/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRAP_Public/001017.MBX      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

             Tuesday, October 17, 2000, Vol. 3, No. 202

                                       Headlines


* A U S T R A L I A *

BHP: Day of reckoning looms for $2.5B HBI white elephant
LION NATHAN LTD: Brewer suffering ailing Chinese ops


* C H I N A  &  H O N G  K O N G *

ADMART: Searching for buyer
GUANGDONG INT'L TRUST: US$100M guarantee claim rejected
PACIFIC CENTURY CYBERWORKS: Gets US$3.6B infusion


* I N D O N E S I A *

PUTRA SURYA PERKASA: Signs restructuring pact with IBRA


* J A P A N *

CHIYODA MUTUAL LIFE INS.: Court OKs rehabilitation launch
NIPPON SHINPAN: Share prices dives after losses revised
SHIMIZU CORP.: To quit,write off real estate development
SHIMIZU CORP.: Revises expected loss to be deeper


* K O R E A *

DAEWOO MOTOR: Layoffs, 30-day survival raise concerns
DAEWOO MOTOR: Closes production line at bus factory
HYUNDAI ENG.& CONSTR.: Gov't, creditors to keep it afloat
SSANGYONG CEMENT: Creditors mull debt-for-equity swap


* M A L A Y S I A *

TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES INDUS.: Bond rehab by year-end


* S I N G A P O R E *

G.PREMJEE TRADING: Seeks protection from creditors


* T H A I L A N D *

LOXLEY PLC: Slips as creditors delay vote on debts
PCM PRECAST FLOORS: Revamp completed
SIAM CITY BANK: Gov't reverses tack, seeks SBIC investor


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

BHP: Day of reckoning looms for $2.5B HBI white elephant
--------------------------------------------------------
More than $1 billion over budget and years behind schedule,
BHP's hot briquetted iron plant is Paul Anderson's last big
legacy problem and events in the next few weeks will
determine whether he pulls the plug.

The giant, dust-covered plant rises out of the scrubland
south of Port Hedland in north-west Australia. It has
already been financially written down by BHP to the tune of
$2.5 billion but is still pushing out soap sized iron
briquettes intended as feed for electric arc steel-making
furnaces throughout Asia.

Production began early last year, about a year behind
schedule, and since then the plant has produced 548,000
tonnes of HBI and shipped it to about 15 electric arc
furnace operators in Asia. But the HBI plant has never
emerged from its commissioning stage and will not have done
so by the end of the year, the deadline BHP chief executive
Paul Anderson has set for a final decision.

BHP's $2.5 billion HBI writedown exceeds the original
estimated cost of the project by more than $1 billion and
there is no way the plant will achieve the 20 per cent plus
return on sunk funds it was intended to. But inside the
group hope persists that some of the value that has been
written off can be reclaimed, or, at least, that a full
shutdown at a further cost of up to $1.1 billion can be
avoided.

BHP appears to have overcome most of the technical problems
that plagued the plant and produced the cost overrun. Less
heat is now being used to process iron ore "fines" and they
are now reducing uniformly into the high-quality iron-rich
material that is needed to manufacture the HBI briquettes.

The plant still has to demonstrate that it can run
consistently and a performance target of 120 days of
continuous operation will not be met by early November,
when the business leader of the HBI project, Bill Walls, is
due to provide a preliminary final report to Anderson and
the BHP board. A final report will be provided early in
December.

The best uninterrupted run so far is 88 days and one of two
production trains that were operating last week had to be
shut down 23 days into its run after a crack was detected
in a gas reactor ball valve (it had, however, logged 135
days of operation in total). The remaining operational
train has been running for 30 days and will be about 10
days short of the 120 day target if it stays up until the
decision day deadline.

Walls has asked for more time to demonstrate the plant's
durability, so far with no success. Anderson's final
response may depend on the business case Walls makes for
the plant, which is designed to produce 2 million tonnes of
HBI a year from four production trains.

The US-born Walls is a financial executive with resources
and heavy industry experience, and has no reason to be
sentimental about the future of the project. He worked with
Goodyear, KPMG and the Tenneco resources-industrial
conglomerate in the US before being recruited about three
years ago by a former BHP senior executive, Jim Lewis, to
assist in attempting to rescue Magma Copper, BHP's
disastrous $3.2 billion acquisition. Lewis lowered Magma's
cost base significantly but Anderson eventually decided to
close the business down. He then asked Walls to review the
HBI plant.

In discussions with journalists at the HBI plant last week,
BHP executives, including Walls, appeared confident that
the plant was capable of producing HBI at the required
quality and volume. But BHP also needs to be confident that
the HBI it produces can be sold and in coming weeks Walls
will collect research from inside BHP and from external
consultants that covers that issue.

He will also hold talks with the groups that have trialled
the HBI product. HBI feeds electric arc furnaces, which in
1999 produced 270 million tonnes of steel, 34 per cent of
world steel output. That is a fair whack of the market but
electric arc furnaces were expected by this time to have
taken business away from the traditional steel producers,
who account for the balance of global production.

