines


* A U S T R A L I A *

ONE.TEL: Expects to post $297Mm pre-tax loss
131SHOP.COM: Secures capital for one year


* C H I N A  &  H O N G  K O N G *

CHINA AIRLINES: Posts $67.5M in losses
GUANDONG ENTERPRISES HLDGS.: Rehab complete this month
SOHU.COM: Going public devalues stock 50%;posts loss
TOM.COM LTD: Sacks 80 to cut costs; refocusing


* I N D O N E S I A *

PT BIMANTARA CITRA: To sell shares to stabilize it


* J A P A N *

NIPPON CREDIT BANK: FCR reaffirms guarantee


* K O R E A *

DAEWOO GROUP: Overhaul by September
HYUNDAI ENG'G & CONST: Trust company to roll over bonds
HYUNDAI GROUP: No sign of fund crisis let-up
HYUNDAI GROUP: To fine-tune motor spin-off in August
HYUNDAI INVESTMENT TRUST: Under investigation
HYUNDAI PETROCHEMICAL CO.: To attract investment soon
SAMSUNG GEN.CHEMICALS: To attract investment soon


* M A L A Y S I A *

MALAYSIAN AIRLINES: Creditor okay needed to sell stake
TENAGA NASIONAL BHD: To sell Kapar plant to pay debts


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

UNIWIDE GROUP: SEC urged to lift lock-up order on shares


* T H A I L A N D *

BAN PU: Sells Bt5.3B share to Sithe Pacific
SIAM CITY BANK: FIDF plans to sell bad debts to AMC
SIAM CITY BANK: Assets deteriorate while Gov't delays
STAR BLCOK GROUP: Business rehabilitation ordered
THAI ELECTRONIC INDUS.: 2 creditors reject rehab plan
THAI TEL.& TEL.: Turns down TOT's swap proposal
UNICORD PLC: Business rehabilitation ordered


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

ONE.TEL: Expects to post $297Mm pre-tax loss
--------------------------------------------
Junior telco One.Tel Ltd today said it expected to book a
$297 million earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) loss
for the year ended June 30, 2000.

One.Tel said the forecast loss includes an abnormal write-
off of approximately $40 million, reflecting the 1998/99
component of subscriber acquisition costs and business set-
up costs written off in the 1999/2000 result due to changes
in accounting policy.

A further $205 million was written off in the year that
would have been deferred under the old accounting policy,
the majority of which related to the European fixed wire
business and the launch of Internet services in Europe.

One.Tel said group sales revenue had almost doubled in the
12 months to June 2000, rising to approximately $644
million from $326 million previously. One.Tel booked a
$6.97 million net profit in 1998/99, with earnings before
interest, tax,
depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) up to $25.2 million.

One.Tel's profit before tax and abnormals stood at $11.23
million in 1998/99.  The company said costs associated with
the establishment of new business operations and subscriber
acquisition were previously deferred, then amortised over
the life of the asset. Those costs were now written off as
incurred.

One.Tel said the majority of the write-off related to the
expansion and set-up costs of the European business, the
launch of Internet services in Europe and the establishment
of One.Tel's global wireless plans.

"The forecast results for 1999/2000 are consistent with
recent analysts' research reports subject to the fact these
reports did not include provision for the write-off of
European Internet costs, European mobile costs, aggressive
provision against doubtful debt nor additional subscriber
acquisition costs associated with activity in the last
quarter," One.Tel joint managing director Brad Keeling
said.

"One.Tel will start off the 00/01 financial year with a
clean balance sheet, minimal debt and a booming business in
Australia and Europe. We have built the business using
equity without debt financing. The business is now mature
enough to carry debt."

One.Tel said it had grown significantly during the past 12
months.  The company said it was forecasting further
initiatives in the coming year as it continued to develop
strategic relationships in Europe, expanded its operations
into South East Asia and rolled out a fully featured
national GSM network in Australia.

One.Tel said it was in discussions with carriers in Europe
to launch mobile virtual network operator (VNO) agreements,
adding that "within less than 12 months these will be
operational in several markets."

"Entry into the local call market in Australia in November
1999 has prompted significant competitive activity in this
sector," One.Tel said. "One.Tel's 17.5 cent untimed local
call service has attracted more than 200,000 new
subscribers in the last six months. One.Tel sells local
calls at a loss but is able to generate a return through
the provision of profitable national and international
calls to the same customers.

