---

     T R O U B L E D   C O M P A N Y   R E P O R T E R

                             A S I A   P A C I F I C

             Wednesday, September 6, 2000, Vol. 3, No. 173

                                     Headlines


* A U S T R A L I A *

MULTIPLEX CONSTRUCTION: Acquired mine incurs huge losses
TRANSURBAN GROUP: Posts first annual loss


* C H I N A  &  H O N G  K O N G *

CHUNG TAK LOONG CONSTR.CO.: Facing winding up petition
DOMINICAN CIGAR LTD: Facing winding up petition
EASTERN STAR LTD: Facing winding up petition
SHENYANG SMELTERY: Open for bids on assets
SINO TECHNOLOGY: Cuts staff,CEO quits - viability doubted
TAI PING YEUNG MOTORS LTD: Facing winding up petition
WELLEAD CONSTR.& ENGIN.CO.: Facing winding up petition
WELL GO SHOES TRADING LTD: Facing winding up petition


* I N D O N E S I A *

PT ASTRA INT'L: Posts first-half loss
PT BANK PACIFIC: IBRA takes it over
PT INDOPAC PERDANA FINANCE: IBRA takes it over
PT MACAN PURA: IBRA takes it over
PT PACIFIC INT'L FINANCE: IBRA takes it over
PT PERUSAHAAN: Posts much wider first-half loss
PT RAMASARI SURYA PERSADA: IBRA takes it over


* J A P A N *

KYOTARU CO.: Yoshinoya to get majority stake
MITSUBISHI MOTORS CORP.: Offices raided again
TOYODA GOSEI CO.: Adjudged to have infringed patent


* K O R E A *

DAEWOO GROUP: Found to have inflated assets W23 trillion
KOREA ASSET MANAGEMENT: Can't repay $3.7B in bonds
SAMSUNG CHEMICALS: Capital boost,asset sale to pay debt


* M A L A Y S I A *

HOTLINE FURNITURE BHD: White knight on the horizon?
KAJANG UTAMA: Enters debt settlement agreement
MBF CAPITAL: Posts loss
MBF HOLDINGS: Posts loss


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

ALL ASIA CAPITAL: Cease-and-desist order lifted on pymt
NATIONAL STEEL CORP.: Could reopen if s'holders OK lease
PHIL.NATIONAL BANK: PhP10B rights offering OK'd
PHIL.NAT.CONSTRUC.CORP.: Gov't reconsiders sale plan


* S I N G A P O R E *

ASIA PULP & PAPER: $10B debt burden may force asset sales
INTERFORM CERAMICS TECH.: Trading suspended-receivership?


* T H A I L A N D *

BUMRUNGRAD MEDICAL CENTRE: IFC seals debt deal it
PCM PRECAST: Tells SET of debt restructuring progress
PRECIOUS SHIPPING PLC: Tells SET debt rehab completed
SOON HUA SENG GROUP: Mediator named for debt talks
THAI-ASIA FUND: Posts US$ 4.4M loss
THAI-GERMAN PRODUCTS: Reports on rehab to SET


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

MULTIPLEX CONSTRUCTION: Acquired mine incurs huge losses
--------------------------------------------------------
Multiplex Construction Limited was the only Australian
mining company want to buy the Northern Territory's Mt.
Todd gold mine, paying Pegasus $A30m for it and changing
its name to Yimuyn Manjerr. Two years and $A50m later,
Multiplex closed the mine by mid-2000 with huge debts and
all its venture partners put under administration.

The gold mine had been one of the most consistent
performers in Australian mining -- every investor involved
in the mine managing to lose huge sums of money, except for
the Aboriginal owners, the Jawoyns, who acquired a few land
grants for allowing the mine to be worked. Canadian-based
corporation, Pegasus Gold, paid $A200m for the mine, but
went into liquidation in 1997 due to the low grade ore and
processing problems.  (ABIX - The Australian Financial
Review  01-Sept-2000)

TRANSURBAN GROUP: Posts first annual loss
-----------------------------------------
Transurban Group, operator of Melbourne's new multi-billion
dollar toll road, posted a A$105.2 million (US$60.33
million) loss for 1999/2000 in its first annual results.
The company is projecting a reduction in the loss to
approximatley A$30 million or A$40 million in 2000/01.


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

CHUNG TAK LOONG CONSTR.CO.: Facing winding up petition
------------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Court of First Instance,
has scheduled a hearing on September 27 on the petition of
LBM Limited for the winding up of Chung Tak Loong
Construction Co. Limited. A notice of legal appearance must
be filed on or before September 26.

DOMINICAN CIGAR LTD: Facing winding up petition
-----------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Court of First Instance,
has scheduled a hearing on October 11 on the petition of
Chan Wai Kong for the winding up of Dominican Cigar
Limited. A notice of legal appearance must be filed on or
before October 10.

EASTERN STAR LTD: Facing winding up petition
--------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Court of First Instance,
has scheduled a hearing on September 27 on the petition of
Hang Seng Finance Limited for the winding up of Eastern
Star Limited. A notice of legal appearance must be filed on
or before September 26.

SHENYANG SMELTERY: Open for bids on assets
------------------------------------------
Shenyang Smeltery, which announced bankruptcy early this
month for causing heavy industrial pollution, has made an
open invitation for bids for the regrouping of public
assets to get cash for its laid-off workers.

Tang Jiyue, an official in charge of the bankruptcy
settlement, said they will persist in a multi-lateral
investment policy and regroup public assets in a flexible
way.

"We will sell the copper and lead workshops, which were
heavy pollution makers, and regroup workshops which
attained the state required standard on pollution control
after treatment," he said. "The new enterprise will build
the modern enterprise system and prevent it from causing
pollution again."

Shenyang Smeltery, founded in Shenyang, capital of
northeast China's Liaoning Province, in 1936, used to be a
giant non-ferrous metal smelting firm with 13,000 workers.
It had more than 50 products including copper, lead, zinc,
gold, silver and semi-conductors.

According to the local environmental protection department,
the factory discharged into the air 74,000 tons of sulfur,
dioxide and 66.8 tons of heavy metal each year, polluting
50 square kilometers of the city, making up one-fourth of
the total area in Shenyang. (Xinhua General News Service
01-Sept-2000)

SINO TECHNOLOGY: Cuts staff,CEO quits - viability doubted
---------------------------------------------------------
Sino Technology Corp., information technology arm of real
estate developer Sino Land Co., laid off 18 employees at
its incubation center, Base 88.

