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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

           Thursday, January 25, 2001, Vol. 4, No. 18

                           Headlines


A U S T R A L I A

CHIQUITA INTERNATIONAL:  Stops Debt Payment
ELECTRUCK:  Workers Benefits Pursued
INCAT TASMANIA:  Has Cash Flow Problems
JOHNSTONE MILL:  Put to Receivership
KNIGHTSBRIDGE FINANCE: Blocks Liquidator Appointment

MAXIS:  Urged to Make Full Disclosure
OVEN DIGITAL: Appoints Administrator


C H I N A  &  H O N G  K O N G

ABC MULTIACTIVE:  Incurs HK$17M Net Loss
ONEASIA.COM:  Online Retailer Shutters Operations
TAI CHUNG FOOD:  Fast Food Chain Closes Eight Outlets


I N D O N E S I A

SINAR MAS:  Default Affects Indonesian Economy


J A P A N

MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC:  May Repurchase Shares


K O R E A

HYUNDAI HEAVY:  Debt Guarantees Expire this Month
REGENT FIRE: FSS Says Insurer's Debts Exceed Assets
SSANGYONG MOTOR:  Creditors Give One-Year Extension on Plan


M A L A Y S I A

GADEK BHD:  Bond Repayment Prospects Dim


P H I L I P P I N E S

EYCO GROUP:  SEC Wants Liquidation Plan Submitted
PHIL. NATIONAL BANK:  Ready to Settle P15B Debt


S I N G A P O R E

LERNOUT & HAUSPIE:  Retrenches Staff


T H A I L A N D

ADKINSON SECURITIES:  Posts a Bt69M Net Loss
HAHA THANAKIT:  Court Declares Firm Bankrupt
SIAM COMMERCIAL BANK:  Closes China & Cambodia Branches


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

CHIQUITA INTERNATIONAL:  Stops Debt Payment
-------------------------------------------
Chiquita Brands International failed to meet its debt payment
obligation in January 2001 because it is offering bondholders of
its $US862 million in liabilities a debt-to-equity option.

A bankruptcy filing may hurt shareholders because creditors might
demand immediate payment on the company's interest and principal
obligations, forcing the share price to plunge, according to the
Friday edition of the Sydney Morning Herald.

A trade dispute between the U.S. and the European Union over
bananas has hurt the company.


ELECTRUCK:  Workers Benefits Pursued
------------------------------------
The government insists that 40 workers of Electruck receive
$A1.05 million in entitlements after the company closed in early
January, according to the Tuesday edition of the Daily Telegraph.

Employment Minister Tony Abbott said management informed workers
that they will get no more than $A0.50 for every dollar owed. The
workers can also get up to $A20,000 from the government's safety-
net scheme.

The land where the factory stands worth $A2.5 million will be
retained by the company.

Abbot has warned owners of Electruck that they might be
investigated about potentially illegal transactions.


INCAT TASMANIA:  Has Cash Flow Problems
--------------------------------------
Incat Tasmania, a catarman shipbuilder, expects to have cashflow
problems by late January, which will result in the elimination of
overtime and an immediate halt to new hires.

But according to the Monday issue of the Mercury, the shipbuilder
has no plans to eliminate jobs for its 1,000 employees because of
its partnership with Bollinger Shipyards of the U.S. It is hoped
the venture will bring a potential growth of 1,000 percent, Incat
chairman Robert Clifford announced in December.

The charter of "Incat 030" to a United Arab Emirates customer has
been delayed and buyers for two fast catamarans have not been
located.


JOHNSTONE MILL:  Put to Receivership
------------------------------------
South Johnstone Mill, Queensland, was placed into receivership on
Thursday with $A25 million in debts affecting 130 permanent and
70 seasonal jobs.

Most of the debts is owed to the National Australia Bank (NAB),
which lent $A20 million. Other creditors are Canegrowers and
Thiesis Contractors, the Courier Mail reported on Friday.  