"The profitability of this business is largely dependant
upon establishing and maintaining a 'level playing field'
in the regulatory environment. Provided this occurs,
One.Tel expects its fixed wire business unit to turn
profitable in 2000/01."

One.Tel said its next generation mobile network, launched
in May this year, was expected to make losses until
customer numbers reached a critical mass.

One.Tel said its subscriber numbers grew from approximately
600,000 at June 1999 to over 1.8 million at June 2000.
The telco will announce its 1999/2000 full year results on
September 5. One.Tel shares closed two cents lower at $1.07
yesterday.  Australian Financial Review  31-July-2000)

131SHOP.COM: Secures capital for one year
-----------------------------------------
After months in limbo, Internet software provider 131
Shop.com.au has secured its future for at least another
year.

The company's shareholders yesterday approved a number of
measures to refinance 131 Shop, including a placement of 20
million shares to clients of Barton Capital. The
receivership of the company's major licensee Telenet late
last year along with April's technology sector crash
contributed to the company's predicament, leaving it
dangling on the edge of insolvency.

Chairman Alan Philips said yesterday the capital raising
would support the company for at least the next 12 months
following a massive overhaul of the company's cost base.

"I'm very confident we will be able to get that placement
away, we don't do those sorts of things without the
expectation we can do what we say we will do," Philips
said.  "The shareholders today said positively they want to
give the company another chance, raise some money and move
on."

However, he said if the placement was not fully-subscribed
it would reduce the effective life of the company.
Philips, who through his company Strategic Capital Group,
specialises in restructuring troubled companies, said
131Shop now had the financial stability to seek out options
to secure its future.

Philips has also worked on breathing life back into another
Brisbane-based Internet firm, Jumbomall.com Ltd.  A similar
rescue plan for Jumbomall.com was approved by shareholders
last month. Following recapitalisation, 131Shop will focus
on primarily acquiring businesses with strong revenues and
profits to ensure the long-term future of the company.

"The first thing the market wants to know is will you
survive, and I can say we will, I am confident of that, the
next thing the market needs to know is what we are going to
do," he said.

"We're not able to say exactly what were going to do
because we have not got to that stage yet."

He said the future of the company would lie in either
acquisitions, alliances, merger, joint ventures or
licensing of the company's technology.

"It's got to be synergistic, the jury is out on exactly
what type of business, there is a number of opportunities
out there," he said.

However, Philips said the company would move swiftly to
cement whichever option it chose given its limited cash
position and a burn-rate of about $100,000 per month.
Shareholders yesterday also approved the issue of about 27
million shares with an average price of five cents, raising
a total of over $1.3 million.

The company also plans to continue its original business of
a call centre connected to an Internet business directory
while also deriving income from the sale of its e-Business
Starter Kits.  131 Shop listed at a 20 cent premium to its
50 cent issue price in July last year but its shares fell
as low as five cents last month. (Fairfax I.T. 1- August-
2000)


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

CHINA AIRLINES: Posts $67.5M in losses
--------------------------------------
China's airline industry chalked up operating losses of 560
million yuan (US$67.5 million) in the first half of the
year, as the leading airline administrative body urged
reforms to the over-inflated industry.

The industry-wide losses in the first half of the year were
down 1.15 billion yuan from the same period last year, the
China Business Weekly reported, as monopoly price controls
by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) were
cutting industry losses.

The report appeared to conflict with a story in last
Thursday's China Economic Times, which said Chinese airline
companies lost 990 million yuan in the first half of the
year, compared with "industry-wide losses" of 560 million
yuan.  The China Economic Times story further said the
airline companies turned a 95-million-dollar profit in
1999, which marks an astonishing turn around from the 1.71
billion yuan of losses that the industry chalked up in the
first half of 1999 as reported in the Business Weekly.

According to the Times story, airline losses this year were
largely due to rises in fuel costs.  China's airlines lost
2.4 billion yuan in 1998. The continued blood letting has
prompted CAAC to push forward the mergers of 10 of the
country's largest airlines into three aviation giants to
increase competitiveness, while "encouraging" smaller
airlines to also seek merger partners.

The merged heavyweights will be based on China's three
largest existing airlines, flag carrier Air China, China
Eastern and China Southern, which are both listed in Hong
Kong, CAAC officials revealed last week.  The mergers,
which will involve combined assets of 150 billion yuan, are
aimed at guiding the industry towards a more market-
oriented approach and appear set to shake up the entire
industry in China, potentially one of the largest aviation
markets in the world.