According to a published report, Sino Technology's chief
executive James Liu also resigned from the company, raising
uncertainty about the Internet venture's future. Base 88 is
a unit providing infrastructure and property for local
technology enterprises in exchange for equity stakes. In
March, Sino Technology set up a $50 million Singapore-based
fund with Singapore's National Science and Technology Board
fund to invest in technology-based start-ups. (Bloomberg
04-Sept-2000)

TAI PING YEUNG MOTORS LTD: Facing winding up petition
-----------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Court of First Instance,
has scheduled a hearing on October 18 on the petition of
Mai Gou for the winding up of Tai Ping Yeung Motors
Limited. A notice of legal appearance must be filed on or
before October 17.

WELLEAD CONSTR.& ENGIN.CO.: Facing winding up petition
------------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Court of First Instance,
has scheduled a hearing on October 25 on the petition of
Eastern Technical Services Limited for the winding up of
Wellead Construction and Engineering Co. Limited. A notice
of legal appearance must be filed on or before October 24.

WELL GO SHOES TRADING LTD: Facing winding up petition
-----------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Court of First Instance,
has scheduled a hearing on October 4 on the petition of KDC
Prologue Limited for the winding up of Well Go Shoes
Trading Limited. A notice of legal appearance must be filed
on or before October 3.


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

PT ASTRA INT'L: Posts first-half loss
-------------------------------------
Automobile firm PT Astra International posted a Rp702
billion (US$83.6 million) net loss for the 6-month period
January through June this year.

Revenues rose by 121 per cent to Rp12.9 trillion, however.
Astra attributed the net loss to a fall in the value of the
rupiah against the US dollar, which increased its
"miscellaneous expenses" by 133 percent to Rp2.47 trillion.
For the same period last year, the foreign exchange
differential resulted in a loss of Rp1.06 trillion.

PT BANK PACIFIC: IBRA takes it over
PT INDOPAC PERDANA FINANCE: IBRA takes it over
PT MACAN PURA: IBRA takes it over
PT PACIFIC INT'L FINANCE: IBRA takes it over
PT RAMASARI SURYA PERSADA: IBRA takes it over
----------------------------------------------
The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) has taken
over the assets of five companies owned by obligor
Aditarina Arispratama (AA) group.

The subsidiaries of the AA group operate in financial
service, banking and property sectors including hotel,
apartment and real estate, IBRA confirmed. It said it would
restructure the five companies, including PT Ramasari Surya
Persada, with debt to IBRA totaling Rp490 billion (US$58.8
million), PT Macan Pura with debt totaling Rp15 billion, PT
Bank Pacific Rp231 billion, PT Pacific International
Finance Rp1.5 trillion and PT Indopac Perdana Finance Rp111
million. PT Ramasari Surya Persada operates a five-star
hotel (Westin Hotel) and apartments (Westin Apartment) in
Surabaya.

PT PERUSAHAAN: Posts much wider first-half loss
-----------------------------------------------
State-owned Indonesian power company PT Perusahaan Listrik
Negara [PLN] posted a loss for the first half of this year
of Rp 11.58 trillion (US$1.4 billion).

That loss is nearly 12 times greater than the Rp 974
billion loss it posted for the same time period last year.
The loss is despite a 30 percent rise in net revenue to Rp
10.11 trillion from Rp 7.75 trillion in 1999. The company's
operating costs also rose to Rp 12.3 trillion in the
period, up from Rp 8.76 trillion for the same period in
1999.

The cost of purchasing power likewise rose to Rp 4.13
trillion from Rp 1.07 trillion last year. PLN buys power
from independent power producers at an average price of 5.5
US cents or about Rp 453 per kilowatt hour (KwH) and
resells it for about Rp 250.


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

KYOTARU CO.: Yoshinoya to get majority stake
--------------------------------------------
Fast food chain Yoshinoya D and C Co. confirmed Friday it
will acquire 67 percent of the outstanding shares of failed
restaurant chain Kyotaru Co. for 510 million yen.

Yoshinoya will buy 10.2 million Kyotaru shares from frozen
food producer Katokichi Co., which has been in charge of
Kyotaru's court-administered rehabilitation. The firm went
bankrupt in January 1997.

MITSUBISHI MOTORS CORP.: Offices raided again
---------------------------------------------
Police raided the offices of Japanese automaker Mitsubishi
Motors again on Sunday in a bid to find evidence of a 30-
year cover-up of automotive defects and customer
complaints.

The search followed a similar incident a week ago when more
than a thousand items were confiscated. Tokyo police said
they would now be investigating the case and would
therefore be unable to give any details.  The carmaking
group confirmed police had searched offices but declined to
comment further.

Sunday's raid came in the wake of moves by DaimlerChrysler,
the German-US automotive group, to renegotiate the terms of
its E2.1bn ($1.9bn) alliance with Mitsubishi Motors
following a share price collapse at the Japanese carmaker.
Jurgen Schrempp, DaimlerChrysler chief executive,
dispatched two senior directors to Tokyo for emergency
talks at the weekend on DaimlerChrysler's proposed purchase
of a 34 per cent share stake in Mitsubishi Motors.

Officials close to the talks said Mr Schrempp was "very
keen on getting the price down."  Shares in Mitsubishi
Motors have fallen more than 32 per cent following its
admission that it covered up customer complaints for 30
years and would have to recall more than 600,000 cars to
rectify potential faults.

The company is also under investigation by the Japanese
ministry of transport and the Tokyo police for possible
violation of the country's Road Vehicles Law and failure to
recall vehicles with potentially dangerous defects.
DaimlerChrysler is expected to seek increased board
representation at Mitsubishi and to place more middle
managers inside the Japanese carmaker, particularly in
areas such as quality control.

Eckhard Cordes, Daimler-Chrysler's head of corporate
development, and Manfred Bischoff, director of industrial
operations, are to meet Mitsubishi president Katsuhiko
Kawasoe before returning to Germany early next week.
It is thought that Mr Bischoff, due to become a non-
executive director of Mitsubishi, will press for a third
executive alongside the two DaimlerChrysler directors who
joined the Mitsubishi board earlier this week.