BHP predicts steady rather than spectacular growth in
electric arc's share of production in coming years. BHP's
HBI plant was also originally planned on the assumption
that it would be supplying HBI to a new electric arc
furnace at Newcastle. That idea was scrapped and steel-
making at Newcastle finished, leaving the WA plant reliant
on demand from Asia.

Demand in the region has bounced back from the 1997-98
Asian economic crisis but BHP's HBI plant is aiming at a
fairly narrow price window. Electric arc furnaces can also
use scrap metal, a lower quality feed that sells for about
$US105 a tonne, and pig iron, a higher quality input that
is selling for about $US135 a tonne. BHP needs to be able
to profitably pitch HBI's price somewhere between those two
price points if its WA plant is to have a future.

There could be billions of dollars riding on the decision.
Estimates earlier this year were that up to $1.1 billion
would have to be set aside to totally kill off the plant,
which has big take-or-pay gas contracts. If Walls believes
the plant can operate commercially and BHP's board backs
his judgment, the final shutdown will at the least be
deferred.

It is even possible that BHP might have a saleable asset on
its hands: no offers have been received but that is not
surprising given the difficulties the project has faced. A
commercially operating plant of that size could, however,
be worth around $1 billion to a new buyer. (Sydney Morning
Herald  16-Oct-2000)

LION NATHAN LTD: Brewer suffering ailing Chinese ops
----------------------------------------------------
Lion Nathan Ltd may have to join forces with a major
international partner to salvage its ailing China
operations, the company reported.

The brewing giant posted a bumper 30 percent increase in
unaudited full year net profit of $A130.2 million ($US68.68
million) following better-than-expected results from New
Zealand and meeting forecasts for its Australian earnings.
While Lion Nathan expects to maintain the earnings growth
this financial year, the only gloomy outlook was for its
China operations which it said would not make a profit by
2002 as expected.

Lion has not yet booked a profit from its China operations,
which it entered in 1995.  A decline in volumes at its
Shanghai brewing operations due to strong competition
contributed to a $A24.3 million ($US12.82 million) loss in
earnings before interest and tax for the China businesses.
It compared to $A27.2 million ($US14.35 million)
previously.

Lion Nathan chief executive officer Gordon Cairns said the
"disappointing" result meant its China operations would not
be profitable as soon as originally expected.  "It is clear
to us we can make money in China but it won't be soon," he
told reporters.

When asked if Lion Nathan would consider selling the
business, he said: "We don't have a clear view as to what
the most profitable outcome will be."

Mr Cairns said the company was presently in partnership
talks with a major international brewer and would also look
at joining forces with a Chinese brewer.  He said the
company was reviewing the carrying value of the China
business which would be announced when the company posts an
audited 13-month result on November 10 to bring the
accounting procedures in line with those of major Japanese
shareholder Kirin Breweries.

When asked if the negotiations would be finalised by then,
Mr Cairns said: "We expected to be significantly further
ahead by then."

The brewer, which moved its headquarters from New Zealand
to Australia earlier this year, said its strong brands in
those two countries would allow it to maintain existing
earnings growth momentum in 2000/01.  "We are looking for a
similar level of earnings increase and consistent
performance delivery," Mr Cairns told reporters.

This was despite a weaker September in Australia, partly
due to decreased sales during the Sydney Olympics.
The company, brewer of Tooheys and XXXX, was also actively
looking for further expansion opportunities in its core
Australasian businesses and e-commerce initiatives.

Net sales in Australia amounted to $A953.7 million
($US503.08 million), up from $A867.6 million ($US457.66
million), partly on the success of its Hahn Premium Light
brand which has become the brewer's third largest brand by
volume in the country.

It is seeking to grow its presence in the premium beer
market in Australia where volumes were up 60 per cent this
year.  The company also forecast "substantially more"
revenue growth this financial year from its 43 recently-
acquired hotel operations in Victoria.

No abnormals or extraordinary items were recorded.
In New Zealand net sales was $A342.6 million, up from
$A311.5 million ($US164.32 million).  Mr Cairns said the
weak Australian dollar had wiped $A4 million ($US2.11
million) off potential earnings, while the increase in beer
under the GST had wiped 2.6 per cent of the Australian beer
market in the last quarter. (Asia Pulse  16-Oct-2000)


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

ADMART: Searching for buyer
---------------------------
Media maverick Jimmy Lai Chee-ying is chasing buyers to
take over the loss-making direct-marketing venture adMart.

Several retail chains in Hong Kong and overseas have been
approached by adMart over the sale.  Hutchison Whampoa's
ParknShop and Dairy Farm's Wellcome were among those
approached.

However, sources said the substantial losses meant the
parties were unenthusiastic. AdMart, launched in June last
year, is estimated to have lost about HK$1 billion.
The launch of adMart, which sells and delivers discounted
groceries, mobile phones, home appliances and office
supplies, provoked a wave of price-cutting by rival
supermarket chains.

Analysts say it forced ParknShop and Wellcome to improve
services by providing free delivery services and online
shopping.  They believe it would difficult for Mr Lai to
sell adMart as the direct-marketing business is unlikely to
turn around in a short period of time.