Chinese airlines need to streamline ahead of China's
pending entry into the World Trade Organization, which will
introduce more competition from foreign airlines.  However,
no time limit was set for the mergers and airlines were
told to decide suitable partners for themselves. China's 35
registered airline enterprises share only 500 passenger
aircraft between them, the Business Weekly said.

The mergers were expected to end CAAC's administrative
monopoly on ticket prices that has been characterized by a
"no discount policy" since May 1998, but industry insiders
said it was doubtful that prices would go down by very
much.

"The monopoly airfare only reduced short-term losses,
protected small firms that could not compete and kept
potential consumers away," Hu Angang, an industry
researcher with the Chinese Academy of Sciences told the
Business Daily. (Business Day Thailand, AFP  31-July-2000)

GUANDONG ENTERPRISES HLDGS.: Rehab complete this month
------------------------------------------------------
The restructuring of Guangdong Enterprises Holdings Ltd. is
close to finalization, with the deal expected to be
completed by the end of August, said a person familiar with
the reorganization.

This person said consent from most creditors is expected by
the second week of August, while the closing of the deal is
expected by the end of the month.

"The hard work has been done, in the sense that (they have)
negotiated an acceptable settlement," this person said.

Separately, this person confirmed that Goldman Sachs Asia
Ltd. will take a stake in the "restructured entity of"
Guangdong Enterprises but declined to disclose the
investment amount until the restructuring deal is
finalized. Goldman is advising Guangdong Enterprises on the
restructuring.

"That's been true right from the beginning," the source
said, adding that the investment amount, being part of
Guangdong Enterprises' debt-restructuring package, won't be
disclosed until the deal has been completed.

This person declined to confirm media reports that Goldman
Sachs is to inject US$20 million into Guangdong
Enterprises' listed unit, Guangdong Investment Ltd., which
will translate into a 3% stake in the enlarged share
capital of the unit after the restructuring.  In December,
Goldman Sachs Asia said it would take a small stake in
Guangdong Enterprises as a sign of its commitment to
restructuring the Guangdong-province-backed conglomerate.
(The Asian Wall Street Journal  28-July-2000)

SOHU.COM: Going public devalues stock 50%;posts loss
----------------------------------------------------
Sohu.com, a China-based Internet portal whose stock has
lost roughly 50 per cent of its value since going public
last month on Nasdaq, on Tuesday reported a second quarter
net loss of US$6.5 million (HK$50.63 million) in revenue of
US$1.3 million.

The loss totalled US$0.17 on a per-share basis, and
compares with a loss of US$4.1 million in the previous
quarter. Revenue in the previous quarter totalled US$0.8
million, Beijing-based Sohu said.  Analyst Bethany Chan of
UBS Warburg in Hong Kong had forecast a loss of roughly
US$5.1 million on turnover of US$1.25 million.

Sohu raised US$59.8 million in its IPO in July, and said it
had cash and cash equivalents on hand at the end of June of
US$78.68 million including the IPO proceeds.  Sohu.com
shares have been in near free-fall since going public at
US$13 each below the target range of US$16 to US$19 a share
and ended Nasdaq trading on Monday at US$6-3/8.

Some Web-watchers have warned that the China Internet
market is years away from yielding enough revenue to
support the many Web portal competitors now slugging it out
on the mainland.  The Chinese government released a survey
last week that showed Sohu.com was the second-most popular
mainlamd Web site, behind Sina.com and ahead of
Netease.com.  (South China Morning Post  01-August-2000)

TOM.COM LTD: Sacks 80 to cut costs; refocusing
----------------------------------------------
Tom.com Ltd., the Hong Kong company whose first-time share
sale nearly caused street riots, said it will lay off 80
employees to trim costs, in a further sign of struggling
times for start-up Internet companies.

Tom.com Ltd., an Internet company with travel, shopping and
entertainment Web sites controlled by Hong Kong billionaire
Li Ka- shing, will increase its productivity with the 16
percent staff cut and shift its focus to China, said Chief
Executive Officer Sing Wang.

"It's a painful but necessary action," he said. "We have to
catch up with market developments."

Wang said he won't disclose the financial impact of the
reduction until next week, when the company announces its
first-half results.

The move follows other recent layoffs in Hong Kong's
Internet sector. City Telecom (HK) Ltd., which is
transforming itself into an Internet firm from an
international telephone company, said last night it will
lay off 200 staff at its broadband operation, one third of
the total.  Next Media Ltd., which operates Web sites
associated with some of Hong Kong's top newspapers and
magazines, recently asked 62 employees to either resign or
transfer.