DaimlerChrysler's original deal with Mitsubishi Motors had
given the German company rather less management control
than that assumed by Renault, the French car group, at
Nissan Motor.  Renault launched an aggressive restructuring
programmeand parachuted in key senior executives from
France, despite holding only a 36.8 per cent stake -
similar to that proposed for DaimlerChrysler in Mitsubishi.

In Japan local media suggested Mr Kawasoe could be forced
to resign shortly. DaimlerChrysler, which announced the
Mitsubishi tie-up in March, refused to comment. Mitsubishi
continued to deny that Mr Kawasoe would step down.
DaimlerChrysler is determined to stabilise day-to-day
operations at Mitsubishi, a main plank of its Asian
expansion strategy.

The two companies will have a combined market share of
almost 11 per cent in Japan and 9.4 per cent elsewhere in
the Asia Pacific region.  DaimlerChrysler also hopes to
harness Mitsubishi's expertise in small cars to develop new
urban vehicles.

In an attempt to restore consumer confidence, Mitsubishi on
Friday established an advisory panel to oversee quality
control. The panel will review the carmaker's production
process and improve communication with sales companies.
The committee, which includes a retired Supreme Court judge
and several industry executives, is the company's first
attempt to resolve the problem internally. (Financial News
03-Sept-2000)

TOYODA GOSEI CO.: Adjudged to have infringed patent
---------------------------------------------------
The Tokyo District Court on Thursday approved the entire
claim by Nichia Chemical Industries Ltd. against Toyoda
Gosei Co., ruling that Toyoda infringed Nichia's patent for
a light-emitting diode.  The court ordered Toyoda Gosei to
stop manufacturing and selling the product and pay Nichia
Chemical 100 million yen (US$ 941,000).

The LED chip in dispute emits blue and green laser light
and is used in small liquid crystal displays for cell
phones and large displays. In February 1998, Nichia was
awarded a patent for a blue LED chip, developed using
gallium nitride compounds. Toyoda Gosei then began
manufacturing blue/green LEDs.

Toyoda Gosei argued there was no encroachment on Nichia
Chemical's patent because its LED has a different
structure. Nichia Chemical holds the top spot in the
domestic blue LED market, ahead of No. 2 firm Toyoda Gosei.
Decisions in eight other related lawsuits involving the
companies are still pending.  (Asia Pulse  01-Sept-2000)


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

DAEWOO GROUP: Found to have inflated assets W23 trillion
--------------------------------------------------------
Twelve units of the now defunct Daewoo Group were found to
have inflated their assets by as much as 23 trillion won
($20.7 billion) through the manipulation of account books,
the Financial Supervisory Commission said yesterday.

The financial watchdog is likely to file criminal charges
with the prosecution against former Daewoo Chairman Kim
Woo-choong and 39 others next week for doctoring the
account books of the Daewoo affiliates now under debt
workout programs.  A special review of their account books
showed that the Daewoo subsidiaries had inflated their
assets by 22.9 trillion won, which had been conducted
intensively through Daewoo Corp. and its British
subsidiary, British Finance Center, the commission said.

A special review committee yesterday submitted a set of
sanctions on those involved in the book-rigging case to the
Securities and Futures Commission, under the wing of FSC,
for approval, but the commission turned them down. The
commission is scheduled to meet next week to make a final
decision.  The review committee suggested that criminal
charges be filed against the former Daewoo Chairman and 21
former Daewoo executives for rigging the 12 affiliates'
account books, while asking the prosecution to investigate
18 accountants who audited the account books.

The review committee also proposed that Sandong, an
accounting subsidiary of KPMG Korea Group, be slapped with
a business suspension of at least six months or the
cancellation of its business license. Sandong had long
served as an outside auditor of the group's trading and
construction arm.

Ahn Kwon & Co. and Anjin & Co., which audited the financial
statements of Daewoo Motor and Daewoo Electronics, should
be barred from working as independent auditors for
corporate customers for one year, the review committee
recommended. (Korea Herald 02-Sept-2000)

KOREA ASSET MANAGEMENT: Can't repay $3.7B in bonds
--------------------------------------------------
Korea Asset Management Corp., a state-run agency set up to
acquire bad loans, may not have enough money to pay back
4.1 trillion won ($3.7 billion) worth of maturing bonds,
the Korea Economic Daily said.

At the end of August, Kamco had 5.5 trillion won worth of
useable funds, which will be used up this month, so the
agency doesn't have enough for bonds maturing in November
and December, the paper said, citing Kamco.  Kamco has
already spent 1.2 trillion won to purchase near- insolvent
Daewoo Group's overseas bonds this month, KED said.

Kamco is scheduled to buy 3.2 trillion won worth of
Daewoo's defaulted commercial paper from investment trust
firms, and an additional 1.1 trillion won worth of Daewoo's
overseas bonds this month, the paper said.  Kamco said in
August that it would try raise as much as $12 billion
through joint-venture funds with foreign investors to buy
more past-due credits from Korea's banks and to foot the
rising cost of cleaning financial institution's balance
sheets. (Bloomberg  04-Sept-2000)

SAMSUNG CHEMICALS: Capital boost,asset sale to pay debt
-------------------------------------------------------
Samsung General Chemicals will increase its capital by 200
billion won (US$180 million) this month and sell assets
worth 300 billion won by the end of the year for reducing
its debt.

Samsung affiliates, including Samsung Corp., will furnish
funds for the capital increase, due to foreign investment
not materializing as quickly as expected. The capital
increase and asset sales are expected to reduce the
company's net debt from 2.3 trillion won at the end of 1997
to 1.3 trillion won by the end of this year and lower its
debt ratio to the 190-percent range.


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

HOTLINE FURNITURE BHD: White knight on the horizon?
----------------------------------------------------
Whichever way it is viewed, the bottomline of Hotline
Furniture Bhd is a major discomfort to its shareholders, in
particular the minority ones, for its net tangible asset is
negative RM33.91mil for the financial year ended May 31,
1999.  But the shareholders' agony of biting the bullet may
be over soon.

The KLSE second board company has found a white knight--
Macro System Consultancy Sdn Bhd (MSC)--to come to its
rescue.  The acquisition of the MSC group of colleges
represents a restructuring exercise undertaken to rescue
the Hotline group.  The acquisition will present the
company with an opportunity to diversify its business
activity into the burgeoning education sector, hence
providing an immediate enhancement to the group's earnings
and cashflow position, said MSC deputy chief executive
officer Dr Danny Choong.

