/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRAP_Public/001018.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

             Wednesday, October 18, 2000, Vol. 3, No. 203

                                       Headlines


* A U S T R A L I A *

BALFOURS BAKERY: Placed in receivership
BHP: S'holders approve steel biz sell-off
LIBERTYONE: Trading suspended while future mulled


* C H I N A  &  H O N G  K O N G *

FIRST PACIFIC: Investments turning sour
HAINAN INT'L TRUST: Asks bond holders to forgive debt
PACIFIC CENTURY CYBERWORKS: Stock plunges 6%
PRACTICAL INT'L (HK)CO.LTD: Facing winding up petition
SUN EAST TECHNOLOGY (HLDGS.): Stock falls 42%
UNIVERSAL FIRST LTD: Facing winding up petition
WING KWONG LITHOGRAPH.LTD: Facing winding up petition


* I N D O N E S I A *

PT UNITED TRACTORS: Creditors approve restructuring


* J A P A N *

KYOWA BUILDING: Files for bankruptcy
KYOWA SANGYO: Files for bankruptcy
MONEX INC.: Posts 1H loss
RBM: Files for bankruptcy


* K O R E A *

DAEWOO MOTOR SALES: 25% of office workers resign
HANBO IRON & STEEL: New interested buyers show up
HYUNDAI ENG.& CONSTR.: Conflicting signals on debt swap


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

FORTUNE TOBACCO: Gov't still set on pursuing tax case
GOLCONDA VENTURES INC.: SEC mulls license suspension
NATIONAL POWER CORP.: Loan interest payments to swell
NATIONAL STEEL CORP.: Owners still try to avoid liquidation


* T H A I L A N D *

EASTERN PRINTING: Seeks delay in rehab plan filing
ROYAL CERAMIC INDUSTRY: Nov. 8 creditor vote on rehab plan
SUBMICRON TECHNOLOGY: Court overturns receivership order
TEJAPAIBUL GROUP: BMB files suit to collect debt


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

BALFOURS BAKERY: Placed in receivership
---------------------------------------
The 106-year-old Balfours bakery was placed in receivership
yesterday, crippled by millions of dollars in debt, but
management is confident the South Australian icon can
survive.

Blaming the GST for its troubles, Balfours is determined to
trade out of "short-term financial difficulties" and save
its 550-strong workforce.  Receiver Bruce Carter of Ferrier
Hodgson said yesterday the GST had "knocked the stuffing"
out of the bakery and was having "a massive impact on this
business."

"This company has now run short of cash and needs an
opportunity to restructure," Mr Carter said. "I think it
will be unlikely those jobs will be at risk."

It is the second time in four years Balfours has been in
receivership.  In 1996 the company was saved in a $14.5
million deal with a consortium of largely Australian
interests, including Sydney-based Allard Capital, after
accumulating large debts.

Since then between $8 million and $10 million had been
spent on equipment and system upgrades, Mr Carter said.
He said there were two key reasons for Balfours' plight:
1) Profitability had slipped because it had to absorb some
of the GST on its products or risk losing more sales to
products not subject to GST, such as fish fingers.
2) A strain on cash flow from the 60-day lag between when
it paid the GST component on its products and when
retailers paid Balfours for the goods.

"It is one of the few businesses in the GST regime that is
treated this way," Mr Carter said.

The financial problems had been exacerbated by the need for
cash to fund an expansion into NSW, announced last year, to
meet customer demand. The receivers are now working with
Balfours management on a restructuring plan to be put to
creditors in a "couple of weeks." Asset disposal was
"always one consideration."

Last month, Balfours workers accepted pay cuts of up to $28
a week in an effort to ensure the company's long-term
viability.  "This business has got to third base and has
run out of gas before it's got home and it needs some time
to work on that strategy to get it home," Mr Carter said.
"It will be business as usual through this difficult
period."

Balfours, which has a $65 million annual turnover, had
consistently returned profits since it was sold in 1996.
Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union branch
assistant secretary David Di Troia said the union met
management and receivers yesterday afternoon but did not
have a clear picture of future plans for the business.

"We would like to think that all the jobs can be
protected," Mr Di Troia said.

Balfours chief executive officer Malcolm Gibbons was
unavailable for comment.  A State Government spokesman
said: "Any threat to a well-known South Australian company
is not good news." And Opposition treasury spokesman Kevin
Foley said the GST "may well have cost South Australia an
icon company and hundreds of jobs."  (The Advertiser  17-
Oct-2000)

BHP: S'holders approve steel biz sell-off
-----------------------------------------
BHP shareholders have approved the disposal of part of the
company's steel business.