SCMP.com Ltd., publisher of the Internet version of Hong
Kong's No. 1 English-language daily newspaper, laid off 17
percent of its staff last month as part of a restructuring
that will also curtail the introduction of new Web sites.

"Under the current market situation, those who want to
survive must be either having positive cash flow or
reducing their burn rate," said Ronald Chan, an analyst at
Kleinwort Benson Securities (Asia) Ltd. "What tom.com has
done may be good for their financial health, but on the
other hand their content quality may be compromised."

Tom.com's travails drew special attention because of the
notoriety surrounding its share debut in mid-February, when
people queued up around blocks and applied for almost 700
times more shares than were on offer. Police had to be
called to control the crowds.

The company raised HK$762 million selling the shares,
though the shares have fallen 63 percent in value from
their peak. The company will continue to review its
different operations to see if there is room for
improvement, Wang said.

Wang admitted that the action may affect morale, "but they
should realize that the Internet industry is a high reward
and high risk industry."

Since it first launched a Web site last month, Tom.com has
introduced 20 sites with specific topics targeted at
audiences in Hong Kong and China. To keep up with the rapid
expansion, the company said it has to keep spending HK$50
million every month.  The company blamed heavy investment
in its Web sites for a first-quarter loss of HK$45.4
million ($5.8 million), which widened 12-fold from a year
earlier. Revenue was HK$738,000.

Tom.com is the largest stock listed on Hong Kong's Growth
Enterprise Market. The company recently named Wang to
replace Carl Chang as chief executive officer.  Tom.com
fell 15 cents, or 2.54 percent, to HK$5.75 today.
(Bloomberg  28-July-2000)


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

PT BIMANTARA CITRA: To sell shares to stabilize it
--------------------------------------------------
PT Bimantara Citra (JSX:BMTR), which is owned by Bambang
Triatmodjo, a son of former President Suharto, said it will
divest its shares in a number of subsidiaries to raise
fresh fund to strengthen its financial structure.

Bimantara Citra President Joseph Dharmabrata said the
company will sell part of its shares in Plaza Indonesia
Realty, Bimantara Cakra Nusa and Nestle Indonesia to the
Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency, Brightview
Enterprise, PT Allbrite Investment and Nestle SA.
(AsiaTimes Online  01-August-2000)


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

NIPPON CREDIT BANK:  FCR reaffirms guarantee
--------------------------------------------
Japanese Financial Chief Regular (FCR) Hideyuki Aizawa
reaffirm the government's commitment to guarantee Nippon
Credit Bank's (NCB) bad loan even though it will devalue by
more than 20 percent within three years.

According to Softbank president Masayoshi Son there bank
might back out in purchasing the bank if there are changes
in the agreement which might jeopardize the plan to
rehabilitate the  bankrupt store chain SOGO CORP.
(Asiagateway  01-August-2000)


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

DAEWOO GROUP: Overhaul by September
-----------------------------------
The Ministry of Finance and Economy has promised to settle
the fate of 12 troubled affiliates of Daewoo Group, which
are being overhauled, by the end of September. Some Daewoo
affiliates will be forced into more stringent restructuring
efforts, while creditors will attempt to sell other units
deemed irrecoverable.

Creditors of Daewoo, once the second-largest conglomerate
in the country, decided to dismantle the group last year
after it had amassed 89 trillion won ($79.86 billion) in
liabilities.

The government also unveiled plans to hasten reform of
South Korea's financially weak companies in an attempt to
restore market confidence, but analysts and investors
aren't convinced that it will take the necessary hard
steps.

The Ministry of Finance and Economy said Friday it will
investigate the credit risk of South Korea's 60 largest
business conglomerates and provide short-term loans to
those facing cash shortages in exchange for tough corporate
restructuring plans. The companies considered to have no
hope for recovery will be placed under court protection
from creditors or be forced into liquidation.

Some in Seoul's financial community are questioning the
government's reform plan. They doubt the government's
ability to evaluate the financial status of each of the
sprawling businesses in a speedy manner and its willingness
to force corporate liquidation in a country where such
practices are still rare.

"It's good that the government wants to monitor the
financial and corporate risks at an early stage, but it's
also questionable whether it has the quantified and
systematic means to implement such measures," said Fan
Jiang, an executive director at Goldman Sachs & Co. in Hong
Kong.