MSC is the owner of Kemayan Advance Tertiary College (ATC),
the premier private law school in Malaysia with operations
in Singapore and Hong Kong, too.  To kick off the exercise,
MSC's acquisition of Wisma Kemayan would enable it to house
its schools of pre-tertiary studies and mass
communications, Dr Choong told Star Business.

Similarly, it is acquiring premises in Taman Kemacahaya in
Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, which will be used as the initial
campus of the Cosmopolitan International College, he added.
The acquisition of Wisma Kemayan in Kuala Lumpur, currently
being leased by MSC, would also result in the savings of
rental charge, Dr Choong said, rationalising that this was
a long-term plan for the group.

After the corporate exercise, Master Portfolio Sdn Bhd will
emerge as a substantial shareholder. MSC executive chairman
Tun Abdul Hamid Omar holds some 90% of the shares in Master
Portfolio.  As with many public-listed companies, Hotline's
group performance was severely affected by the economic
downturn which began in the second half of 1997 and lasted
up to the first quarter of 1999.

The group's turnover declined from RM50.53mil for the
financial year ended May 31, 1998 to RM38.63mil for the
year ended May 31, 1999.  The Hotline group recorded a loss
of RM28.27mil for the year ended May 31, 1998 and losses of
RM52.34mil for the year ended May 31, 1999.  The losses
suffered by the group over the last two financial years
have resulted in the Hotline group having a negative net
tangible assets of RM33.91mil as at May 31, 1999.

Henceforth, the accumulated losses have eroded the group's
assets and Hotline does not foresee that it will be able to
generate profits in the near future--unless a white knight
(MSC) comes in.  MSC had expanded into pre-tertiary studies
and professional studies through the opening of a new
branch in Wisma Kemayan, said Dr Choong, who is also the
principal/deputy chief executive officer of Kemayan ATC.

It would also open branch campuses in Menara Umno in Penang
and Kemayan City in Johor Baru soon, said Dr Choong, who
has been involved in the education industry for more than
10 years.  In expanding its education business, it is
offering other educational courses under its subsidiaries,
Perijuara Sdn Bhd which operates Pusat Tuisyen Juara in
Kuala Lumpur and Pusat Tuisyen Johor in Johor Baru; Influx
Vision Sdn Bhd operating the Kemayan Integrated Schools in
Seremban and Global Definition Sdn Bhd running the soon-to-
be-opened Cosmopolitan International College in Cheras.

"The expansion is on track as the government has aimed to
make Malaysia a regional centre of education excellence,
attracting foreign students into Malaysia. This will in
turn contribute to the flow of foreign exchange into the
country," said Dr Choong.

Academic matters aside, shareholders are eager to know how
the corporate exercise will benefit them.  Its rationale,
vis-a-vis its rights issue, is as follows. The end effect
will be:  Immediately upon completion of the rights issue,
the current issued and paid-up capital of Hotline Furniture
Bhd will increase from RM20.9mil to at least RM52.25mil.

This will comply with the existing requirement that the
minimum paid-up capital for the existing companies listed
on the second board of the KLSE be increased to RM40mil.
The free warrants to be issued together with the rights
issue shares act as an incentive for existing shareholders
of the company to subscribe for the rights issue shares.

At the same time, the conversion of warrants will be a
cheap source of funding for the company in the future.
The proceeds from the rights issue will be substantially
used to retire part of Hotline group's bank borrowings
while the rest will be used for working capital purposes
and to defray the company's expenses related to undertaking
the proposals.

The partial repayment of bank borrowings will enable the
Hotline group to realise interest savings of about RM1.6mil
per annum and therefore enhance the profitability of the
Hotline group in future.  Despite the improving economic
conditions, the company still faces difficulty in obtaining
credit facilities from financial institutions.

Furthermore, many suppliers have reduced the credit period
offered to customers from 90 days previously to 30 days or
on cash terms.  Hence, Hotline will now require a larger
working capital to fund the purchase of raw materials.  As
such, the proceeds raised from the rights issue will help
the company in meeting all its obligations.

Underlying the importance of the rights issue is the
continued support of Hotline's shareholders by enabling
them to have greater participation in the company's equity
in terms of number of Hotline shares held prior to the
acquisition.  The rights issue will also enable the
substantial shareholders, namely Excellent Alliance Sdn
Bhd, to maintain a significant equity interest in the
company. The rights issue is also undertaken to maintain
the 25% minimum public shareholding spread requirement.
(Star Online 04-Sept-2000)

KAJANG UTAMA: Enters debt settlement agreement
----------------------------------------------
Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd reports its wholly-owned
subsidiary Kajang Utama Sdn Bhd had on August 30 entered
into a product and services exchange agreement with Sistem
Televisyen

Malaysia Bhd and Foote, Cone & Beldings Sdn Bhd (FCB), to
offset Kajang Utama's outstanding debts owed to FCB. In a
statement to the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, Malaysian
Resources said FCB has provided various advertising
services to Kajang Utama and as at July 1, 1999, Kajang
Utama was indebted to FCB for a sum of 585,217 rgt.

Television operator Sistem Televisyen Malaysia has agreed
to settle the outstanding amount on behalf of Kajang Utama
by giving FCB the duration of airtime worth the amount
owed.  In exchange, Sistem Televisyen Malaysia will acquire
from Kajang Utama a shop lot and an apartment in Kajang,
Selangor for 585,217 rgt.

Malaysian Resources holds a 49.71 pct stake in Sistem
Televisyen Malaysia.  No approval is required for this
settlement, the company said.  Meanwhile, in a separate
statement to the Exchange, Malaysian Resources also said
Kajang Utama has entered into a settlement agreement with
AMI Insurans Bhd and The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia)
Bhd to part settle Malaysian Resources' debt to AMI.

AMI has provided various insurance coverage to Malaysian
Resources and as at August 25, 1999, Malaysian Resources
owes AMI insurance premiums totalling 500,274 rgt. Kajang
Utama has agreed to sell to AMI one shop office unit in
Kajang, Selangor, for 499,704 rgt, as part settlement of
the debt.  In return, Malaysian Resources will pay Kajang
Utama in cash or any other consideration acceptable by
Kajang Utama.

