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     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, November 15, 2000, Vol. 3, No. 223

                                        Headlines


* A U S T R A L I A *

PACIFIC DUNLOP: S'holders swamp it in buyback
STEEL TANK & PIPE GROUP: Company folds, workers owed $3.6M


* C H I N A  &  H O N G  K O N G *

ACROSSASIA MULTIMEDIA LTD.: Posts 9-month $60M loss
ENOW: PCCW lays off 22 in closing eNOW
HENDERSON CYBER: Posts $13M net loss
HKCYBER.COM (HLDGS.)LTD.: Posts six-month loss
ZHENGZHOU BAIWEN GROUP: Investigators to probe it


* I N D O N E S I A *

BNI: Posts US$111M loss for nine months
PLN: No Government bailout for it
PT DAVOMAS ABADI: Debt-payment suspension upheld
PT INDUSTRTI PESAWAT TERBANG: Debt rehab approved
PT PUTRA SURYA PERKASA: Asks for debt payment suspension
PT TIMOR PUTRA NASIONAL: Govt approves restructuring


* J A P A N *

AOYAMA TRADING CO.: Posts 6-month loss
MITSUBISHI MOTORS CORP.: Losses nearly double over coverup
NIHON UNISYS LTD.: Posts US$15.75M first-half op loss


* K O R E A *

DAEWOO MOTOR: Plant shutdown likely to last awhile
DAEWOO MOTOR: Court freezes its assets
HYUNDAI ENGIN.& CONSTR.: KDI calls for receivership


* M A L A Y S I A *

MAGNUM CORP: Posts RM145.98M net loss


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

UNIWIDE HOLDINGS: Given to year end to
URBAN BANK: Justice Dept. forms investigation panel
WESTMONT INVEST.CORP.: Probe started on 11 oficials


* S I N G A P O R E *

GENERAL SECURITIES INVEST.: To be liquidated, delisted


* T H A I L A N D *

THAI JALAPRATHAN CEMENT: Posts Q3 loss
THAI PETROCHEM.INDUS.: Liquidation if plan vote is late


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

PACIFIC DUNLOP: S'holders swamp it in buyback
---------------------------------------------
Disillusioned Pacific Dunlop shareholders have stampeded
the share buyback, offering twice as much stock as the
directors wanted to take back.

PacDun said yesterday it had bought back 102 million shares
at $1.60 a share when its off-market equal access tender
buyback closed on Friday. The beleaguered condoms-to-tires
conglomerate said it would buy back more than 50 per cent
of nearly 200 million shares tendered.

Pacific Dunlop said the amount was scaled back by 49.1 per
cent after acceptance of up to the first 1,000 shares
tendered by each participating shareholder. This was in
line with the special provisions of the buyback that
specified shareholders tendering their total holding would
not be left with a less-than-marketable parcel of shares.

The company said 120.6 million shares were tendered at
$1.60 and 78.8 million were offered as a final price tender
without specifying a dollar amount. Tenders of shares at
prices above $1.60 were not successful. Payment for the
shares will be made on November 22.

The capital restructure coincides with plans for a massive
overhaul at its losing South Pacific Tyres business, a 50
per cent joint venture with Goodyear. The management will
outline its restructure plans to union officials tomorrow
but it was not clear yesterday whether the Pacific Dunlop
and Goodyear boards had yet approved the funds required for
the overhaul, including redundancies among the 6,000 tyre
workers. (Sydney Morning Herald  14-Nov-2000)

STEEL TANK & PIPE GROUP: Company folds, workers owed $3.6M
----------------------------------------------------------
Australian company Steel Tank and Pipe Group (STP) went
into receivership earlier this month and now says it cannot
pay its 200 employees, who are owed $A3.6 million in
entitlements.