In November, Mr Lai said adMart lost between HK$50 million
and HK$60 million a month. Although losses narrowed this
year they were still estimated to be in the range of HK$20
million to HK$30 million a month.  The media tycoon has
attempted to cut his losses by selling part of adMart's
business.

In August, adMart sold its 23-shop e-zone arm at an
undisclosed price.  This was the discount store's unit
selling mobile phones and providing communications
services. (South China Morning Post  14-Oct-2000)

GUANGDONG INT'L TRUST: US$100M guarantee claim rejected
-------------------------------------------------------
Liquidators of the Guangdong International Trust &
Investment Corp (Gitic) have rejected a claim by a group of
foreign banks that a loan guarantee provided by the Hong
Kong arm of the company should be admitted for payment.

The claim involves a syndicated loan of more than US$100
million offered by foreign banks to Guangxin Enterprises,
Gitic's Hong Kong subsidiary. Gitic guaranteed the loan
through its Hong Kong branch and separately provided a
comfort letter.

However, the company failed to register the guarantee with
the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (Safe), the
foreign currency regulator.  The liquidation committee
conditionally accepted half of the claim last year with the
understanding creditors should shoulder some blame for
Gitic's failure to register the guarantee with Safe.

The creditors objected - citing Chinese legal opinions that
guarantees outside the country did not require Safe
approval or registration.  Earlier this week, Gitic's
liquidation committee notified the banks their objection
had been rejected.

Referring to a Chinese High Court document, the committee
found that even though both parties used English law to
write the guarantee, it was unenforceable. "If foreign law
violates the basic principles of Chinese law and also runs
counter to the public interest of China society, then the
law should not apply," it said.

T. K. Chang, a partner with Coudert Brothers representing
the banks, said the decision was disappointing. "To apply
Chinese law to business transactions in Hong Kong in some
sense violates the one country, two systems principle," he
said.

The committee's decision comes as Gitic liquidators move to
finish the claims process of the liquidation.  Gitic was
declared bankrupt in January last year with liabilities
estimated at 38.78 billion yuan (about HK$36 billion).

In October, company liquidators announced they had rejected
120 claims, involving 5.9 billion yuan worth of debt.
Sources close to the committee said about 90 per cent of
objections had been processed, with only a handful of
amendments. One notable exception involved Gitic's short-
term borrowing, with liquidators admitting some previously
rejected claims.

The liquidation committee has scheduled a third creditors'
meeting in Guangzhou on October 31. It is expected
creditors at that time will approve plans for the first
disbursements of assets recovered since the liquidation
process began. (South China Morning Post  14-Oct-2000)

PACIFIC CENTURY CYBERWORKS: Gets US$3.6B infusion
-------------------------------------------------
Richard Li Tzar-kai's Pacific Century CyberWorks has
secured a cash injection of US$3.55 billion to help ease
its debt burden after announcing a revised alliance with
Australia's Telstra Corp.

Under new terms agreed late on Thursday night, CyberWorks
will relinquish control of its mobile-phone business and
receive less than originally proposed from an investment by
Telstra in CyberWorks convertible notes.  For CyberWorks,
the deal means a higher cash injection than previously
envisaged.

It will receive US$2.43 billion from Telstra, together with
US$1.12 billion from debt to be raised by the Internet
protocol (IP) backbone venture involved in the alliance.
"This will allow us [CyberWorks] to reduce our debt to less
than US$5.5 billion - a level few thought possible when we
acquired Cable & Wireless HKT just seven weeks ago,"
chairman Mr Li said yesterday.

The HKT takeover saddled CyberWorks with US$12 billion in
debt, although that has since been cut to US$9 billion.
Telstra had sought to renegotiate the alliance to reflect
an almost 50 per cent slump in CyberWorks shares and the
global adjustment in telecom valuations since the original
deal was announced in April.

Under the revised terms, Telstra will pay US$750 million -
half the original amount - for CyberWorks convertible
notes.  The exercise price of the notes will be based on
the average of the closing price of CyberWorks in the next
45 days, but CyberWorks will have the right to redeem
early.

Telstra is to pay US$1.68 billion for a 60 per cent stake
in CyberWorks' mobile business - essentially HKT's CSL arm.
The price values the business at US$2,947 per subscriber.
That is a discount of 25 per cent compared with the
original deal, under which CyberWorks was to sell 40 per
cent of the business to Telstra for US$1.5 billion.

"Do not look at what we give, but what we gain," said Alex
Arena, deputy chairman of CyberWorks' management board and
the chief negotiator in the transaction.  "The real value
lies in the whole package, especially the IP-backbone joint
venture."

Their IP-backbone joint venture, which generates US$2
billion in revenue a year, will be the largest connectivity
business in Asia.  CyberWorks says it has already attracted
many multinational interests wanting to take a stake in the
business.

Mr Arena said CyberWorks would retain strong management
rights in the business, even when its shareholding is
eventually reduced to between 25 per cent and 35 per cent.
As part of the agreement to bring in more cash proceeds for
CyberWorks, the joint venture intends to borrow US$2
billion, of which US$1.12 billion will be paid to
CyberWorks in January.