Malaysian Resources has paid in cash to AMI the remaining
balance between the outstanding premium and the value of
the property.  AMI is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Malaysian Resources' associate company, The New Straits
Times Press.

Malaysian Resources said the sale will allow Kajang Utama
to realise its sale of the property, while offsetting
Malaysian Resources' outstanding premium due to AMI. Both
the settlements will not have any material effect on the
net tangible assets and earnings of Malaysian Resources
group.  The settlement of the outstanding premium with the
property requires approval from Bank Negara and the central
bank has approved the transaction. (AsiaGateway 04- Sept-
2000)

MBF CAPITAL: Posts loss
MBF HOLDINGS: Posts loss
------------------------
MBf Holdings Bhd said it registered a pre-tax loss of
RM52.62mil for the first half ended June 30, 2000 against a
loss of RM272.308mil the previous year.

It posted a net loss of RM55.91mil from a loss of
RM275.28mil previously. Sales also fell to RM411.34mil
compared with a loss of RM486.31mil earlier.  No interim
dividend was recommended.  As for the second-quarter
results ended June 30, 2000, MBf Holdings recorded a pre-
tax loss of RM33.29mil.

The company said its pre-tax loss was 72.5% in the second
quarter compared with a pre-tax loss of RM19.3mil in the
first.  The widening loss was due to losses from the
disposal of subsidiaries amounting to RM6.08mil, provision
for dimunition in quoted shares of RM3.3mil and a lower
gain of RM7.5mil from the disposal of quoted investments,
MBf Holdings said.

Meanwhile, MBf Capital said yesterday that although it has
sought preliminary advice for the restructuring of its
group of companies, no scheme as yet been formulated. In a
statement, MBf said that the restructuring would enable the
group to resume normal operations, return to profitability
as well as service its restructured obligations.

The company said its ability and that of its affected
subsidiaries to continue was dependent on the successful
implementation of the restructuring exercise.

"The success of the restructuring exercise is, in turn,
dependent on the shareholders, local and foreign bankers,
certain creditors of the group and the approval of the
appropriate authorities," MBf Capital added.

For the half-year ended June 30, 2000, MBf Capital posted a
pre-tax loss of RM255mil against a loss of RM77.4mil last
year.  Its net loss widened to RM244.89mil from RM77.36mil
previously. Sales dropped to RM35.88mil from RM49.37mil.
For the three months to June 30, 2000, MBf Capital posted a
pre-tax loss of RM208.25mil while sales stood at RM18.66mil
respectively.  (Star Online  02-Sept-2000)


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

ALL ASIA CAPITAL: Cease-and-desist order lifted on pymt
-------------------------------------------------------
The Securities and Exchange Commission has lifted the
cease-and desist-order against All Asia Capital and Trust
Corp. following the investment house's partial payment of
the of P1-million penalty for non-registration of
commercial papers.

The decision to lift the CDO was reached by the commission
en banc Wednesday after All Asia paid P250,000 in
compliance with the agency's earlier directive that the
penalty be paid in staggered basis. The commission has
allowed All Asia to pay the fine in four equal
installments.

The commission said, however, it would reimpose the CDO if
All Asia failed within six months to raise fresh capital as
well as submit a recovery program for the firm's liquidity
problems.  The recovery schedule, the SEC said, should
contain relevant information such as names of prospective
investors, the amount of corresponding investments and the
status of negotiations. All activities should also be
time-bound.

The SEC has also required All Asia to submit a status
report on its financial condition which would include a
cash flow schedule at the end of each month. The status
report shall be required until the recovery program
is concluded.  In addition, All Asia was required to spin
off its financing company operations into a separate
company or entity.

The CDO was issued by the SEC's Brokers and Exchanges
Department following findings that All Asia had violated
the single borrowers limit for investment houses as well as
the rules on short-term commercial papers. An audit
conducted by the BED showed that All Asia violated a
monetary board resolution on prescribed capital adequacy
ratios as receivables from its affiliates exceeded more
than 25 percent of its net worth.

The company was also found to have issued short-term
promissory notes and sourced funds in excess of P5 million
from various corporate entities without prior approval of
the SEC.  All Asia is one of the many investment houses
suffering tight liquidity problems as a result of a lull in
the initial public offering and the decrease in demand for
financial services.

Other investment houses that have made public their
financial problems are East Asia Capital Corp., Westmont
Investment Corp., Urbancorp Investment Corp., and Corporate
Investments Philippines Inc. Investment house are entities
that handle IPOs, private placement of shares and
commercial paper flotation. They also serve as advisors to
companies planning to merge or acquire other firms.

They provide investment banking services such as packaging
and arranging of medium-to long-term loans and financial
advisory. In addition, they engage in the trading of
various investment instruments such as government-issued
Treasury bills, promissory notes and commercial papers of
prime companies.  (Manila Times  02-Sept-2000)

NATIONAL STEEL CORP.: Could reopen if s'holders OK lease
--------------------------------------------------------
Troubled National Steel Corp. (NSC) may temporarily resume
operations if creditor banks and the Malaysian stockholder
approve Allengoal Steel Fabrication and Trading's offer to
lease the steel firm's Iligan City Works for eight months.

A trading firm with an authorized capital of 5 million
Philippine pesos ($0.111 million at PhP45.146=$1),
Allengoal is reportedly linked with Chinese-Filipino tycoon
Lucio C. Tan. Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank)
executive vice-president Alfonso B. Cruz, Jr. told
reporters last Friday Allengoal is offering to pay PhP12
million monthly for the lease of the plant. Allengoal is
also offering to put up PhP25 million in cash bond, he
added.

"A number of creditors are amenable to leasing it out to
Allengoal," he said. Mr. Cruz said, however, Allengoal
would only provide a "short-term, interim solution" to
NSC's woes.  (Business World  04-Sept-2000)

PHIL.NATIONAL BANK: PhP10B rights offering OK'd
-----------------------------------------------
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved
the 10.18-billion Philippine peso ($225.49 million at
PhP45.146=$1) capital raising activity of fully privatized
Philippine National Bank (PNB).

Its stock rights offering will be conducted from Sept. 15
to 29. PNB, now controlled by beer and tobacco tycoon Lucio
C. Tan, expects to have a PhP32.069-billion ($710.34
million) capital by yearend, more than twice its capital
level as of June 26 of PhPP13.398 billion.