The Manufacturing Workers Union (MWU) has renewed calls for
an industry trust fund, after revealing that the workers
are actually employed by a shelf company with no assets.
The MWU claims that any proceeds of sales of STP's assets
would not go to the employees under current arrangements.
The workers intend to occupy STP's headquarters in
Newcastle, New South Wales, on November 14 in an attempt to
obtain redundancy payments. (The Australian  13-Nov-2000)


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

ACROSSASIA MULTIMEDIA LTD.: Posts 9-month $60M loss
---------------------------------------------------
AcrossAsia Multimedia Limited recorded a net loss of $60.48
million for the nine-month period ended Sept.30. By
comparison, the company posted a net loss of $10.86 million
for the same period the prior year. Turnover increased from
$197 million $240 million, however. No dividend was
declare.

ENOW: PCCW lays off 22 in closing eNOW
--------------------------------------
Pacific Century CyberWorks (PCCW) has shut down its e-
commerce developer unit eNOW! and laid off its 22
employees, according to the Hong Kong Economic Times. The
layoffs are PCCW's first since its merger with Cable &
Wireless HKT. According to a PCCW spokesperson, the workers
affected will receive at least two months' extra pay as
compensation. Nine other employees were transferred to
other departments.

HENDERSON CYBER: Posts $13M net loss
------------------------------------
Henderson Cyber Limited recorded a $13 million net loss for
the quarter ended Sept. 30. Turnover was $1.47 million,
with interest income reaching $12 million. Its operating
loss was $26 million accruing from sales, administration
and other expenses.

HKCYBER.COM (HLDGS.)LTD.: Posts six-month loss
----------------------------------------------
hkcyber.com (Holdings) Ltd., operator of an on-line
newspaper, recorded a net loss of HK$34.16 million for the
six-month period ended Sept. 30. That was up nearly ten-
fold from a HK$3.55 million loss for the same period the
year prior. Loss per share was 2.7329 HK cents, up from
0.2843 HK cent for the prior year's period. Revenue totaled
HK$4.88 million for the half year. No interim dividend was
to be distributed.

ZHENGZHOU BAIWEN GROUP: Investigators to probe it
-------------------------------------------------
China has signalled it is turning up the heat on Zhengzhou
Baiwen Group by sending investigators to probe the
struggling retailer that state media claim falsified its
financial data.

The inspectors, brought in by the State Council, or
cabinet, were arriving in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan
province, and would make a thorough inspection of the
company, according to the Shanghai Securities Daily.
Baiwen officials, contacted at the firm's headquarters in
central China, said they were aware of the report but could
not say whether they were co-operating with the inspectors
or identify specific targets of the investigation.

An earlier report by the official Xinhua news agency said
Zhengzhou Baiwen, whose core business is its department
store, had falsified profit and sales data ahead of its
listing on the Shanghai exchange in 1996.  State media also
said the company's managers bought houses and expensive
cars for themselves, and suggested the firm should be
delisted - a controversial move that would make it the
first firm to be permanently removed from a mainland stock
market.

Baiwen was said to have bank debts of 2.5 billion yuan
(about HK$2.34 billion) and assets of less than 600 million
yuan. China Cinda Asset Management, Baiwen's major
creditor, is owed 1.9 billion yuan and has filed a petition
in Zhengzhou Intermediate Court to wind up the company.
Trading in Baiwen's shares has been halted on the Shanghai
stock exchange since August 22.

Baiwen chairman Li Fuqian and general manager Lu Yide were
still on the job, though not available for comment,
according to company officials.  They said the company's
department store was operating normally, though some other
operations outside of Zhengzhou had already been shut. They
did not elaborate.

The troubles at Zhengzhou Baiwen are symptomatic of the
ailments in China's young stock market, which suffers from
ineffective regulation, a lack of transparency and
widespread mismanagement at listed companies.  Henan
provincial officials have tried to protect the local firm,
which is said to have 120,000 shareholders and once had
about 2,000 employees.

Securities market sources have said the petition to
liquidate Zhengzhou Baiwen may be a means of pressuring the
Henan provincial government to inject assets into the firm
to keep the firm afloat.  Stock-market regulators have been
trying to wring some of the irregular practices out of the
market, but they say the reform process will be gradual.

Many cases do not come to light but the official media have
occasionally reported on securities-related fraud. Four
senior officials of Dongfang Boiler were jailed for life or
given suspended death sentences in June last year for
embezzlement and their roles in inflating profits of the
company ahead of a share listing.