The plan comes amid growing concerns about the health of
Korea's corporate sector. In recent months, companies have
had difficulties raising money from banks and issuing
bonds, as financial institutions are reluctant to extend
support, and -- after Daewoo's near default on its bonds
earlier this year -- investor demand for corporate notes is
all but dead.

On Friday Seoul's benchmark index sank 4.8% to 692.65
points.  The biggest worries surround the country's largest
conglomerate, Hyundai Group. The local market has been hit
by concerns about a possible cash shortage at group
affiliate Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. On
Thursday, a day after 12 banks agreed to extend maturities
on the construction company's loans and commercial paper,
(Asian Wall Street Journal  31- July-2000)

HYUNDAI ENG'G & CONST: Trust company to roll over bonds
-------------------------------------------------------
Korea Investment Trust & Securities Co. said yesterday it
will roll over corporate bonds and commercial paper
maturing this year for Hyundai Engineering & Construction
Co. (HEC) and other Hyundai affiliates.

Debts coming due this year come to about 90 billion won
($80.7 million), including 70 billion in bonds and 20
billion won in CP, the trust company said.  A Korea
Investment Trust source said that since banks had earlier
decided to roll over loans for HEC, the company also
decided to follow suit so as to help stabilize the money
market.

Korea Investment Trust, meanwhile, decided to buy primary
CBOs (collateralized bond obligation) worth 500 billion won
to 1 trillion won from those companies which are hard
pressed to issue corporate bonds.  (Korea Herald  01-August
-2000)

HYUNDAI GROUP: No sign of fund crisis let-up
--------------------------------------------
The credit crunch that has engulfed Hyundai Engineering and
Construction (HEC) is reportedly spreading to other blue
chip subsidiaries of Hyundai Business Group.

One fund manager said Monday the commercial papers (CP)
issued by well-going Hyundai subsidiaries, including
Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and Hyundai Motor, have
attracted few investors despite the CP carried about 9%
interest rate, while the CP issued by LG and Samsung Groups
have been well-traded despite they carry 7.2% interest
rate. As a result, several Hyundai subsidiaries have been
offering 13% for their CP in recent days.

Market analysts said the scarce demands for Hyundai-issued
CP and corporate bonds have been due to lingering market
distrust of the group. (Digital Chosun  31-July-2000)

HYUNDAI GROUP: To fine-tune motor spin-off in August
----------------------------------------------------
Hyundai Business Group will finalize its plan to spin off
subsidiaries before the end of August.

One high-ranking official at the group said Monday that his
group recognizes that further delay could trigger more
antipathy from the government and the market. He also said
that Hyundai's restructuring coordination committee has
been fine-tuning the plan, which will be tailored to
government demands for the spin-off, and added that the new
plan will be finalized before the end of this month.

The same official explained that the new refined spin-off
plan includes ways to curtail the current 9.1% share-
holding by Hyundai's founder Chung Ju-yung of Hyundai
Motor, down to the government-stipulated amount, below 3%.
(Digital Chosun  31-July-2000)

HYUNDAI INVESTMENT TRUST: Under investigation
---------------------------------------------
Seoul District Prosecutors Office announced Monday that it
had completed a preliminary investigation on Hyundai
Investment Trust & Securities' president Lee Chang-shik and
its sister company of Hyundai Investment Trust &
Management's former president Kang Chang-hui for their
alleged illegal internal trading at the request by
Financial Supervisory Service.

The prosecution office said HITM has under suspicion of
purchasing bonds from HITS at over-valued prices and sold
them to it under market price from June 1996 to March 1999
creating illegal profit of W203.3 billion with the total
trade volume of 5.1768 trillion.

The prosecution is learned to have decided to summon the
two presidents and their staffs soon for further
investigation. The prosecution is learned also studying a
plan to extend its investigation to Hyundai Securities
chairman Lee Ik-chee who is at the top hierarchy of the
Hyundai Group's financial organizations.  (Digital Chosun
01-August-2000)

HYUNDAI PETROCHEMICAL CO.: To attract investment soon
SAMSUNG GEN.CHEMICALS: To attract investment soon
-----------------------------------------------------
Financially strapped Samsung General Chemicals and Hyundai
Petrochemical Co. in the Daesan petrochemical complex will
likely attract combined foreign investments of $1 billion
next month.