In Adelaide, shareholders have voted for the proposed
"spin-out" of BHP's long products division into a new
publicly-listed company, One Steel. It will be launched on
the Stock Exchange next Monday, allowing One Steel to
concentrate on core business activities.  The deal
represents about half of BHP's steel business.

The spin-out is a major part of a restructuring of BHP,
which has seen an almost $4 billion profit turnaround. Up
to 800 members of the Australian Manufacturing Workers
Union (AMWU)are on strike at plants at Whyalla, Newcastle,
Geelong and Sunshine, seeking assurances that the new
company will meet all worker entitlements. One Steel
managing director Bob Every says that is not in doubt.
(ABC News Online  17-Oct-2000)

LIBERTYONE: Trading suspended while future mulled
-------------------------------------------------
Shares in Internet media company LibertyOne have been
suspended from trade on the Australian Stock Exchange,
company chair Nicholas Whitlam seeking the trading halt
pending an announcement to the market.

LibertyOne last month announced a half-year loss of $58
million. It had also announced significant changes to its
operating structure and investments.  Earlier this month,
it said it was considering a recapitalization by way of a
share placement and asset sales. Its shares last traded at
just under six cents.


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

FIRST PACIFIC: Investments turning sour
---------------------------------------
First Pacific is feeling the pain from its US$1.4 billion
(HK$10.9 billion) bet on Asia's two worst-performing
economies.

In the Philippines, where it has more than half its assets,
the company forgoes US$7.2 million of profit for each
percentage point the peso falls. The currency tumbled 17
per cent this year.  Its stake in Indofood Sukses Makmur of
Indonesia, the world's biggest instant noodle maker, lost
half its value in 10 months.

Chairman Manuel Pangilinan, won plaudits from investors two
years ago when he sold a US$634 million (HK$4.9 billion)
stake in the steadily growing Dutch trading company
Hagemeyer to seek higher returns in Asia. He paid US$750
million for Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company
(PLDT) and US$650 million for Indofood. The investments
don't look so smart now.

"They made the wrong call and they've been caught badly,"
said Lachlan Christie, an analyst at Typhoon Eight Research
who has a "sell" recommendation on the stock. "They
divested more secure assets to buy much riskier ones."

Many investors agree. Shares of Hong Kong-based First
Pacific, which also invests in financial services and real
estate, fell 65 per cent this year, making them the second-
worst performing stock on the benchmark Hang Seng Index.
HSBC Holdings (0005) expects growth in Indonesia to halve
to 1.5 per cent next year from 3 per cent this year.
Philippines growth may slow to 2 per cent from 2.5 per
cent.

While the company hadn't anticipated all the problems the
Philippines and Indonesia experienced this year, it also
didn't expect Asian economies to resume the double-digit
growth rates of the early 1990s for five years, said First
Pacific spokeswoman Rebecca Brown.

"If we were short-term investors our decision to invest in
Southeast Asia would be a mistake," she said. "Optimism
ruled then, but reality was somewhat different. We're not
surprised the region's not back on its feet yet."

The company has taken steps to counter political and
economic risk, such as having Indofood repay almost all its
United States dollar debt so as to protect itself against
the impact of future falls in the value of the rupiah. Many
investors don't share First Pacific's patience - or its
confidence.

The stock plunged 19 per cent in just seven days before
rebounding 2.4 per cent to $2.125 yesterday. The peso fell
for a sixth day yesterday, losing 0.4 per cent to 48.676 to
the US dollar. In its 1999 annual report, First Pacific
said every 1 per cent devaluation in the peso meant a
US$34.1 million decrease in PLDT's profit and a US$7.2
million cut in First Pacific's own profit.

Ms Brown said the estimate was still approximately correct.
First Pacific's earnings tumbled 62 per cent in 1999 to
US$138.2 million, including one-time items, from US$360.5
million the previous year. Higher rates also will hurt the
already fragile Philippines real estate market, damaging
the prospects for First Pacific's investment in the Fort
Bonafacio residential development project in Manila.