The president of Hainan Minyuan was jailed in November 1998
for his part in issuing a fraudulent profit statement which
led to wild swings in the trading of the company's stock.
(South China Morning Post  14-Nov-2000)


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

BNI: Posts US$111M loss for nine months
---------------------------------------
Newly recapitalized, state-owned bank BNI recorded a Rp1.07
trillion (US$ 111 million) loss for the first three
quarters of this financial year, down from Rp4.62 trillion
for the same period the previous year.

According to a bank report, the narrower was attributed to
a sharp reduction in the bank's interest burden - having
declined to Rp6.727 trillion for the 9-month period this
year from Rp11.546 trillion the previous year.

PLN: No Government bailout for it
---------------------------------
The Coordinating Minister for the Economy Rizal Ramli
turned down state electricity company PLN's proposal to use
a debt to equity swap mechanism to avoid bankruptcy.

Ramli said that the government won't bailout PLN's debt of
Rp21 trillion, as other state-owned companies would also
ask their debts to be converted to government equity. Ramli
didn't offer any alternatives to handle PLN's giant debt,
however. He did ask PLN management to re-valuate its assets
immediately so that the losses would not be borne by any
future governments.

Ramli's statement was counter to that of Minister of Energy
and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro, who previously
said the government would approve PLN's proposal to pay its
debt. PLN recorded a loss of Rp11.6 trillion for the first
half of 2000, up substantially from Rp975 billion for the
same period last year.

PT DAVOMAS ABADI: Debt-payment suspension upheld
------------------------------------------------
The Supreme Court rejected the Indonesian Bank
Restructuring Agency (IBRA)'s appeal to overturn a six-
month debt payment suspension granted to PT Davomas
Abadi by Jakarta Commercial Court.

A document signed by Judge Suharto says Davomas will be
able to repay its debt of US$57 million plus 43 billion
rupiah if it is given longer to do so. Davomas' total
assets currently are worth 577.4 bln rupiah, including 73.7
bln in claims to third parties.

"The company still has prospects to be able to grow its
business. Therefore the company will be able to pay its
debt," the judge said.

In its appeal, IBRA alleged that 60 other ostensible
creditors of the company were not real and that Jakarta
Commercial Court judge Christi Purnamiwulan, lawyer Hotman
Paris Hutapea and curator Hanson Manurung failed to
evaluate evidence properly in granting the payment
suspension.

IBRA also claimed that the proposed 17-year debt
rescheduling and five-year grace period proposed by Davomas
is just another way of avoiding debt repayment. The Supreme
Court said IBRA's allegations are baseless. "On the 17-year
debt rescheduling, the court views that Davomas has good
intentions," the document said.  (AFX News Limited  13-Nov-
2000)

PT INDUSTRTI PESAWAT TERBANG: Debt rehab approved
-------------------------------------------------
The Cabinet's Financial Sector Policy Committee (FSPC) has
approved the debt restructuring of state-owned
aircraftmaker PT Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara (IPTN).
Under a debt restructuring agreement with the agency, IPTN
will repay its debt with a $13 million cash payment and the
remaining Rp 1.77 trillion debt will be settled with a
debt-to-equity swap method.

PT PUTRA SURYA PERKASA: Asks for debt payment suspension
--------------------------------------------------------
PT Putra Surya Perkasa (PSP) has requested a debt payment
suspension from the Jakarta Commercial Court to allow the
company more time to negotiate its debts with all its
creditors.

According to Judge Putu Supadmi, the court will decide
within days whether to accept Putra Surya Perkasa's
request. PT Bank Central Asia insurance unit PT Asuransi
Central Asia Raya filed a bankruptcy suit in late October
with the Jakarta Commercial Court, alleging PSP failed to
repay US$1.4 million worth of matured debts.

PT TIMOR PUTRA NASIONAL: Govt approves restructuring
----------------------------------------------------
The government has approved the debt restructuring of
automaker PT Timor Putra Nasional (TPN), allowing the
company to continue its Timor national car project in a
joint venture with South Korean Kia Motors Corporation.