Hyundai Petrochemical is negotiating with Mitsui Trading
Co. to attract investments and loans worth $500 million and
expects to receive a letter of intent from the Japanese
company this week at the earliest, business sources said
yesterday.  Mitsui had advanced negotiations to take part
in the integration of Samsung General Chemicals and Hyundai
Petrochemical Co. last year but failed to reach an
agreement.

Mitsui, which is interested in the upstream sector of the
factory, will finalize the amount of investments and loans
after assessing asset value through on-site inspections, a
Hyundai official said.  Hyundai Petrochemical is also
pushing negotiations with European companies including a
Danish firm, he added.

Samsung General Chemicals is at the final stage of
negotiations to attract investments from foreign firms.
The company is advancing negotiations with major foreign
chemical companies and International Finance Corp. (IFC) to
attract investments of $500 million and the negotiations
will be completed in August, a Samsung official said.

Samsung General Chemicals and Hyundai Petrochemical each
had submitted self-rescue plans to their creditors claiming
improved financial structure from attracting foreign
investments by September this year after their merger plan
failed in February.  (Korea Herald  01-August-2000)


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

MALAYSIAN AIRLINES: Creditor okay needed to sell stake
------------------------------------------------------
Naluir Bhd must seek creditor approval if it wants to sell
its entire 29.09% stake Malaysia Airlines (MAS) as agreed
under the company's debt restructuring scheme, said
Corporate Debt Restructuring Committee (CDRC) chairman C.
Rajandram.

Rajandram said the agreement provided for some degree of
flexibility which allowed Naluri to sell part of the MAS
stake.  "The agreement provides some flexibility ... (but)
it (Naluri) has to go back to the creditors for approval if
it wants to sell the whole block," he added.

Rajandram said creditor approval for the disposal of
Naluri's MAS assets was required as they were originally
pledged to the creditors for earlier loans. Naluri had
obtained creditor approval in May to restructure about
RM1bil in debt for an extended period of five years at a
fixed interest rate of 8.75% per annum.

The company will raise funding through the disposal of
assets to repay at least 50% of its secured creditors
within the next two years.  (AFX, Star Online  01-August-
2000)

TENAGA NASIONAL BHD: To sell Kapar plant to pay debts
-----------------------------------------------------
Tenaga Nasional Bhd has entered into a conditional asset
sale agreement with Malakoff Bhd subsidiary Kapar Energy
Ventures Sdn Bhd (KEV) for the divestment of its 2,420MW
Kapar power station for RM6.27bil.

Following the signing of the agreement, KEV has entered
into a conditional power purchase agreement to generate and
sell electricity to Tenaga, and to make generating capacity
available to the company for 25 years.

"Proceeds from the divestment will be used by Tenaga to
retire existing debt obligations as they fall due," said
the Tenaga statement. Tenaga said that after the asset sale
agreement, it would hold a 60% stake in KEV.
On the issue of payment, Tenaga said the acquisition would
be satisfied via a cash deposit of RM250.8mil to be fully
settled upon the execution of the agreement.  A total cash
payment to Tenaga of RM657.2mil (second tranche settlement)
would be made upon completion of the acquisition.

According to the statement, KEV also intends to issue to
Tenaga such number of shares and instruments representing a
60% stake in KEV amounting to RM1.36bil which will be
considered as payment for the third tranche settlement.
The balance of RM4bil would be paid to Tenaga after three
years of the acquisition of the power plant.  (The Star
01-August-2000)


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

UNIWIDE GROUP: SEC urged to lift lock-up order on shares
---------------------------------------------------------
The interim Receivership Committee of the Uniwide Group of
Companies has asked the Securities Exchange Commission to
lift the lock-up order on some 3.57 billion primary shares
of Uniwide Holdings Inc.

The request was made to pave the way for the shares'
registration and licensing with the Philippine Stock
Exchange.

In a letter to the SEC dated July 25, committee chair
Monico Jacob said that to make the release of the said
shares possible, UHI intended to infuse the P3.57 billion
to be paid by French retailer Casino-Guichard Perrachon
into the corporation to be formed under the rehabilitation
plan, which will be called Fil-Franco Store Systems Inc.

The amount from Casino would be treated as additional paid-
in capital of Fil-Franco Store. This, he said, would pave
the way for the immediate release of the locked-up shares.
Under the rehabilitation plan for Uniwide that was approved
by the SEC, Casino and its local partner would own 87
percent of UHI, which in turn, will own 100 percent of a
new company that would own the relevant operating assets of
Uniwide Stores Warehouse Club Inc.