"The overall debt level is not seen reducing after the off-
balance sheet financing," said Ronald Chan, analyst at
Dresdner Kleinwort Benson.

Analysts pointed out that although CyberWorks may seem to
be receiving more cash than in the original US$3 billion
alliance, its level of debt actually rose to US$5.5
billion, or US$63 million more than in the previous
agreement.  The market appears to like the alliance.
Telstra bucked the global market downfall by gaining 1.7
per cent to close at A$5.95.  CyberWorks, which was
suspended yesterday, was also expected to react positively
to the transaction.

"It could have been worse without the deal," said Jonathan
Iu, SG analyst. "Now it's a relief for everyone that their
strategies are in place."

UBS Warburg, which advised CyberWorks in the alliance, said
the loss of control in the mobile unit might not be a bad
thing.  "It is a blessing in disguise," said David Chin,
corporate finance director. "CyberWorks can shift off the
financial burden for 3G services," Mr Chin added.

He estimates that CyberWorks might need US$2 billion in
capital expenditure to fund the next generation mobile
expansion. (South China Morning Post  14-Oct-2000)


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

PUTRA SURYA PERKASA: Signs restructuring pact with IBRA
-------------------------------------------------------
The Indonesian Banking Restructuring Agency (IBRA) and the
Putra Surya Perkasa (PSP) Group have signed a restructuring
agreement worth Rp189.06 billion and $45.05 million. The
scheme is to be conducted for 8 of the 10 companies under
PSP control.

Based on IndoExchange.com data, the eight companies are:
PT Putra Surya Sinar Permaja - Rp5.85bn; PT Putra Sekar
Permata - $6.57m; PT Prima Suryagraha Perkasa - Rp78.11bn;
PT Putra Sentra Prasarana - Rp18.12bn and $10m; PT Putra
Swadaya Prasetya - $25bn; and PT Putra Sejahtera
Pioneerindo - Rp31.61bn and $3m.

The other two companies scheduled to sign the agreement are
PT Putra Surya Pahala and PT Bayu Buana. Restructuring will
be carried out using four schemes: Term loans Convertible
bonds Cash Allocation of debts to other companies Engaged
in property and retail, the PSP Group was taken over by
IBRA in 1999 as one of the 21 biggest debtors, with loans
worth Rp4.29tr. (Indoexchange News 14-October-2000)


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

CHIYODA MUTUAL LIFE INS.: Court OKs rehabilitation launch
---------------------------------------------------------
The Tokyo District Court has approved the start of
rehabilitation procedures for medium-size life insurer
Chiyoda Mutual Life Insurance Co.

Friday's decision came four days after Chiyoda filed for
court protection from creditors. Customarily, it takes
upwards of a month for a court to decide on rehabilitation
procedures, but Tokyo District Court acted quickly in
Chiyoda's case to protect its policyholders.

Chiyoda effectively went bankrupt on Monday, filing for
court protection under a special rehabilitation law for
financial institutions. The insurer's liabilities are
estimated at 2,936.6 billion yen.  The court appointed
lawyer Hideyuki Sakai as rehabilitation program
administrator.

Chiyoda said that it will seek approval for its
rehabilitation plan at an early date, and that it will open
negotiations shortly with those interested in helping with
its reconstruction. Major U.S. insurer, American
International Group Inc., has earlier indicated its
interest in helping reconstruct Chiyoda. (Jiji Press
English News Service  13-Oct-2000)

NIPPON SHINPAN: Share prices dives after losses revised
-------------------------------------------------------
Share of Nippon Shinpan on the Tokyo Stock Exchange took a
dive Friday after the company revised its financial
projectsions for the current year ending March 2001.

The stock fell to a new year-to-date low of 170 yen, down
50 yen from Thursday's close, after opening the session at
an asked price. Its previous low was 209 marked on Oct. 3.

The major consumer credit company said shortly before the
market opened it estimates a special loss of 46 billion yen
in the year stemming from losses related to affiliate
Inter-Lease Corp., a financially distressed nonbank lender,
which is now contemplating filing for liquidation.

SHIMIZU CORP.: To quit,write off real estate development
--------------------------------------------------
Shimizu Corp., one of Japan's leading construction
companies, is to spin off its real estate development
operations to a new subsidiary to concentrate on its core
construction business.

Of 124bn ($1.15bn) in real estate development assets at
book value, Shimizu will sell 40bn worth to the new
subsidiary for 20bn. The difference will be written off as
bad assets by Shimizu itself.  The new company will sell
the assets it is taking over within about two years while
Shimizu will also sell its remaining real estate
development assets over a similar period.

The decision to quit real estate development comes as
Japanese construction companies face a more difficult
environment with the decision by the Bank of Japan to end
its zero interest rate policy in August.  Japan's large
general contractors moved heavily into real estate
development during the years of asset inflation in the
middle to late-1980s.