The Cabinet's Financial Sector Policy Committee (FSPC) said
in a statement on Monday that it decided to approve the
debt restructuring agreement, which was signed by TPN and
the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) during
its meeting on Friday. TPN is wholly owned by former
president Soeharto's youngest son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala
Putra. Kia and the company formed a joint venture, PT Kia
Timor Motors (KTM) in 1997 to produce the Timor cars in
Cikampek, West Java.

TPN owes local banks US$521.5 million and the debt has been
taken over by the agency. Under the debt restructuring
agreement, FSPC said, TPN would pay the agency $8.62
million in cash and transfer assets worth $5.13 million and
atleast 69 percent of its shares in Kia Timor Motors to the
agency.

However, FSPC did not specify the number of IBRA shares in
KTM after the execution of the agreement. Tommy said during
a ceremony to launch the joint venture in February 1997
that TPN had a 35 percent stake in KTM, with Kia Motors
holding 30 percent and the remaining 35 percent shares
owned by PT Indauda.

FSPC further said the cash payment and asset and share
transfer scheme would cut TPN's debt to $466.6 million.
FSPC said of the $466.6 million remaining debt, $160.92
million would be restructured into a 10-year loan with a
grace period of three years and a commercial interest rate.
The remaining $305.68 million will be converted to IBRA's
shares in TPN. FSPC noted that the agency could increase
its ownership of TPN in support of Kia Motors.

FSPC called on KTM and TPN to reshuffle their management
and to soon resume the stalled national car project. The
former Soeharto administration allowed TPN to import Sephia
cars made by Kia in Korea without import duty. The cars
were renamed the Timor to sell on the domestic market.

Japan, the United States and the European Union protested
the special treatment and brought the case to the World
Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO ruled that the Indonesian
government should stop providing the company with the
import duty exemption. Today, Timor is the country's best-
selling car. (Jakarta Post 14-Nov-2000)


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

AOYAMA TRADING CO.: Posts 6-month loss
--------------------------------------
Aoyama Trading Co., operator of men's apparel shops,
posted a group net loss of 560 million yen (US$ 5.2
million) and an operating loss of 52 million yen for the
first half of this fiscal year-ended Sept. 30. The loss
followed lower-than-expected sales and a 1 percentage point
drop in gross profit margins due to price discounts and
swelling credit card-issuing costs at a finance subsidiary.

The company posted an extraordinary loss to cover its
entire shortfall of some 1 billion yen in pension and
retirement funds. Group sales totaled 65.2 billion yen,
down 2 billion yen on initial projections. Sales at its
casual clothing stores rose 11 percent, but plunged 15
percent at suit stores. The average unit price for suits
fell 7 percent to 27,700 yen.

MITSUBISHI MOTORS CORP.: Losses nearly double over coverup
----------------------------------------------------------
Mitsubishi Motors Corp., still staggering from the news
four months ago that it had engaged in a decades-long
coverup of vehicle defects, posted a record group net loss
of 75.6 billion yen for the first half of fiscal 2000. That
was nearly double the 38.5 billion yen net loss it recroded
for the same period a year earlier.

Mitsubishi attributed the loss to a number of factors
including lower sales at home, declining earnings as a
result of the yen's rise and the writeoff of retirement and
pension-related liabilities. MMC also suffered losses in
sales and operating and pretax profits, the company said.

For the first half of fiscal 2000, which ended Sept. 30,
groupwide sales totaled 1.542 trillion yen -- down 23
billion yen for the same period the previous year. Domestic
sales were 628.1 billion yen, likewise down 32.3 billion
yen. Overseas sales, meanwhile, were 914.4 billion yen, up
9.3 billion yen, MMC said.

MMC sold 675,000 units worldwide, 1,000 less than the
previous year. Among the total, 241,000 units were sold in
the domestic market, down 21,000 from the year-before
level. Meanwhile, MMC sold 434,000 units overseas, up
20,000 from the previous year.