Casino has given the Uniwide rehabilitation committee up to
September to iron out the issues blocking the foreign
firm's entry into the ailing local retail chain group. In a
recent interview, Jacob said that the committee was still
negotiating with Bank of the Philippine Islands, Philippine
National Bank and Allied Banking Corp. for the approval of
various implementation issues relative to the
rehabilitation plan.

"We're hoping to close the deal (with Casino) on or before
mid-September," Jacob said.

Early February, Casino Guichard-Perrachon entered into a
memorandum of understanding to infuse P3.57 billion into
the Uniwide Group for an over 80-percent stake in the
publicly listed UHI, which controls the chain of Uniwide
convenience and warehouse stores nationwide.

The funds to be put up by the Casino group would be used to
pay the balance of the more than P10 billion in outstanding
debts that was not extinguished by dacion en pago
arrangements.
Casino has set several conditions to be met by the
committee before it would push through with the equity
infusion. One of the conditions is the turn over of UHI and
other assets covered by the agreement debt-free.

The amended rehabilitation plan provides for a haircut for
creditor banks and other creditors of the Uniwide Group
ranging from 20 percent to 50 percent.  Jacob said the
memorandum of understanding governing the dacion en pago of
the Uniwide Group's pertinent assets was signed with
various banks, including Global Business Bank, United
Coconut Planters Bank, Asianbank and East Asia Capital
Corp.

He said that negotiations with other banks for a similar
MOU were in various stages of development.  (Philippine
Daily Inquirer  01-August-2000)


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

BAN PU: Sells Bt5.3B share to Sithe Pacific
-------------------------------------------
Ban Pu, a major Thai power company, will stand to lose
control and management of Cogeneration Plc (Coco), another
power generating company, by selling  there  22 per cent
share or Bt 5.3 billion the proceeds of which will be used
to pay out there foreign debts.

US firm Sithe Pacific, who already owns 37 percent of
Cogeneration, can now exercise  the right to take control
of Coco, the co-generation power plant operator situated at
the heart of the Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate,
Thailand's heavy-industry complex.

Chanin Vongkusolkij, Ban Pu president, recently said  Bt
2.07 billion ( US $ 50 million) will be used to repay there
foreign debt and the remaining amount will be utilized  the
there small power-producers (SPP).  Ban Pu will see its
stake in Coco reduced to 10.8 per cent. The company will
lose management control but will retain some seats on
Coco's board of directors.

Coco has a combined production capacity of 815 megawatts.
Its annual sales revenue is about Bt10 billion. The tender
offer for Sithe Pacific to buy Coco shares from minority
shareholders will be conducted from August 3 to August 7.
(The Nation  01-August-2000)

SIAM CITY BANK: FIDF plans to sell bad debts to AMC
---------------------------------------------------
The Financial Institutions Development Fund will not open a
new auction round for shares in Siam City Bank, Supachai
Pisitvanich, finance permanent secretary, said yesterday.

Instead, regulators plan to sell bad loans at the bank to
the state-owned Asset Management Corporation, leaving Siam
City with a clean loan portfolio.  Mr Supachai, who is
deputy chairman of the development fund, said authorities
believed that stripping out the bad loans would be more
efficient in the restructuring process than keeping the
loans at the bank.

The Financial Institutions Development Fund is negotiating
with the AMC on the pricing of the loans.  Siam City Bank,
seized by regulators in early 1998, has non-performing
loans of around 230 billion baht, representing more than
two-thirds of total loans.

Once bad loans are sold, the development fund, as major
shareholder, will be responsible for operating and
restructuring the bank.  A downsizing programme will be
launched to match the bank's smaller asset portfolio,
including an early retirement programme offering
compensation payments of up to 50 months to departing
staff.

Siam City Bank's relatively high non-performing loans have
led the bank to run losses of around 300 million baht a
month.  Selling the bad loans should help reduce operating
losses to 30-40 million baht a month.

Mr Supachai said selling the bad loans to the AMC would
also help alleviate any concerns on the pricing of assets,
since the management company was also fully owned by the
development fund.

Whether Siam City Bank would be later sold to private
investors or be required to increase its capital had not
yet been finalised, he said.  The AMC was set up in 1997 to
serve as "bidder of last resort" for the sale of assets
from the 56 defunct finance companies by the Financial
Sector Restructuring Authority.