The company remains confident its two main investments are
strong enough to pull through bad times.  First Pacific's
Ms Brown said both PLDT and Indofood were generating plenty
of cash.  (Hong Kong iMail  17-Oct-2000)

HAINAN INT'L TRUST: Asks bond holders to forgive debt
-----------------------------------------------------
China's Hainan International Trust & Investment Corp
(Hitic), which recently defaulted on 28.5 billion yen
(about HK$2.05 billion) of Samurai bonds, has asked bond
holders to forgive up to half the principal owed, according
to market sources.

"Hitic has asked that the bonds be discounted to about 50
to 60 yen per 100 yen of face value," an underwriting
source said yesterday.  "Such negotiations are already
taking place between creditors and Hitic. But I don't think
creditors will accept this kind of demand. They want 100
per cent back."

Hitic, wholly owned by the government of the southern
province of Hainan, last week became the first Chinese
financial entity to default in Japan's Samurai market.
It was scheduled to make an interest payment on September
25 of about 238 million yen to the holders of 14 billion
yen of seven-year Samurai bonds carrying a 3.4 per cent
coupon and due to mature in September 2004.

Japanese-commissioned banks declared Hitic in default after
it failed to pay the interest by the end of a grace period
that expired on October 10.  On Monday, visiting Premier
Zhu Rongji said that when he returned to China he would
urge the Hainan government to deal with the Hitic problem.

"Because Hitic's Samurai bond problem involves ordinary
people, I take it very seriously," Mr Zhu said towards the
end of his six-day visit.

He said China's central government would protect the rights
of Japanese and other foreign creditors in line with
appropriate laws.  Japanese creditors and bankers are
closely watching how the Chinese government handles the
matter.  They are not yet sure whether the problem will be
resolved quickly.

"If Hitic and creditors fail to clinch an agreement, then
creditors will most likely take legal action," another
market source said.  "If this happens, the problem would be
handled by liquidators. This process could take a long time
to conclude as liquidators have to review Hitic's assets
thoroughly. It could take about six months to one year."

Hitic defaulted as China is in the process of closing or
consolidating about 240 similar trust companies, leaving
about 50, analysts said.  The collapse of Guangdong
International Trust & Investment Corp (Gitic) in 1998
sparked a series of debt defaults at China's trust firms.
The landmark event highlighted deep-seated financial
problems among the mainland's trust and investment firms
and sparked a credit squeeze by foreign lenders.

The trust sector remains mired in severe financial trouble
but authorities have shied away from using the little-
tested bankruptcy laws when foreign creditors have been
involved.  Gitic filed for bankruptcy in January last year
with US$4.7 billion of liabilities.

Foreign creditors were caught off guard by Beijing's
unwillingness to bail out the politically well-connected
company.  The case is still staggering through the courts.
In September, the acting mayor of the northeastern city of
Dalian, Li Yongjin, was quoted as saying Dalian
International Trust & Investment Corp (Ditic) would be
declared bankrupt after repaying part of its debts to its
foreign creditors.  In August, Ditic signed an agreement
with 18 foreign creditors to repay 60 per cent of the
principal it owed.  (South China Morning Post  17-Oct-2000)

PACIFIC CENTURY CYBERWORKS: Stock plunges 6%
--------------------------------------------
Shares in Pacific Century CyberWorks (PCCW), local-based
Internet investment company, plunged 5.88 per cent on the
first day of trading after revising its deal with
Australia's Telstra.

PCCW opened at an intraday high of $8.50 but failed to find
support and slid to close at $7.20 which was 45 cents lower
than the closing price of $7.65 last Thursday. PCCW shares
were suspended last Friday ahead of the disclosure of the
revised agreement and press conference. The revised PCCW
and Telstra agreement will provide PCCW with US$3.555
billion (HK$27.69 billion) in cash which it badly needs to
help settle debt.

This is half a billion more than what was previously agreed
to with Telstra. Patrick Yiu, assistant director of
research at Kingsway SW Securities, said the revised deal
was not particularly exciting for PCCW. "The short-term
(selling) pressure is still here," he said.

In the revised deal, CyberWorks lost its controlling stake
in the mobile joint venture by selling 60 per cent to
Telstra. On top of that, the conversion price of the bond
was cut from $19.52 to 45 trading days average starting
yesterday.

Alex Arena, deputy chairman of PCCW executive committee,
stressed at last week's press conference that the two
companies shared equal management control in the mobile
business joint venture. Still, he failed to quell investors
concern.

"Investors were worried that losing a controlling interest
in a profitable business could strain the company's cash
flow," said Edmond Chenug, an analyst at Core-Pacific
Yamaichi International who covers PCCW.