Many contractors have suffered as a result of extensive
guarantees they made to banks for the loans they took out
to develop real estate throughout Japan.  The sector has
been supported by extensive government public works
projects over the past decade, aimed at preventing the
economy from falling into recession.

As a result, the numbers employed by the construction
sector has increased while private spending has been
depressed.  The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has been
reluctant to allow big construction companies to fail, due
to the social and political repercussions. The construction
sector employs about 10 per cent of the labour force and
has traditionally been a highly effective vote-gathering
machine.

Shimizu, Japan's largest general contractor, said its group
net losses in the half year to September would balloon to
73bn from a 28bn earlier forecast due to losses on the
sale of real estate assets and losses on golf club
memberships, as well as pensions underfunding, which
together will result in an extraordinary loss of 83bn.

The net loss comes on first half sales of 600bn and an
improved pre-tax profit of 9.5bn, compared with an
initially forecast 6bn, due to cost-cutting measures and a
reduction in debt.  Shimizu plans to reduce debt from
797.4bn at the end of March to 670bn within three years.
The company expects full-year group pre-tax profits to rise
18 per cent to 41.5bn from 35.1bn. (Financial Times 15-
Oct-2000)

SHIMIZU CORP.: Revises expected loss to be deeper
-------------------------------------------------
Shimizu Corp. now expects a group net loss of 51 billion
yen ($474 million) for the year ending March 31, up nearly
five times from its earlier forecast for an 11 billion yen
net loss.

The company cited anticipated losses from restructuring its
real-estate development-group company. Shimizu intends to
sell assets to accelerate plans for reducing its interest-
bearing debt in light of rising interest rates in Japan.

The company raised its group pretax profit forecast to 41.5
billion yen from 38 billion yen but kept its sales outlook
unchanged at 1.6 trillion yen. Last fiscal year, Shimizu
posted group net profit of 9.86 billion yen, pretax profit
of 35.1 billion yen and sales of 1.565 trillion yen.


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

DAEWOO MOTOR: Layoffs, 30-day survival raise concerns
-----------------------------------------------------
Daewoo Motor's management is in a dilemma over layoffs,
causing concerns for the ailing automaker's restructuring
efforts, analysts said yesterday.

The labor's stubborn resistance to any artificial job cuts
are in turn jeopardizing the company's survival, as
creditor banks have set "impressive" self-rescue efforts as
a precondition for further extensions of loans, said the
analysts.

Without extra loans, Daewoo's entire domestic operation is
forecast to come to a complete halt next month. The
possible operational paralysis will also put Daewoo and its
creditors in a disadvantageous position in their sales
negotiations with General Motors, they cautioned.

Saddled with about 18 trillion won ($16.1 billion) in
debts, Daewoo Motor has mapped out sweeping self-
rehabilitation and cost-cutting efforts, including pay cuts
and consolidation of parts suppliers, in a bid to upgrade
its asset values prior to foreign takeover.  Indeed, about
40 percent of its executive-level officials left the
company last year, while 740 of its junior-level officials
resigned in a voluntary retirement program in March this
year.

But layoffs of unionized workers are still a problem, as
labor and management reached an agreement last August to
abstain from any forcible dismissals for a period of five
years.  In a further embarrassment to creditors, the
company unionists rejected the management's pay-cut
proposals, forcing it to freeze their wages at the current
level.

Daewoo's 1,300-odd director-level executives, tendering
their resignations en masse last week, cut their own
salaries by 50 percent in line with the company's
restructuring drive. Daewoo has about 20,000 assembly line
employees working for its four car plants in Pupyong,
Kunsan, Pyongtaek and Changwon.

Creditor banks are determined not to extend additional
loans unless labor undergoes painful restructuring, such as
pay cuts. "So far, creditors alone have shed blood. But the
ball is now in Daewoo Motor workers," said an official at
the Korea Development Bank, the main creditor for the
automaker.

"Without any visible self-rescue moves, creditors won't be
persuaded into providing additional loans. The key to
restructuring is cuts in lay costs."

In a contradicting case, he stressed, all of Kia Motors
employees had voluntarily cut their wages by 30 percent and
gave up bonus payments until the bankrupt company was
normalized in 1998. "Daewoo is actually in worse shape than
the bankrupt Kia of 1997. Mass layoffs are indispensable to
restoring confidence from the market," the KDB executive
said.

He also regretted that the Daewoo unionists' demands for a
five-year employment guarantee may have been partly blamed
for Ford Motor's abrupt withdrawal from its 7.7 trillion
won bid last month.  Daewoo unionists, insisting that the
pay cuts and other self-rescue measures were largely
intended to pave the way for a discount sale, warned that
they will hold a large-scale rally this week to protest
foreign takeover.

GM began preliminary due diligence on the ailing automaker
last week, with an intent to sign a formal takeover
contract next February or March, while Fiat chairman
expressed partial interest in Daewoo. (Korea Herald  16-
Oct-2000)

DAEWOO MOTOR: Closes production line at bus factory
---------------------------------------------------
Daewoo Motor Co. closed one of two production lines
at its bus factory in the southeastern city of Pusan,
citing a shortage of funds and lack of orders.