Assets worth 120 billion baht out of the 190 billion
purchased by the corporation have been restructured
successfully to date. Returns have averaged around 30% of
the original outstanding principal balance, compared with a
purchase price at auction of 17-18%.

Talks between the development fund and US investment fund
Newbridge Capital on the sale of a majority stake in Siam
City Bank collapsed earlier this year over disagreements on
pricing.  Since 1998, the central bank has sold majority
stakes in Nakornthon Bank to Standard Chartered and
Radanasin to Singapore's United Overseas Bank.  (Bangkok
Post  01-August-2000)

SIAM CITY BANK: Assets deteriorate while Gov't delays
-----------------------------------------------------
The Bank of Thailand has proposed a number of solutions for
solving the problems faced by debt-ridden Siam City Bank
(SCIB) which are currently awaiting a ministerial decision.

Siam's total bad debts - debts written off as unrecoverable
- amount to about Bt100 billion out of its total non-
performing loans of Bt230 billion, while the bank's assets
are deteriorating by about Bt300 million every month.
MR Chatu Mongol Sonakul, governor of the Bank of Thailand,
said that while the central bank had suggested some
solutions to SCIB, the final decision would depend on the
Ministry of Finance.

He said the bank's assets were currently not at a
threatening level, because the bank was capable of managing
its bad debts.  The central bank has already proposed
various options to Finance Minister Tarrin Nimmanahaeminda
and is waiting to see if investors are interested in them.
However, the central bank said that, so far, the problems
at SCIB had become easier due to the separation of the Bt30
billion-Bt70 billion debt out of the total Bt230 billion
NPLs.

The central bank has also considered the government's
proposal to use its providence fund to buy debt-ridden Siam
City. The Asset Management Company (AMC) has also shown
interest in SCIB, but has not yet submitted any concrete
proposals of its own.

Chatu Mongol added that while the government's providence
fund had expertise in managing regular debts, the AMC
specialised in managing bad debts.  (The Nation 01-August-
2000)

STAR BLCOK GROUP: Business rehabilitation ordered
UNICORD PLC: Business rehabilitation ordered
-------------------------------------------------
The Central Bankruptcy Court has ordered business
rehabilitation for Unicord Plc and Star Block Group Plc.

Unicord, a tuna canner, filed a business rehabilitation
petition in June, citing its 7.1 billion baht in debts.
No creditors objected to the debt-restructuring proposal.
It proposed to appoint Pipat and Associates to prepare the
plan.  Star Block Group, a contractor and maker of
construction materials, owed 26.5 million baht according to
its creditors, who filed no objections to its plan. The
court approved the appointment of United Equity Co to
prepare the rehabilitation plan. (Bangkok Post 1- August-
2000)

THAI ELECTRONIC INDUS.: 2 creditors reject rehab plan
-----------------------------------------------------
Thai Electronic Industry Co, meanwhile, has had its
rehabilitation proposal rejected by two creditors: Siam
City Bank Plc and Bangkok Bank Plc. The electronics
producer owes 665 million baht to 123 parties. The court
has set a new hearing for Aug 10.  (Bangkok Post 01-
August-2000)

THAI TEL.& TEL.: Turns down TOT's swap proposal
-----------------------------------------------
Thai Telephone and Telecommunications Plc (TT&T) has
rejected a proposal by the Telephone Organisation of
Thailand to convert four billion baht in disputed debt to
equity in the company, saying it has enough cash to repay
the money.

TOT board chairman Sombat Uthaisang had proposed the debt-
equity swap, saying it would help ease the provincial
fixed-line operator's overall debt burden. But TT&T vice-
president Witit Sujjapong said he didn't want the state
agency to become a shareholder through a debt-equity
conversion.

He also said the company intended to repay its debts to the
TOT in cash, but the exact figure had to be negotiated. He
said the TOT's claim of four billion baht debt might not be
correct as the TOT also owed money to TT&T for maintenance
of the TOT's provincial networks.  Mr Witit said that if
the TOT wanted to hold shares in TT&T, it could do so
through a proposal to become a strategic partner.

"Currently, our door is open for strategic partners to make
proposals with no regard to whether they are local or
foreign investors," he said.

Mr Sombat insisted the TOT's main concern was to ensure
that TT&T remained in a sound financial position to operate
the 1.5-million-line provincial phone network.

"We don't want TT&T to fall into the hands of foreign
investors who might become major shareholders in the
future. This is why we want to become a shareholder," he
said.  (Bangkok Post 01-August-2000)


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