Mr Cheung suggested that stock opened at a high price as
investors who sold short needed to square their positions
and bought back the shares.  When PCCW merged with HKT in
August, it paid most HKT shareholders $7.23 in cash and
0.7116 of its own shares for each HKT share. The merger was
financed by US$12 billion bank loan, which would be cut to
under US$5.5 billion in January when the deal with Telstra
was completed, PCCW said.

Dale Tsang, head of equities trading at e2Capital
Securities, said that the stock was likely to suffer from a
lack of good news in the near future. "Now in the market,
any good news is no news, any bad news is very bad news,"
Mr Tsang said.  (Hong Kong iMail  17-Oct-2000)

PRACTICAL INT'L (HK)CO.LTD: Facing winding up petition
------------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Court of First Instance,
has scheduled a hearing on December 6 on the petition of
Mak Sin Yi for the winding up of Practical International
(Hong Kong) Co. Limited. A notice of legal appearance must
be filed on or before December 5.

SUN EAST TECHNOLOGY (HLDGS.): Stock falls 42%
---------------------------------------------
Electronics equipment and production line manufacturer Sun
East Technology (Holdings) saw its stock fall 42.37 percent
below its issue price to 68 cents Monday after it failed to
ride a market rally.

Sun East made its debut at $1.21 and rose to $1.29 in early
trade but eased in late trade to touch as low as 66 cents.
Turnover of stock was thin at $61.08 million. Chairman But
Tin-hing said the result was within expectations and he
hoped the company's profitable track record would provide
better support for the counter in the near future. "The
stock price will not affect our business," Mr But said.

Although the firm's $92 million initial public offering
(IPO) was 1.7 times subscribed, it did not gain sufficient
attention from investors. Brokers said investors were no
longer "blowing kisses" to technology-related stocks.
In addition, small companies such as Sun East were losing
the spot light to blue chips, with the Hang Seng Midcap
Index up only 0.7 per cent yesterday compared to the 2 per
cent rise in the benchmark Hang Seng Index.

Facing weak market sentiment for its new offering, Sun East
lowered its price-earnings ratio from about 10 to 5.41
times, on a diluted basis. It placed 62.4 million shares to
institutions and other professional investors, and offered
15.6 million for retail subscription.

Sun East's main business is the design, manufacture and
distribution of production lines for consumer electronic
products makers.  The firm forecasts a net profit of at
least $68 million for the year to March 31, 2001. It made a
net profit of $53.89 million for the year to March 31,
2000. This compared with a net profit of $26.02 million and
$16.18 million for 1999 and 1998, respectively.  The firm
has about $70 million worth of production orders up to
October and had $10 million cash on hand as of August 31.
(Hong Kong iMail  17-Oct-2000)

UNIVERSAL FIRST LTD: Facing winding up petition
-----------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Court of First Instance,
has scheduled a hearing on November 22 on the petition of
Tsoi Kin Cho for the winding up of Universal First Limited.
A notice of legal appearance must be filed on or before
November 21.

WING KWONG LITHOGRAPH.LTD: Facing winding up petition
-----------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Court of First Instance,
has scheduled a hearing on December 13 on the petition of
Lee Yat Shing for the winding up of Wing Kwong
Lithographing Co. Limited. A notice of legal appearance
must be filed on or before December 12.


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

PT UNITED TRACTORS: Creditors approve restructuring
---------------------------------------------------
Foreign and domestic creditors of publicly listed PT United
Tractors (UT), a distributor of heavy equipment, have given
approval to the company to restructure its debts.

According to United Tractors, debts owed to 26 foreign
banks totaling US$278 million and debts of Rp 147 billion
(about $17.3 million) owed to local banks would be repaid
in two stages under a debt restructuring agreement signed
with the creditors.

In the first stage of the agreement, United Tractors is to
repay $94.3 million of total foreign debt and Rp 49.78
billion of the local debt in full by the end of 2002.
Interest payments on those debts are to be made quarterly.
In the second stage, the company will repay $184.20 million
still outstanding in foreign debt and Rp 97.22 billion of
local debt still remaining by Dec. 2004.

The company can also extend the term for another three
years if it is unable to settle the payment by the end of
2004. Payment of the principal debt in the second tranche
is to be made every six months, while interest payments
will be every three months.