"Orders practically stopped coming in last month," a
company spokesman said, adding that there is usually a
seasonal decline in October and November.  The Pusan plant
has an annual production capacity of 6,000 buses. However,
the spokesman declined to say how many had been produced
this year, saying only that demand had been very low.

He predicted the auto maker may have to scale back
production at other factories if current liquidity problems
continue and orders remain depressed. Daewoo Motor's lead
creditor Korea Development Bank and other creditors
extended 100 billion won ($89.1 million) in trade financing
to the automaker Wednesday.

The creditors haven't decided whether to give new loans
to the company, a Korea DevelopmentBank official said.
All financial support to Daewoo Motor has stopped since
Ford Motor Co. dropped out of last-minute negotiations to
take over the Korean auto maker in September.

Daewoo Motor was unable to pay employee salaries last
month and is uncertain about this month's salaries too,
the company spokesman said.  (The Asian Wall Street Journal
13-Oct-2000)

HYUNDAI ENG.& CONSTR.: Gov't, creditors to keep it afloat
---------------------------------------------------------
The government and creditor financial institutions plan to
keep cash-strapped Hyundai Engineering & Construction (HEC)
afloat by converting some debts into equity investments,
according to a government source. He noted that HEC has
been endeavoring to honor self-rescue efforts the company
presented in August, but the company has had trouble
selling off stakes in Hyundai Merchant Marine and Hyundai
Heavy Industries due to the sagging local stock market.
Creditors are expected to finalize measures to extend
funding to Hyundai as part of stablizing efforts.

SSANGYONG CEMENT: Creditors mull debt-for-equity swap
-----------------------------------------------------
Creditors of Ssangyong Cement Industrial Co. - Cho Hung
Bank, Korea Development Bank and Hanarum Merchant Banking -
are mulling whether or not to grant the troubled company
proposed debt-for-equity swap of 300 billion won to keep it
going.

A creditor bank official said that creditors have agreed to
extend 100 billion won each to the cement company through
convertible bonds when Taiheiyo Cement Corp., a leading
Japanese cement firm, makes an equity investment of $350
million in Ssangyong as agreed upon late last month.

Cho Hung Bank President Wee Sung-bok, Taiheiyo Cement
Chairman Kazusuke Imamura and Ssangyong Cement President
Myung Ho-keun discussed ways to revive Ssangyong Cement
Tuesday through debt-for-equity swaps.  Although Ssangyong
Cement has been designated as a financially distressed
company by the Financial Supervisory Service, creditors
believe it has a good chance of pulling out of the current
crisis and getting back on its feet, the official said.
(Korea Herald  14-Oct-2000)


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

TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES INDUS.: Bond rehab by year-end
---------------------------------------------------
Technology Resources Industries Bhd expects to complete the
restructuring of its US$375 million (S$658 million) euro
convertible bonds before year-end, the New Straits Times
reported Saturday.

TRI defaulted on its euro bonds valued at US$200 million in
October 1999 and another US$175 million the following
month. The company recently gained an extension of another
two years for the tenure of the bonds. NST quoted a source
as saying the documentation for the agreement was
expected to be ready in two weeks and the company planned
to meet bondholders immediately after that.

An extraordinary general meeting will be held 21 days later
to gain bondholders' approval on the restructuring. "The
bondholders are expected to sign the agreement as there is
no 'haircut' in the exercise. They'll be faced with a worse
situation if they reject the deal," the source said.

TRI recently denied reports that the bondholders had
rejected the restructuring. The news had led to the share
price of TRI being battered for a few days last week.

"The restructuring of the bonds is going on smoothly
together with the bondholders," the source said. "We only
need the support of 75 per cent of the bond-holders who
attend the meeting to push the deal through. The
restructuring exercise has been going on for quite some
time and the majority of the banks involved have agreed to
the restructuring.The bonds are active. Investors will not
buy the bonds if they don't have confidence in the
company."

The source maintained that TRI was a healthy company, with
no other debt besides the US$375 million.  On the funding
of the bonds, the source said TRI would explore all
possibilities, including listing its wholly-owned mobile
operator, Celcom Sdn Bhd.

Celcom, with subscribers totalling about 1.3 million, has a
good cashflow with a monthly revenue of between RM140
million and RM150 million while its operational cost is
about RM80 million, according to the source. For the first
half of this year, Celcom's earnings before interest, tax,
depreciation and amortisation stood at about RM457 million.

The source dismissed the idea of getting fresh funds from
TRI's shareholders. "Fresh money from shareholders is a
difficult option."

According to the source, TRI shareholder Deutsche Telekom
AG, with a stake of more than 20 per cent, had not given
any indication that it would come out with cash as its
priority markets were the United Kingdom, Europe, the
United States and Asia. On whether TRI was interested in
getting financial assistance from foreign parties, the
source said: "After the restructuring of the bond, there
may be interested telcos which would like to come in."