MMC's consolidated operating loss was 23.2 billion yen,
while the pretax loss was 29.5 billion yen. During fiscal
1999, the company posted losses of 1.6 billion yen and 27.2
billion yen, respectively.  On an unconsolidated basis, MMC
recorded a net loss of 64.1 billion yen, a pretax loss of
24.6 billion yen and an operating loss of 25 billion yen in
the first half of fiscal 2000.

NIHON UNISYS LTD.: Posts US$15.75M first-half op loss
-----------------------------------------------------
Nihon Unisys Ltd. recorded ed an operating loss of 1.7
billion yen (US$ 15.75 million) for the first six months of
its financial year ended Sept. 30. That was a turnaround
from a 5.9 billion yen profit posted for the same period a
year ago.

A major computer importer, Nihon attributed the operating
loss for the period -- its first since going public in
October 1970 -- to a lukewarm demand for large computers
from regional financial institutions. A delay in the
startup of major computer services projects also was cited
for the poor showing.

Sales declined eight percent to 118.9 billion yen, while
pretax profit plummeted 90 percent to 689 million yen, that
despite an extraordinary profit of 1.5 billion yen from
stock sales.  For the full year ended March 31 next the
company expects sales to drop slightly by one percent to
290 billion yen and operating profit to fall 68 percent to
4.8 billion yen. On a consolidated basis, the company
forecasts a 59 percent drop in operating profit to 7.7
billion yen.


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

DAEWOO MOTOR: Plant shutdown likely to last awhile
--------------------------------------------------
The suspension of operations at Daewoo Motor's main car
plant in Pupyong, west of Seoul, is expected to last longer
than a month, industry watchers said yesterday, citing the
deepening financial woes at its subcontractors.

Daewoo Motor's subcontractors stopped deliveries of
components last Thursday, in the wake of creditors'
decision to declare the No. 2 automaker bankrupt the
previous day, demanding immediate cash payments. The
subcontractors were expected to resume their parts supplies
this week, as the government announced extensive financial
assistance measures, including creditors' settlement of
subcontractors-owned Daewoo bills.

However, the parts suppliers are still complaining about
little financial help from creditor bank branches, dimming
the outlook for Daewoo Motor's operational normalization in
the near future.

"Despite the government announcement, bank branches are
still refusing to extend help in cashing Daewoo-issued
bills," said a spokesman for the Inchon-based association
of Daewoo Motor subcontractors. "Thus, resumption of parts
supplies will be difficult before the court's ruling on
receivership for Daewoo Motor, scheduled for a month
later."

He also said that large-sized suppliers are demanding a
firmer commitment from the government concerning Daewoo's
debt repayments, while small-sized subcontractors are
calling for immediate repayment of all overdue debts.
Bankruptcy fears are also rapidly spreading among Daewoo's
9,300-odd parts suppliers employing about 600,000 workers,
he stressed.

The Pupyong plant remained closed yesterday for the fourth
consecutive day, whereas other car plants in Changwon and
Kunsan operated normally, company officials said. (Korea
Herald  14-Nov-2000)

DAEWOO MOTOR: Court freezes its assets
--------------------------------------
A South Korean court on Tuesday ordered the freezing of the
assets of bankrupt Daewoo Motor Co., four days after the
auto maker filed for receivership, officials said.

The decision by the district court in Inchon, west of
Seoul, also froze claims on its liabilities, forbidding
Daewoo Motor from securing new loans and restricting the
hiring of new employees. But the firm must still pay wages,
taxes and utilities.

The country's second largest auto manufacturer is waiting
for the local court to appoint an administrator. The court
must make a decision on whether to allow receivership by
December 9, a month from the legal application.

"The court will appoint the administrator as soon as it
issues approval for receivership," said Yu Se-Yong, a court
official handling the legal proceedings for Daewoo Motor in
Inchon.

Operations at Daewoo Motor's biggest car assembly plant at
Bupyong in Inchon were suspended for the fourth straight
day Tuesday as suppliers have halted deliveries of parts.
Daewoo Motor, with an annual capacity of two million units,
has around 10 billion dollars of debt. Its parent, Daewoo
Group, collapsed last year under 80 billion dollars of
debt.