Fifty percent owned by publicly-listed PT Astra Interna-
tional, United Tractors will be required to pay $5 million
and RP 2.64 billion up front under the restructuring
agreement.


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

KYOWA BUILDING: Files for bankruptcy
KYOWA SANGYO: Files for bankruptcy
------------------------------------
Property broker Kyowa Sangyo and its affiliate
Kyowa Building have filed for bankruptcy with the Sapporo
District Court. The pair of companies report combined
liabilities of 31.4 billion yen.

MONEX INC.: Posts 1H loss
-------------------------
Business results at three leading securities companies
focusing on online trading were mixed in the half year
ended September 30, earnings reports, with Monex Inc.
posting a pretax loss while ETrade Japan KK and Matsui
Securities Co. booked pretax profits.

Monex's pretax loss totaled 470 million yen ($ US4.37
million). While the number of its accounts increased 80
percent from March-September to about 92,000, the volume of
transactions over the summer was lukewarm.

RBM: Files for bankruptcy
-------------------------
RBM, operator of nationwide beauty-salon chain Esthe-de-
Milord, has filed for bankruptcy with the Tokyo District
Court.

A notice saying business was temporarily suspended was
posted outside of each of the company's 100 salons Monday
morning.  In the competitive beauty-salon business, Esthe-
de-Milord enjoyed a customer count of about 400,000 at the
height of its success.

RBM's revenues had fallen of late due to increasingly
fierce competition in the beauty industry and the collapse
of the Japanese economy. Additionally, the salon operator
had loans refused by several financial institutions after
violations of in-house contract procedures were disclosed.
Because many of its customers had paid large sums in
advance fees, the chain is likely to face demands for
repayment, company observers said.

According to company officials, in-house auditing of 60
Esthe-de-Milord salons last August uncovered that 22
Yokohama salons employed techniques banned under in-house
regulations for winning contracts to meet sales quotas.
RBM also found itself in trouble with credit companies
involving the handling of problematic contracts, further
affecting its credit worthiness in the eyes of lenders.

RMB was founded in April, 1977 and currently employs some
2,000 people. According to a private credit research firm,
the company had a current net worth of about 629 million
yen, while annual sales for fiscal 1999 (which ended March
31) totaled about 18.5 billion yen.  In addition to beauty
salons, the company operated gyms, nurseries and a mail-
order health-food business.


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

DAEWOO MOTOR SALES: 25% of office workers resign
------------------------------------------------
A quarter of the office workers at Daewoo Motor Sales, the
domestic sales agency of near-insolvent Daewoo Motor, have
resigned in protest over last week's replacement of the
company's top management by its creditors.  The mass
resignation by about 400 office workers based in Seoul
triggered a suspension of the sales unit's operations.

HANBO IRON & STEEL: New interested buyers show up
-------------------------------------------------
Creditors of Hanbo Steel report that two-to-three new
prospective buyers have contacted them to open talks on
buying the troubled steel mill.

One of the potential buyers is a consortium led by Kwon Ho-
sung, the eldest son of ex-owner of Union Steel
Manufacturing. Kwon was a party to the Nabors consortium,
which signed a contract to acquire Hanbo but canceled the
agreement early this month.

The consortium would like to take over the contract signed
between the creditors and Nabors, citing Kwon was involved
in the Nabors consortium.  Creditors, however, are opposed
to allowing the new consortium to take over the Nabors
contract because it would mean an exclusive contract and
they still don't know the true intention of the new buyer.
(Korea Times  17-Oct-2000)

HYUNDAI ENG.& CONSTR.: Conflicting signals on debt swap
-------------------------------------------------------
There appears to be some confusion among various government
authorities and creditor banks over the issue of permitting
Hyundai Engineering & Construction (HEC) to convert debt
into equity.

On one side, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) and
HEC's creditor banks agree that it will be necessary to
implement debt-to-equity conversions for HEC as the firm
will be unable to execute its self-rescue according to
plan. Measures in the plan included the sale of its
shareholdings of other Hyundai subsidiaries, which has
proved impractical due to a slump in local share market.

On the other side, Minister of Finance and Economy Jin Nyum
made remarks Monday that have given rise to speculation
that debt-to-equity conversions would only be permitted if
HEC spins off from the Hyundai group.  Commenting on Jin's
remarks, one FSS official said the spin off of HEC from the
parent group would be difficult to pull off and if this
were to happen, it would have a huge negative impact.
(Digital Chosun  17-Oct-2000)


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

FORTUNE TOBACCO: Gov't still set on pursuing tax case
-----------------------------------------------------
The Philippine government is still determined to pursue its
tax evasion case against beer and tobacco tycoon Lucio C.
Tan and his Fortune Tobacco company, and would even file a
similar case against BW Resources.