On TRI's financial performance, the source said the company
was expected to report a net profit after it completed the
restructuring of its bonds. The completion of the bonds
restructure will see TRI on a strong footing. TRI posted a
loss of RM39.6 million for the six months to June 2000.
(Business Times 16-Oct-2000)


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

G.PREMJEE TRADING: Seeks protection from creditors
--------------------------------------------------
G. Premjee Trading Pte., the commodities-trading unit of an
unlisted 132-year-old Thailand-based company, said it
sought protection from creditors in Singapore after its
trading partners defaulted on payments.

The company, a unit of the GP Group of companies that
started a rice-trading business in Burma in 1868 and
shifted its base to Thailand in 1918, traditionally traded
foodgrains such as rice, wheat, corn, sorghum, soybeans,
sugar and barley in Asia and Africa. It has expanded to
trade maize and oilseeds in the U.S. and Argentina over the
last decade.

The Singapore-based unit, which mainly trades grains and
other cash crops such as bitter-flavored robusta coffee
from Indonesia and Vietnam, filed this week for protection
from creditors, said Sunil Bhatia, the unit's vice
president of business development. It is now managed by the
Singapore unit of global accounting firm Deloitte Touche
Tohmatsu, he said.

"It's an interim judicial management that we have ourselves
gone into," said Bhatia. "There's been some delayed
payments that the market owes us. We're trying to
restructure ourselves and will try to come out of it
hopefully in a few weeks' time."

Bhatia addressed concerns among some New York coffee
traders yesterday that the firm may have to sell its
stockpiles after going under judicial management. "We don't
have to" sell our coffee stockpiles, Bhatia said. He
wouldn't comment further. Coffee fell 25 cents, or 0.3
percent, to 81.05 cents a pound yesterday on the Coffee,
Sugar & Cocoa Exchange in New York.

The GP group was among the first international trading
companies to start business in the postwar era in Vietnam,
where it has its own warehouse for storing coffee. It also
has a warehouse in Indonesia's coffee-loading port
of Panjang in South Sumatra.

Top Premjee officials in Singapore were in meetings
yesterday and today. Officials from Deloitte & Touche in
Singapore were not available today. The GP Group's Web site
says the parent group diversified into shipping, real
estate development, manufacturing and trading of processed
food, fertilizers, rubber products, steel pipes, coal,
cement, bulk pharmaceuticals and jewelry.

Recently, the group started "development, production and
distribution of quality hybrid seeds for food and cash
crops," the Web site said.  (AsiaGatway, Bloomberg 16-Oct-
2000)


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

LOXLEY PLC: Slips as creditors delay vote on debts
--------------------------------------------------
The deferral of Loxley Plc's creditors vote on the
company's Bt10.47-billion debt-restructuring plan took its
toll on the company yesterday in the form of a 2.6-per-cent
fall in its share price.

This tumbled to the day's low of Bt17.25, an 8-per-cent
drop, shortly after the bell rang and the company's
announcement regarding the postponement of its creditors'
vote was announced. It closed at Bt18.25, a Bt0.50 drop.

Loxley stock lost 53 per cent of its value after a series
of rumours spread throughout the stock market last week
that the company might default on euro-convertible
debentures (ECDs) due in January, might delist from the
stock market and might need to raise a hefty sum of money.

According to the company's statement, the holders of its
first-tranche ECDs unanimously approved the company's debt-
restructuring plan at a meeting yesterday.  However, the
meeting of its second-tranche ECD holders was adjourned
because there was not a quorum, owing to delays in the
transmission of meeting notices and proxy appointments by
the clearing system.

"The meetings of the company's board of directors and
shareholders will be scheduled after the consideration of
the plan by the second-tranche ECD holders' meeting,"
Loxley said in a filing with the Stock Exchange of
Thailand.

Loxley believes that when the meeting is reconvened in
Bangkok on October 26 its restructuring proposals will be
approved by the bondholders, enabling it to proceed with
the implementation of its debt-restructuring plan. Of debts
to be restructured worth US$276 million (Bt11.9 billion),
$265 million are from the issuance of two batches of ECDs,
and the remaining $11 million was lent by two foreign
banks.

The debts up for restructuring account for 87 per cent of
the company's total debts. The remainder is trade-related
and does not require restructuring. Under the restructuring
plan the country's leading trade conglomerate will have to
issue 160 million shares, of which 85 million shares will
be used to facilitate a $125-million ECD-to-equity
conversion, 65 million shares will go to existing
shareholders, and 10 million shares will be offered in a
private placement.

The company's debts incurred from the issuance of ECDs will
thus be reduced to $140 million, for which the payment
period will be rescheduled until 2008. Of the remaining $11
million in debts, the creditors have agreed to write
off 50 per cent, but the company will have to pay the
remainder in full immediately after a contract is signed.

"Investors should stay away from putting money in Loxley
shares because of uncertainty in its debt-restructuring
plan, the dilution effect and an expected long-term
dividends-payment waiver," said an analyst at Capital
Nomura Securities.