The ill-fated auto maker suffered a one trillion won (879
million dollar) loss in the first half of this year alone,
although creditor banks have poured in 2.5 trillion won of
lifelines since last August.  (Agence France Presse  14-
Nov-2000)

HYUNDAI ENGIN.& CONSTR.: KDI calls for receivership
---------------------------------------------------
Amid raging disputes over the fate of Hyundai Engineering
and Construction (HEC), a leading state-run think tank
yesterday suggested that the ailing contractor be put under
court receivership after undergoing a debt-for-equity swap.

The Korea Development Institute, revealing its official
stance on the Hyundai crisis, said that creditors' control
of management rights through debt-for-equity swaps is
essential if the authorities are determined to rescue HEC.
In the next step, creditors would have to file for court
receivership, in order for the terminally ill builder to
improve its overseas-business profitability, the KDI
argued.

Surprisingly, the think tank, controlled by the Ministry of
Finance and Economy, noted by way of its senior fellow's
newspaper column that outright liquidation of HEC should
not be ruled out.

"A protracted reprieve on HEC's bankruptcy or infusions of
fresh loans will further magnify HEC's financial messes,
resulting in downgrades of Korea's external credit
standing," Nam Il-chong, chief of the KDI's Macroeconomic
Research Team, said in the column. "In particular, should
the government opt to extend preferential support to HEC or
its controlling shareholders in consideration of the parent
group's North Korea project and other non-economic
purposes, the Korean economy will be dealt a fatal blow."

The senior KDI economist said that regulators and creditors
should not necessarily adhere to a rescue plan for HEC.
"Outright liquidation of HEC, if considered desirable, can
be implemented," Nam said. "Given the unique
characteristics of the construction industry, it is
virtually impossible for near-bankrupt builders to receive
new orders from abroad. Even after the debt-for-equity swap
and court receivership, it is questionable if HEC would be
able to restore its business capabilities in the overseas
markets," he said.

Among other solutions now under consideration, the founding
Chung family's private wealth donations would fall short of
turning around the terminally ill contractor, considering
its current debt volume which is estimated at 5.2 trillion
won ($4.6 billion), he said, explaining reasons for the
Chungs' reluctance.

Regardless of this, HEC is required to sell off all of its
shareholdings in affiliated units and real estate assets to
pay down its debts, he stressed.

"Any financial support for HEC by other Hyundai companies
will run counter to the corporate governance principles and
the current fair competition law. But assets irregularly
withdrawn from HEC in the past, if any, should be
immediately returned."

The Hyundai crisis is typical of problems associated with
the nation's 40-year-old economic system, he said,
forecasting that the fate of HEC will have important
implications for the future financial system and chaebol
policies.

"The Hyundai crisis vividly laid bare the clear limit for
the government's politically motivated industrial policy.
Such politically subsidized chaebol firms are now
threatening to give enormous pain to the taxpayers, destroy
the financial industry and push the economy into a
protracted slump," he said. (Korea Herald  14-Nov-2000)


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

MAGNUM CORP: Posts RM145.98M net loss
-------------------------------------
Magnum Corp Bhd recorded a RM145.98 million net loss for
the third financial quarter ended Sept 30. That was a
turnaround from the net profit of RM168.5 million posted
for the same period the previous year. The losses were due
mainly to the large negative figure of RM188.2mil in its
exceptional items, the company reported the KLSE.

Turnover for the quarter was RM637.88 million, down from
RM780.28 million for the same period last year. Loss per
share was 8.04 sen compared to an earnings per share of
10.28 sen for the same period last year.


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

UNIWIDE HOLDINGS: Given to year end to
--------------------------------------------
Uniwide Holdings Inc has been given until the year-end to
remove stumbling blocks to the entry of investor the French
company Casino Guichard-Perrachon et Cie, according to a
report in the Philippine Daily Inquirer quoting Monico
Jacob, who heads the three-man interim receiver committee
for Uniwide.

The report said Uniwide needs to secure the aurEement of
creditor-banks to its rehabilitation plan, adding that the
Philippine National Bank and Allied Banking Corp have yet
to agree to the plan. Casino has set several conditions for
its entry, including retirement of Unwide's debt through
swap agreements.