The bank said a big chunk of the proceeds or PhP8.8 billion
will be used to pay high-cost obligations maturing in
October. The remaining PhP1.38 billion will be invested in
fixed income securities.  PNB will be offering 171.850
million new common shares at an offer price equivalent to
its par value of PhP60 apiece ($1.33).

Existing shareholders as of Sept. 15 may buy five shares
for every six shares they own. Shareholders also have an
option to buy one warrant share for every one subscribed
rights offer share within five years from the transaction.
PNB's investment house, PNB Capital and Investment Corp.,
will be the issue manager while Allied Banking Corp.'s
trust and investment division will be the stock transfer
agent.

Meanwhile, investment house Orion Squire Capital, Inc.
projected it will take two years for PNB to recover from
its financial losses.  PNB started to be in the red at the
height of the financial crisis in 1998, after big-ticket
loans became past due.  In its September report on the
bank, Orion Squire estimated PNB's net loss to taper off to
PhP1.859 billion this year from PhP9.874 billion in 1999,
and PhP7.252 billion in 1998. PNB projects a PhP561-million
net loss this year.

"We expect PNB to remain under pressure this year and (in)
2001, as the bank will be negatively affected by the
mergers and e-banking plans of its peer banks," the Orion
Squire study said.  "The weak lending activities and the
high level of its nonperforming loans -- seen to hit 24%
this year -- will be the bank's paramount concerns, as
these are expected to erode PNB's earnings in the short
term."

The firm also raised concerns on the level of PNB's loans
to directors, officers, stockholders and related interests
(DOSRI) with the entry of Chinese-Filipino businessman Mr.
Tan. Orion Squire said the level of DOSRI loans may likely
go up when Mr. Tan's companies are taken into account.

The Bangko Sentral (central bank) mandates that unsecured
DOSRI must not exceed 30% of a bank's total credit
accommodations. DOSRI loans should also not exceed a bank's
outstanding deposits. Mr. Tan's Philippine Airlines, Inc.
and Asia Brewery, Inc. have substantial deposit and loan
accounts with PNB while his Fortune Tobacco Corp. and
Foremost Farms, Inc. have deposit accounts, said Orion
Squire.

PNB is now trading at a 27% discount to its PhP74.42 book
value per share at a market price of PhP54 apiece as of
Aug. 28, Orion Squire said. "We believe that this is more
of a function of its share price weakness which reflects
its poor earnings prospects."  (Business World  04- Sept-
2000)

PHIL.NAT.CONSTRUC.CORP.: Gov't reconsiders sale plan
----------------------------------------------------
The government will review plans to sell its 89.1% stake in
Philippine National Construction Corp. (PNCC), given the
large amount of the company's liabilities uncovered
recently.

Some 32 billion Philippine pesos ($708.81 million at
PhP45.146=$1) in "unbooked liabilities" were recently
discovered after a due diligence audit by financial adviser
Asset Privatization Trust (APT), said chief executive
trustee Renato Valdecantos.  This is in addition to the
PhP5.4 billion ($119.61 million) the state-owned
construction firm owes to various institutions, added Mr.
Valdecantos, who also sits as chairman of PNCC.

With this new development, the government expects to have
difficulty selling the firm, Finance Secretary Jose T.
Pardo said last Friday.  To remedy the problem, the
Committee on Privatization (CoP) plans to sell only the
firm's seven-year franchise to build and operate toll roads
in the country, the Finance chief added.

"There are a lot of liabilities, so we might remove real
estate and the liabilities, leaving only the franchise. We
are trying to look at it with a simpler focus," said Mr.
Pardo, who also sits as chairman of CoP.

While the proposal is still being reviewed by government
disposition entity APT, Mr. Pardo said the government
expects to sell its stake in the firm within the year to
earn an estimated PhP5 billion in revenues.  The government
plans to sell the combined shares of four government
agencies in PNCC totalling 89.1%. Of this, 52% is owned by
APT. Government Service Insurance System owns 23% stake;
Land Bank of the Philippines has 0.3%; while the
Presidential Commission on Good Government holds 13.8%.

Also included in PNCC assets up for sale is PhP30 billion
worth of receivables held by the Bureau of Treasury. So
far, three groups have "informally expressed" interest to
buy the government's stake in PNCC, APT's Mr. Valdecantos
said earlier. He identified the Lopez and Gatchalian group
of companies and Crown Equities, Inc. (CEI).

PNCC has an existing joint venture with CEI for the
development of the $480-million South Luzon Expressway. CEI
subsidiary Hopewell Crown Infrastructure, Inc. signed a
joint-venture agreement with PNCC last year.  PNCC started
as a private corporation in 1966 as Construction &
Development Corp. of the Philippines. It is the only
government-controlled corporation that is listed at the
Philippine Stock Exchange.

The firm has the exclusive franchise to build toll roads in
the country. PNCC is one of several state corporations
included in the privatization program. Other government
stakes up for sale are those in Manila Electric Co.,
Philippine National Oil Co.-Energy Development Corp. and
media firms IBC 13 and RPN 9.  (Business World 04- Sept-
2000)


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

ASIA PULP & PAPER: $10B debt burden may force asset sales
---------------------------------------------------------
Asia Pulp & Paper Co., which owes close to $10 billion,
doesn't have enough cash to repay $600 million loans that
come due next year and may have to sell assets or stock to
pay its debts, analysts said.

Asia's largest papermaker outside Japan had to borrow $100
million in July at 25 percent interest to avoid defaulting
on an earlier loan. The company may be unable to repay that
borrowing and another $500 million due October 2001 unless
it sells some assets.

"Most investors we speak to today are highly anxious about
APP's looming debt repayment," said Charles Spencer and
Stanley Ling, analysts at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, in a
report.

The company may have to sell assets or have subsidiaries
issue dividends to meet the debt payments, the report said.
Morgan Stanley helped Asia Pulp raise $350 million in
March.  Asia Pulp's American depositary receipts, which the
company sold at $11.50 each in 1995, have plunged 52
percent this year to $3.81 yesterday.

The receipts fell to a record low of $3.63 on Monday but
recovered after PT Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper Tbk, Asia
Pulp's largest Indonesian unit, reported a four-fold rise
in second- quarter profit.  Still, analysts said those
profit gains are unlikely to be repeated soon.