Its massive fund-raising plan will dilute share earnings by
as much as five times. Although Loxley's liquidity will be
in better shape following the debt-restructuring, the
company will inevitably have to sell out its overseas
investment to service the debts, the analyst said. She
pointed to the fact that Loxley's debt payments would
exceed cash flow by several hundred million baht a year.
(The Nation 14-Oct-2000)

PCM PRECAST FLOORS: Revamp completed
------------------------------------
PCM Precast Floors Plc has finished restructuring its
business organization after merging with Asian Property Co.

Anupong Asavabhokhin, the younger brother of Land & Houses
chairman Anant Asavabhokhin, has become chief executive of
PCM, which will be renamed Asian Property Development at
the end of this year. PCM has two business lines:
production of precast floors and paving blocks, and
property development. The focus in property is on townhouse
projects.

Somboon Vatanasuvran, PCM's managing director, will oversee
the precast floor business and Pichet Vipavasuphakorn,
president of Asian Property, will serve as co-managing
director for real estate. Asian Property now holds a 60%
stake in PCM, Land & Houses 29% and the balance is held by
small shareholders. In return, PCM holds a 100% interest in
Asian Property.

PCM Construction Material Co will be set up to handle
marketing and sales of precast floors and paving blocks
soon. Both PCM (150 million baht) and Asian Property (one
billion baht) have already restructured their debts. After
merging in July, outstanding debts totalled 1.2 billion
baht including new loans to fund new projects in the
Ramkhamhaeng area.

Mr Anupong said he could not disclose the exact proportions
of revenue from property sales and concrete floors until
the first quarter next year.  "Precast floor sales have
been improving a lot this year. At the same time, we have
been able to sell a lot of detached houses and townhouses,
but the revenues in this area will be realised based on the
percentage of project completion," he said.

By year-end, PCM expects to achieve between 150 million and
200 million baht from sales of precast floors, and total
property pre-sale revenues will reach 900 million baht.
The precast floor business will complement property
development. About 30% of the company's output will be used
by Asian Property, L&H and Quality Houses.

PCM now produces 90,000 square metres of precast floors per
month, up from 40,000 sq m last year. PCM's main policy for
the property venture is to not hold any land banks. Land
prices are now very cheap and some banks continue to extend
some loans to fund property projects whose developers'
loans are performing.

The company is now working on sales of two projects. One is
a townhouse development in Bang Bua Thong and the other has
townhouses and detached houses in Ramkhamhaeng. (Bangkok
Post 16-Oct-2000)

SIAM CITY BANK: Gov't reverses tack, seeks SBIC investor
--------------------------------------------------------
The long-delayed sale of Siam City Bank has been delayed
once again, with the Financial Institutions Development
Fund (FIDF) deciding to seek a private investor to purchase
a controlling stake in the nationalised bank.

The government had previously scrapped plans to privatise
the ailing Siam City Bank (SCIB), and had focused on
restructuring its problem assets instead. Now, the FIDF
appears to have reversed its policy.  FIDF board members
reached their resolution yesterday, spokesman Sommai
Phasee said, adding that so far only one party has shown
interest in buying SCIB.

He did not elaborate.  However, Rathakorn Nimwatana,
assistant governor of the Bank of Thailand (BOT), later
said the bidder was "a group of Thais" that included former
SCIB managers.  He declined to identify them, but said the
FIDF would consider not only their financial offer, but
also their ability to manage the bank.

Critics of the process argue that further delays could
worsen the bank's financial losses. FIDF officials reject
this, saying finding the right solution would be more
profitable for the bank and the FIDF in the long run.
According to the letter-of-intent submitted to the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), the BOT intended to
conclude the SCIB's privatisation plan by the end of last
year.

But the FIDF, the bank's major shareholder, failed to
privatise the bank and its losses began to swell by Bt300
million per month.  Recently, the authorities have been
seeking solutions for the bank's bad assets. Earlier this
week the BOT and the Finance Ministry reached an agreement
to park the bad assets with the bank's asset-management
company.

Sommai insisted that the latest decision does not represent
a reversal of policy, but marks the third stage of plans
for the bank.  Sathit Limphongpun, an FIDF board member and
head of the fiscal policy office, said the FIDF would
reconsider existing proposals if the second round of
privatisation efforts fails.

Officials did not disclose whether the potential investor
would like to buy only the good assets or the entire bank.
Somchainuk Engtrakul, the Finance Ministry's permanent
secretary and a member of the FIDF, said the sale of SCIB
would not be treated as an auction, such as that of
Radanasin Bank.

He said the authorities would like the SCIB deal to be an
individual agreement with the potential investors who make
the best offer, such as the deal that saw the Nakornthon
Bank sold to Standard Chartered Bank. "The FIDF's board
agreed this is the best solution providing the greatest
benefit. And there are potential investors with interesting
offers," he said.

Somchainuk added that the authorities would also be open to
talks with two or three additional potential investors for
SCIB, which is the only state-owned bank left for sale. He
said he expects the sale to be completed in two months.
The Finance Ministry will submit the conclusion of the plan
at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting. The plan calling for Bangkok
Metropolitan Bank to be sold to UK-based HSBC Holding Plc
also will be submitted then.  (The Nation  14-Oct-2000)


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