URBAN BANK: Justice Dept. forms investigation panel
---------------------------------------------------
The Department of Justice has appointed a three-man panel
to investigate 11 Urban Bank officials involving PhP 1.8
billion in illegal bank disbursements. Senior State
Prosecutor Leo B. Dacera III will lead the panel, joined by
state prosecutors Perfecto D. Chua Cheng and Pable C.
Fomaran III.

The panel will investigate fraud allegations against the
Urban Bank officials. Among those charged are: president
Teodoro C. Borlongan, corporate secretary Corazon M.
Bejasa, senior vice-president Nida S. Santos, assistant
vice-president and trust officer Loida O. Payonga, vice-
president, Cecilia M. Magugat, senior bank managers
Milagros D. Santiago, Rowena E. Punsalan, managers Mark D.
Ching, Chulla M. Formanes and Amalia M. Ordas.

WESTMONT INVEST.CORP.: Probe started on 11 oficials
---------------------------------------------------
The Justice Department is set to kick off its investigation
on the 512-million Philippine peso ($10.18 million at
PhP50.314=$1) illegal fund solicitation complaint against
Westmont Investment Corp.'s (Wincorp) 11 ranking officials,
led by chairman John Anthony B. Espiritu, and 19 branch
managers and officers.

Justice Secretary Artemio G. Tuquero yesterday assigned the
case to three government prosecutors, with a directive to
expedite their probe on the controversy. Although not
directly ordered, the three-person panel, headed by senior
state prosecutor Philip A. Aguinaldo, is also expected to
look into the possible role of former Finance Secretary
Edgardo Espiritu in the alleged scam, on top of determining
the direct responsibility of the executives indicted.

State prosecutors Edna A. Valenzuela and Melvin J. Abad
will assist in the inquiry. In a complaint-affidavit filed
two weeks ago, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
asked the Department of Justice (DoJ) to file criminal
charges against erring Wincorp officials for coaxing
complainant-investors into placing their money in high-
yield deposits in Westmont Bank.

The bank was since renamed United Overseas Bank.
The deposits were allegedly funneled to Wincorp coffers
which were, in turn, made available to cash-strapped
businesses.  Aside from the younger Mr. Espiritu, other
named respondents are Wincorp vice-chairman Manuel N.
Tankiansee, president Antonio T. Ong, treasurer
Henry T. Cua Loping, corporate secretary Nemesio R.
Briones, assistant corporate secretary Francis E. Orea,
and directors Vicente T. Cua Loping; Simeon S. Cua; Mariza
Santos-Tan; Alfonso G. Reyno III; and Manuel A. Estrella.

Branch officers and managers Lester Yu, Susan Tan, Harry
Yap, Victoria Carlos, Cesar Co, Rene Madrid, Anita Tan,
Chester Hung, Nenita Ho, Neil Labrador, Nikki Que, Susan
Bagain, Dolly Go Teo, Don Plata, Emmanuel Puno, Cora Go,
Domingo Chiu, Vicente Yu and Antonia Go were named
"conspirators' to get bank depositors to "unwittingly"
place their money in special accounts.

For this, SEC sought the indictment of the respondents for
violating at least three provisions of the newly enacted
Securities Regulation Code (SRC). "The entire scheme
employed by the respondent Wincorp in its solicitation of
investments from the Westmont Bank depositors can be
treated as one involving the issuance of securities," said
the commission.

Under Sec. 3.1 and 8.1 of the securities measure, only
registered corporations can enter into investment contracts
-- a form of security. Wincorp was not empowered by the SEC
for such transactions. In particular, Sec. 26 of the SRC
explicitly deems unlawful the commission of any fraud in
the offer or sale of securities.

The corporate watchdog started its investigation on Wincorp
in the early part of the year. It intensified its fact-
finding probe after receiving at least seven complaint-
affidavits from alleged defrauded investors between
April and October. Records showed that as early as 1997,
Wincorp either granted new or increased credit lines of
several corporations.

"In order to raise the necessary funds to be loaned to its
borrowers, Wincorp solicited monies from a number of
investors, most of whom Westmont depositors," said the SEC.