The company's profits are unlikely to improve because pulp
prices may have peaked, after surging more than 50 percent
in the last year, while paper prices have been almost
stable, said David Rubin, an analyst at PT Nomura Indonesia
in Jakarta.  Paper demand in China, one of the company's
largest markets, is still weak, he said.

"We think the company is a sell," said Rubin. "They don't
have enough (money) to meet their commitments and may have
to raise additional borrowings or find a method of
(drawing) cash from subsidiaries."

Morgan Stanley first rated Asia Pulp as "outperform" in
November 1996 when the stock traded at $9.87 and has
subsequently rated it as "strong buy" for the next two
years and an "outperform" since June when it traded at
$5.31.

Asia Pulp has tried to sell its power generation and
packaging units for almost a year, but have failed because
it didn't get the price it wanted, said Rubin.  "The
company has said that they don't want to sell at a fire-
sale price," he said.

Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Ltd., a rival
Asian papermaker, yesterday completed the sale of its 51
percent stake in China-based Changshu Paper Mill to UPM-
Kymmene Oyj of Finland for $150 million to reduce its debt
and fund expansions in Indonesia.  Still, rising profits at
some of its subsidiaries may help Asia Pulp avoid
defaulting on its repayments, analysts said.

"We believe a combination of subsidiary dividends and asset
sales would generate sufficient cash to meet these
(repayment) obligations," Morgan Stanley said.

Indah Kiat this week reported profit for the quarter ended
June 30 rose to $135 million from $27 million a year
earlier on higher pulp prices. The company sells most of
its pulp output to its group companies.  Indah Kiat has
cash worth $460 million that's more than enough to repay
the $409 million of its long-term loans that mature in the
next 12 months, Morgan Stanley said.

"The second quarter results should help calm nervous
investors," the report said.

Shares of Indah Kiat, which had slumped to a three-month
low of 1,395 rupiah before the earnings announcement on
Wednesday, rose 4.5 percent to 1,520 rupiah today,
extending a 4.3 percent rise yesterday.  Asia Pulp, the
holding company and one of Asia's most indebted companies,
will unveil its group earnings next week.

The management should then lay out plans to pay interest
and repay loans that are due through this year to sooth
investors' worries about a debt default, Morgan Stanley
said.  "Clearly high country risk (for investing in
Indonesia) is keeping many investors on the sidelines, but
we believe skepticism towards management strategies is also
penalizing the stock." (Bloomberg  01-Sept-2000)

INTERFORM CERAMICS TECH.: Trading suspended-receivership?
---------------------------------------------------------
Interform Ceramics Technologies Ltd has suspended trading
in its shares, telling the stock exchange that a key
corporate development is pending.

Interform said it shortly will  issue a press release
regarding the appointment of a receiver for the company and
its subsidiaries after an existing standstill arrangement
with its creditors was dropped.


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

BUMRUNGRAD MEDICAL CENTRE: IFC seals debt deal it
-------------------------------------------------
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) yesterday
announced an agreement on a financial restructuring plan
with Bumrungrad Medical Centre Ltd (BMC), operator of
Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok.

The package will include extension of the grace period and
maturity of IFC loans, conversion of subordinated debt to
equity and repayment of all arrears. The IFC, the
investment arm of the World Bank, will also provide a
dollar/baht hedging facility to reduce the foreign-exchange
risk for BMC.

"IFC considers the restructuring to be a model of company
management, creditors and shareholders working together to
preserve asset value, while sharing the financial burdens
in the wake of the Asian financial crisis," said Timothy
Ryan, IFC country manager for Thailand. (Bangkok Post  02-
Sept-2000)

PCM PRECAST: Tells SET of debt restructuring progress
-----------------------------------------------------
PCM Precast Floors has reported to the Stock Exchange of
Thailand on its debt restructuring progress. As of May 31,
2000, the Company was obligated to four creditors for THB
152.5 million Baht in principal and a total of THB 42.2
million Baht in accrued interest.

The Company, at the time, had completed the restructuring
plans with two creditors lending the total of THB 32.0 M.
Baht in principle and the total of THB 4.7 M. Baht in
accrued interest (or 18.8 % of the total obligation).  In
the complete plans the Company is granted a longer term of
principle repayment to year 2010 and interest service in
the amount of net cash available.  The unpaid interest will
be accrued with the existing accrued interest, and will be
paid later when the Company is getting strong financially.

The negotiation with the other two creditors was ongoing
before the capital increase. The Company obligated to one
of these two creditors THB 102.5M Baht in principal and THB
33.9M Baht in accrued interest (or 70.0% of the total
obligation), and to the other one the principle of THB
17.9M Baht and the accrued interest of THB 3.6M Baht (or
11% of the total obligation).

With the capital increase, the Company has higher
liquidity, and with the support of new investors, the
Company is in a better position to negotiate with the
remaining creditors and consequently gets a better
than-expected result.  The Company succeeded in finding new
funds to refinance the debt to the third creditor.

And in the same plan, the Company achieves a haircut of THB
25.5M Baht on accrued interest, which will be booked as
income in the third quarter of this year.  In addition, the
Company also benefits from the refinance by having higher
liquidity as a result of the term payment of 8 years.  The
Company has entered into the contract agreed on August 30,
2000.

Lastly, the negotiation with the last creditor, lending THB
17.9M Baht in principal and THB 3.6M Baht in accrued
interest, is ongoing, and the Company also expects a good
result in a near future. (Stock Exchange of Thailand  04-
Sept-2000)

PRECIOUS SHIPPING PLC: Tells SET debt rehab completed
-----------------------------------------------------
Precious Shipping Public Company Limited has notified the
Stock Exchange of Thailand of its completion of its debt
restructuring.

The company issued Redeemable Convertible Debentures (RCD)
totaling about US$36 million, which have the call option by
the company at a discount of almost 60 percent of its face
value within January 2001. The discount would gradually
diminish till it would disappear altogether in 2 years and
6 months from the issuing date.

At the company's Board of Director Meeting No. 5/2000 held
on Friday, August 25, the company discussed and agreed that
its Executive Board may commence efforts to raise new fresh
equity of about US$15 million through the private placement
of certain number of shares for the purpose of buying the
outstanding Redeemable Convertible Debentures (RCD) of the
company at a discount of almost 60 percent of its face
value within January 2001 and plus about USD 7 million to
acquire new vessels respectively.