Finance Secretary Jose T. Pardo yesterday said in a radio
interview the government is no longer pressured to meet the
October 21 deadline to file Mr. Tan's case at the Supreme
Court after it has been dismissed last August by the Court
of Appeals.

"We have legal opinion from the Department of Justice (DoJ)
that anytime they complete their study and a task force has
been created (the case can be filed)," Pardo said, adding
"So Justice Secretary (Artemio G.) Tuquero said we can
ignore the court deadline because they found a basis that
anytime upon the completion of the study we can file the
case provided we put an assessment order."

Pardo said Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) commissioner
Dakila B. Fonacier is still studying the case as they are
checking all the evidence given by former BIR commissioner
Liwayway Vinzons-Chato. He said Mr. Fonacier had written to
him telling him the BIR needed 120 days to complete the
study of the said tax case against Mr. Tan.  (Business
World  17-Oct-2000)

GOLCONDA VENTURES INC.: SEC mulls license suspension
----------------------------------------------------
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in what
woulud be a move to protect the investing public, is
considering revoking the license of Golconda Ventures,
Inc., the company that created Prosperity Mansions Inc., a
British-run company that reportedly has illegally obtained
$2.34 million from some 10,000 consumers around the country
in just two months.

Over 6,000 of consumers are reportedly based in Metro
Manila and nearby provinces like Batangas and Bulacan. The
rest are from Bacolod, Cebu, and Bicol.  Prosperity
Mansions itself does not have a license, but applied only
for a business name at the Department of Trade and
Industry.

Property Mansions is believed to have been hiding behind
tie-ups with legitimate real estate developers like listed
Fil-Estate Corp.  Officials at the SEC prosecution and
enforcement department (PED) added that Prosperity Mansions
has continued to operate despite a cease and desist order
issued on September 5, under new business name
Prosperity.com.

They said the new company is doing essentially the same
kind of business, although with different incorporators,
luring even low-income consumers with its scheme. Under the
Prosperity Mansions or Prosperity.com marketing plan,
consumers are paid $92 for every two persons they
succesfully refer to the company. Each has to pay $234 to
enroll.

Under the original plan, part of the $234 investment was
supposed to be set aside as downpayment for house and lots,
condominiums and other real properties developed by
"accredited" companies like Fil-estate.  Under the new
plan, the $234 investment is considered payment for Web
sites designed by the company, through which the investors
could refer other people. The consumers can then eventually
purchase house and lots using their commissions.

But until now, PED pointed out consumers have yet to obtain
their Web sites and even Prosperity.com itself does not
have a presence on the Internet.  In an interview with
BusinessWorld, Prosperity Mansions president Malcolm
Crawley and director John Gillespie, who are also the
owners of Golconda Ventures, claimed they did not need to
get a license for Prosperity Mansions.

They were also hesitant to divulge the company's marketing
plan and at first denied their connection with Prosperity
Mansions.  They also claimed that Prosperity Mansions only
had 1,000 members before it closed, which means the company
was only able to collect $234,000 from the public.

But 15 consumers of the company said in an interview some
of them have already referred more than 1,000 persons to
the company. The average referrals of the 15 consumers
already numbered to 400. They filed an estafa case against
Mr. Crawley and his companions last week.

Meanwhile, the PED said they have also asked the DTI to
look into the marketing scheme used by Prosperity Mansions
and Prosperity.com, to determine whether it is patterned
after pyramiding schemes that are banned by the government.
(Business World  17-Oct-2000)

NATIONAL POWER CORP.: Loan interest payments to swell
-----------------------------------------------------
National Power Corp. (Napocor) is faced with the
possibility of an increase in its interest payments for its
dollar-denominated loans due to the Philippine peso's steep
fall against the dollar.

Making matters worse for the already cash-strapped state
firm is that increases in interest payments, under existing
rules, can't be recouped through an increase in power
rates, a Napocor official, who asked not to be named, told
BusinessWorld in an interview yesterday.

Due to its swelling interest payments, Napocor expects that
its projected loss of 9.1-billion Philippine pesos ($186.71
million at PhP48.738=$1) this year will reach the double-
digit level.  This year, the company has estimated
PhP14.967 billion ($307.09 million) in interest payments
based on a P40:$1 exchange rate.