SEC claimed Wincorp failed to disclose to their investors
the financial status of its corporate and individual
borrowers, "considering that, ordinarily, investors would
not invest in companies in a state of illiquidity, as in
the instant case."

Among the biggest creditors are Power Merge Corp., PhP2.5
billion; Ebecap Holdings, PhP801 million; Sta. Lucia Realty
and Development, Inc., PhP718 million; Pearlbank
Securities, Inc., PhP465 million; and Ebedev, Inc.,
PhP464 million. Power Merge allegedly has no business track
record.

If, after investigation, other officials will be found to
have participated in the illegal transaction, the DoJ will
include in the charge sheets. (Business World  14-Nov-2000)


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

GENERAL SECURITIES INVEST.: To be liquidated, delisted
------------------------------------------------------
General Securities Investments Limited will be delisted
from the Singapore Exchange as of Nov. 29 following its
shareholders' approval of a proposed voluntary liquidation
of the company. The company's assets will be distributed to
shareholders in cash. Distribution of proceeds tentatively
will begin in January and continue through October of next
year.


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

THAI JALAPRATHAN CEMENT: Posts Q3 loss
--------------------------------------
Thai Jalaprathan Cement PCL posted a loss of 15.15 million
baht for the third quarter ended Sept. 30. That was a big
turnaround from the 14.65 million profit it recorded for
the same period a year ago. Loss per share was .12 baht
compared with earnings per share of .12 baht for the same
period last year. For the nine-month period ended Sept. 30
the company recorded a loss of 60.96 million baht, likewise
a turnaround from a profit of 146.37 million baht for the
same period a year ago. Loss per share for the nine-month
period was .51 baht, while the earnings per share a year
ago was 1.22 baht. (US$1=43.465 baht)

THAI PETROCHEM.INDUS.: Liquidation if plan vote is late
-------------------------------------------------------
Thai Petrochemical Industry Plc's rehabilitation planner
yesterday painted a grim outlook for the company should the
voting on the rehabilitation plan be delayed further --
warning this could lead to liquidation.

In a final attempt to convince the company's majority
shareholder Prachai Leophairatana to give up some of his
conditions, Effective Planner Co chairman Sippanonda
Kedutat said a voting delay would severely jeopardise
the company's liquidity.

"The delay means creditors cannot inject US$100 million
[Bt4.36 billion] into the company as working capital," he
said yesterday at a press conference.

The additional $100-million loan is contained in the
rehabilitation plan drawn up by Effective Planner.
Creditors are scheduled to vote on the plan to restructure
debts worth $3.7 billion on Thursday. Due to the 20
conditions proposed by Prachai, some creditors believe the
voting might not take place on that day.

Sippanonda said a serious liquidity problem would then be
likely given three factors. First, rising oil prices and
the weakening baht are increasing the cost of raw
materials. Second, during last year and early this year,
TPI had its third condensate plant constructed for $145
million. Finally, TPI advanced $25 million of the
construction costs to the contractor, owned by the
Leophairatana family, Sippanonda said. The family founded
TPI and now controls a majority stake.

"TPI has only $120 million in working capital, but it needs
at least $220 million," Sippanonda said.

In addition, TPI's interest expenses will pile up by
$170,000 a day, he said. TPI has suspended interest
payments for two years, and its unpaid interest amounts to
about $780 million.

"If this continues, TPI's production capacity would
gradually decline. If the plan does not gain creditors'
vote in December, the capacity would fall to 90,000 barrels
a day and 75,000 barrels in January. This would make it
more difficult for the company to repay debts," Sippanonda
said.

TPI's full daily capacity is 215,000 barrels, and
production should not fall below 60 per cent of full
capacity or 125,000 barrels in order for it to stay viable,
he said. "The voting delay would need a new financial
projection, but some creditors can no longer wait as this
case has been disputed for more than two years,"
said Anthony Norman, managing director of Effective
Planner.

He said if the voting were delayed further, some creditors
could put the company through the liquidation process.
"Some foreign creditors are reviewing the feasibility of
this," Norman added. (The Nation 14-Nov-2000)


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