The Company is now in the preparation stage of the
financial model and information memorandum for a road show
to interested investors and financial analysts. (Stock
Exchange of Thailand 01-Sept-2000)

SOON HUA SENG GROUP: Mediator named for debt talks
--------------------------------------------------
The Finance Ministry has named Pridiyathorn Devakula,
president of the Export-Import Bank of Thailand, as a
mediator in debt-restructuring talks between Soon Hua Seng
Group, the local agro-business giant, and Bangkok Bank.

Pridiyathorn will mediate talks between Kosit Panpienras
and Dacha Tulanont, representatives from BBL, and the Soon
Hua Seng Group's Yothin Dumnerncharnvani.  The group owes
its creditor banks about Bt150 billion, of which Bt20
billion is owed to Bangkok Bank.

Earlier, executives at Advance Agro Plc (AA), one the
group's main subsidiaries, said that the Bt24 billion it
owed was not included in Soon Hua Seng's total debt since
AA had already finished its debt-restructuring talks with
creditors.  A Bangkok Bank source said that Soon Hua Seng
has paid off debt to foreign creditors, but that it has not
reached a restructuring agreement with Thai commercial
banks because it would like them to forgive a high portion
of its debts.

Because of this, Soon Hua Seng and its creditors have
failed to strike a deal. Fearing that the non-performing
loans of Soon Hua Seng might prolong the crisis in the
financial sector, the Finance Ministry has tried to
accelerate the talks by appointing Pridiyathorn as a
mediator and find a quick solution.  If Soon Hua Seng
reduces its debt burden it would strengthen the BBL's
financial status by reducing its non-performing loans. (The
Nation 04-Sept-2000)

THAI-ASIA FUND: Posts US$ 4.4M loss
-----------------------------------
Thai-Asia Fund Ltd. dipped into the red for the first half
of this year, posting a US$4.4 million net loss for the six
month period ended June 30.

The loss was a major turnaround from a US$ 3.7 million net
profit for the same half-year period in 1999. The loss per
share was 9 cents US, compared with a 7 cent earnings per
share the first half of the year 1999. Revenue more than
doubled to US$2.1 million. No interim dividend is to be
paid.

THAI-GERMAN PRODUCTS: Reports on rehab to SET
---------------------------------------------
Thai-German Products Public Company Limited has reported on
its progress with its rehabilitation plan approved by the
court May 18, 2000 to August 25, 2000. The company reported
that it:

1. Held and attended 5 meetings of the Steering Committee
on the supervision of the plan implementation as specified
in Clause 8.3 of the Plan.

2. Appointed Siam City M.B. Company Limited to act as the
Company's chief financial officer (CFO) pursuant to the
resolution of the Meeting of the Steering Committee No.
2/2543 and No. 5/2543 and as specified in Clause 7.2 of the
Plan. The employment period of Siam City M.B. Company
Limited as the CFO will end on December 31, 2000.

3. Appointed DIA and P Company Limited to act as the
monitor of the Company's cash flow pursuant to the
resolution of the Meetings of the  Steering Committee No.
2/2543 and No. 4/2543 and as specified in Clause 7.2 (26)
of the Plan.

4. Appointed the Siam City Bank Public Company Limited to
act as the security ag ent as specified in Clause 6.8.7 of
the Plan.

5. Terminated the property lease agreement dated April 1,
1997 between the Company and Siam Stainless Pipe Fitting
Company Limited, as specified in Clause 6.11 of the Plan.

6. Closed all Company deposit accounts except for the
current account with Thai Farmers Bank Public Company
Limited, Ratchadapisek Road Branch and the savings account
with Bank of Asia Public Company Limited, Sukhumvit 25
Branch and the deposit accounts with Siam City Bank Public
Company Limited as specified in Clause 6.8 and Clause
7.5(25) of the Plan.

7. Signed the assignment agreement with The Siam Sanwa
Industrial Credit Public Company Limited as specified in
Clause 6.4.2 with respect to payment of debts to Group 8
creditors of the Plan.

8. Made the first payment of interest on Type 8 debts on
June 30, 2000, in the amount of Baht 7,686,219.75 which is
calculated for the period between May 18, 2000, and June
29, 2000 as specified in Clause 6.4.1.2 of the Plan.

9. Filed a petition with the Central Bankruptcy Court on
July 25, 2000, for approval to amend the Memorandum of
Association wit respect to the Company's registered capital
as specified in Clause 6.5 and Clause 7.2 (2) of the Plan.

10. Notified the Stock Exchange of Thailand and Thailand
Securities Depository Company Limited of the schedule for
closing the company's shareholder register in order to
undertake the restructuring of the Company's capital as
specified in Clause 6.5 of the Plan.

11. Registered the reduction in the Company's registered
capital and paid-up capital from Baht 1,155,000,000 divided
into 115,500,000 shares at a par value of Baht 10 to Baht
100,000 divided into 10,000 shares at a par value of Baht
10 as specified in Clause 6.5 of the Plan.

12. Registered the increase in the registered capital from
Baht 100,000 divided into 10,000 shares at the par value of
Baht 10 to Baht 3,601,526,030 divided into 360,142,603
shares at the par value of Baht 10 in order to support the
debt to equity conversion and the exercise of the right to
convert convertible debentures. (Stock Exchange of Thailand
04-Sept-2000)


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

Troubled Company Reporter -- Asia Pacific is a daily
newsletter co-published by Bankruptcy Creditors' Service,
Inc., Trenton, NJ USA, and Beard Group, Inc., Washington,
DC USA. Darryl Henning, Managing Editor, James Philip P.
Jover and Maria Vyrna Ni¤eza, Editors.

Copyright 2000.  All rights reserved.  ISSN: 1520-9482.

This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale
or publication in any form (including e-mail forwarding,
electronic re-mailing and photocopying) is strictly
prohibited without prior written permission of the
publishers.  Information contained herein is obtained from
sources believed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed.

The TCR -- Asia Pacific subscription rate is $575 for 6
months delivered via e-mail. Additional e-mail
subscriptions for members of the same firm for the term of
the initial subscription or balance thereof are $25 each.
For subscription information, contact Christopher Beard at
301/951-6400.

                     *** End of Transmission ***