But with the foreign exchange rate hitting the PhP49-mark
during yesterday's trade, the company is at a loss on how
this would affect its finances, the official said. He added
that Napocor's privatization, which supposedly will save
the company from further bankruptcy, is still nowhere in
sight.

As a rule of thumb, every PhP1 depreciation or appreciation
in the exchange rate is equivalent to PhP300 million
increase or decrease in Napocor's interest payments.
In 1999 alone, Napocor registered a PhP5.953-billion net
loss primarily because of its interest payments. This, when
that year its operating income was at PhP17.94 billion. But
since its interest charges hit PhP23.9 billion, Napocor was
still left with a PhP5.9-billion net loss.

Also compounding the problem is that Napocor reported a
decrease in total energy sales for the first half of the
year by 2.2%, as Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), its biggest
customer, reduced its energy purchases from the state power
firm.  Napocor's energy sales to Meralco declined after
Meralco started sourcing part of its power requirements
from independent power producers Quezon Power (Phils.) Ltd.
and its sister company First Gas Power Corp.  (Business
World  17-Oct-2000)

NATIONAL STEEL CORP.: Owners still try to avoid liquidation
-----------------------------------------------------------
The Malaysian owners of debt-saddled National Steel Corp.
(NSC) are out to fight a battle for the steel maker's
rehabilitation, despite a liquidation order issued by the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) two weeks ago.

NSC chairman and executive director Ibrahim Bin Bidin said
NSC majority shareholder Hottick Investments, Inc. "will
exhaust all available legal means to stop the liquidation
of NSC" and warned that the steel maker's liquidation may
create diplomatic problems between the country and
Malaysia. The SEC ordered the liquidation of NSC last
November 3 as Hottick failed to submit an alternative to
the interim receivership committee's (IRC) rehabilitation
plan, which had been rejected by majority of the steel
maker's creditor banks and shareholders.

"The hearing panel believes that (Hottick), from the time
is was directed on February 28, 2000 to submit a more
detailed rehab plan up to the last extension of the
suspension of payments order on September 30, had all the
time to finalize its own rehab plan. This it failed to do,"
the SEC said as it denied Hottick's bid for an extension of
NSC's debt-reprieve.

For its part, the National Steel Labor Union (NSLU) said "a
sensible, intelligent and objective assessment of the IRC
(receivership body)-crafted rehabilitation plan will show
that said plan is actually a disguised liquidation plan.
The rehab plan was really designed to be rejected by any
thinking majority shareholder what with its highly skewed
provisions completely in favor of one party and practically
shutting out the other."  (Business World  17-Oct-2000)


===============
T H A I L A N D
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EASTERN PRINTING: Seeks delay in rehab plan filing
--------------------------------------------------
Eastern Printing's business rehabilitation planner has
asked the Central Bankruptcy Court to delay its
rehabilitation plan's submission deadline to November 6.
The previous deadline was October 6. The company attributed
the delay to its ongoing asset appraisal and financial
auditing.

ROYAL CERAMIC INDUSTRY: Nov. 8 creditor vote on rehab plan
----------------------------------------------------------
Royal Ceramic Industry reports its creditors will meet on
November 8 to vote on its debt-restructuring plan. The plan
already has been submitted to the Stock Exchange of
Thailand.

SUBMICRON TECHNOLOGY: Court overturns receivership order
--------------------------------------------------------
The Appeals Court yesterday overruled an earlier decision
by the Central Bankruptcy Court, which had placed Submicron
Technology into receivership.

But the court upheld an earlier ruling against Charn
Usawachoke, the founder of Submicron. The appeal had been
lodged by Mr Charn and Submicron against a bankruptcy case
filed last year by Siam City Bank.

The bank had filed suit in June 1999 seeking recovery of
1.19 billion baht in debt. The Central Bankruptcy Court
placed the assets of both Submicron and Mr Charn in the
hands of receivers in January. In its ruling, the court
said that borrowings by Submicron and Mr Charn from Siam
City Bank and 22 other financial institutions totaled 19.25
billion baht.

Total loans extended to Submicron by Siam City Bank were
$19 million out of a credit line of $51 million. According
to Submicron's 1996 financial statements, total outstanding
debts owed to all creditors were 6.3 billion baht.

On the asset side, Submicron listed buildings with a total
value of 3.6 billion baht, as well as another six billion
baht worth of buildings that had not been listed on the
balance sheet. As a result, the Appeals Court ruled that
the assets did exceed the liabilities and that Submicron
should not be ruled insolvent under the bankruptcy code.

Regarding Mr Charn, the court said his listed assets
consisted of shares worth 1.12 billion baht, insufficient
to cover his debt. The court thus upheld the ruling of the
Central Bankruptcy Court. Talks between Mr Charn, Submicron
and the creditors on a restructuring agreement are still in
progress.

Both parties have been seeking new potential partners to
help bail out the ailing wafer fabrication firm, although
little progress has been made. A creditors' vote on whether
to accept the restructuring plan or close Submicron will be
held next month.

Poomwut Puttasuatta, a spokesman for the Central Bankruptcy
Court, said the next step depended on Siam City Bank.
For now, the authority to manage Submicron's assets, mostly
buildings and facilities at its site in Chachoengsao, would
be returned to the firm by the Legal Execution Department.
Mr Charn expressed satisfaction with yesterday's ruling,
even though his own status had been upheld.

"The fact that Submicron has another chance should
encourage the creditors to help us rehabilitate the firm,"
he said. "This is an industry which will create significant
benefits for the country. And if we can revive the
business, it will be good for our creditors as well."

Mr Charn said that while Submicron had not been operating
for more than nine months, he believed it could be
restored. The facilities were still in good condition, he
said, and expressed confidence that the company could be
reopened if the creditors approved the restructuring plan.

Mr Charn had been one of Thailand's biggest success stories
after founding Alphatec Electronics, an assembler of
semiconductors. He later envisioned building a wafer
fabrication plant through Submicron, producing the
miniature chips which form the backbone of the
semiconductor industry.

But Mr Charn's aspirations collapsed several years ago,
after the creditors pulled back their financing and new
audits revealed significant overstatements of profits.
Alphatec is now under separate management after the
creditors effectively took over the company. (Bangkok Post
17-Oct-2000)

TEJAPAIBUL GROUP: BMB files suit to collect debt
------------------------------------------------
Bangkok Metropolitan Bank (BMB) revealed that it has filed
a lawsuit against the Tejapaibul group, the majority owner
of the World Trade Center shopping mall, for neglecting to
work out the two billion baht delinquent debt owed to the
bank.

Sinn Ekvisarn, interim BMB president, said debt
negotiations between the bank and the Tejapaibul group had
stalled because the group refused to cooperate with the
bank.

"The bank doesn't want to bring the lawsuit, but the
group's debt is under the supervision of the Corporate Debt
Restructuring Advisory Committee [CDRAC] which requires
that bad loans be restructured within 60 days of being
placed under its supervision, or else legal action is
mandated," said Sinn.

However, he left open the possibility that if the group
reopens talks with BMB soon, the suit could be dropped.
Last November, the Bank of Thailand also pressed criminal
charges against Vichien Tejapaibul, former BMB President,
alleging that he violated banking laws by approving loans
to companies affiliated with the bank's board members and
shareholders.

Those loans subsequently turned sour.  One of the largest
defaulters of BMB belongs to the Tejapaibul group, a former
major shareholder of the bank, who borrowed heavily to
invest in the World Trade Center. At the end of August, the
bank said its non-performing loans (NPL) stood at 108
billion baht or 58 percent of outstanding credits.

"BMB has held negotiations with all types of borrowers, who
numbered about 10,000, with loans of about 40 to 50 billion
baht to restructure," said a BMB statement.

Separately, BMB yesterday said it has cut monthly losses
from 400 million baht a month to 300 million.  BMB said it
lost 2.8 billion baht in the first eight months of the
year, but losses for the year are expected to be trimmed
due to aggressive reductions of NPLs.

BMB said its NPLs are expected to fall to about 80 billion
baht by year end, amounting to some 45 percent of
outstanding credit.  Concerning the sale of a 75 percent
stake of the bank to HSBC (Hongkong & Shanghai Banking
Corporation), the bank said it was waiting for approval
from the cabinet and could not make any statement on the
date of the sale.

HSBC and the Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF)
have been hammering out the details of the deal, with
recent statements indicating that most details have been
concluded.  BMB said some fine points have yet to be
settled, but the majority have been agreed upon. BMB said
the government may make a decision on the purchase as early
as today. (Business Day  17-Oct-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
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