An offer to buy the company has come from Belgian Bundaberg Sugar
Company with an offer of $A14.2 million.

But the Johnstone Shire Council and Cardwell Shire Council have
opposed the bid, preferring a rescue package instead.

The appointed receiver is Ernst & Young Australia.


KNIGHTSBRIDGE FINANCE: Blocks Liquidator Appointment
----------------------------------------------------
Knightsbridge Finance, a Perth-based finance company, has opposed
the appointment of a liquidator because new investors are
prepared to inject fresh funds to save the company.

But the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC)
does not believe that the potential cash infusion is enough to
make the company solvent, according to the Thursday issue of the
West Australian.

Judge Tony Templeman has set the next hearing on the case for
January 29, 2001.


MAXIS:  Urged to Make Full Disclosure
-------------------------------------
Technology company Maxis Corporation has been asked by the
Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) for the third time in four days
to fully disclose its finances.

Two of its affiliates are already in voluntary administration:
Heartland Communications and Australian Business Technologies,
the Age reported on Tuesday.

Maxis insists that its business is still solvent.


OVEN DIGITAL: Appoints Administrator
------------------------------------
Oven Digital, an Australian Web design firm, has appointed
Prentice Parburry & Barila as administrator although creditors
may end up empty-handed because of the "near-worthless" value of
its intellectual property assets, the Sydney Morning Herald
reported on Saturday.

The firm's 25 employees are owed $A300,000 in entitlements and
$A90,000 in superannuation, the Australian Taxation Office is
owed $A500,000, several creditors are owed $A250,000 and its U.S.
parent, Oven Group, is owed $A1.6 million.


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

ABC MULTIACTIVE:  Incurs HK$17M Net Loss
----------------------------------------  
ABC Multiactive suffered a net loss of HK$17.65 million on
turnover of HK$27.05 million for the year to November 30, 1999,
mainly because of expenses in amortizations.

In the previous year, ABC incurred a loss of HK$18.21 million on
turnover of HK$23.85 million. In the eight months to July 31 it
registered a net loss of HK$28.51 million, according to the
Wednesday edition of the South China Morning Post.

The company took an amortisation cost on goodwill of HK$12.18
million and an amortisation cost on intellectual property of
HK$5.32 million in both years.

After the merger of the Asian operation of its parent -- Canada-
based Multiactive Software -- and locally based ABC Data and
Telecom, a goodwill amortisation was agreed with an economic life
of five years. The intellectual property amortisation has an
economic life of three years.

President Alon Li explained that the sharp loss rose because of
the selling and marketing expenses.

The company is selling 41.87 million new shares at HK$1.20 each
in order to raise HK$40 million to fund marketing and esearch
activities.

Strategic investor Success Wealth, a unit of locally listed
magnetic storage media-maker Hanny Holdings, acquired 18.75
million shares, or a 4.6 per cent stake, at an average cost of 40
HK cents each.

Tapping capital or debt markets will be considered if ABC needs
more funds.

ABC Multiactive plans to spend HK$5 million on strategic
acquisitions until May 31 of this year and HK$5 million in the
year to May 31, 2002.


ONEASIA.COM:  Online Retailer Shutters Operations
-------------------------------------------------
OneAsia.com, an online entertainment retailer, has ceased
operation, believing that it will take too long to break even and
become profitable, South China Morning Post reported on
Wedenesday.
  
John Henderson, OneAsia.com chairman said, "We're going to pay
our creditors and give money back to our shareholders".  

OneAsia.com is a key investment of Tom.com, which is owned by Li-
Ka-shing.

Henderson said Tom.com paid US$4.2 million cash for a 15 percent
stake in OneAsia.com and has increased its stake to 31 percent
through a share swap arrangement with OneAsia.com.

Five Hong Kong employees will be laid off in addition to the 40
released during the summer.

"We fully expect any buyer would want to use those people at
least for a period of time," said Henderson.


TAI CHUNG FOOD:  Fast Food Chain Closes Eight Outlets
-----------------------------------------------------
Tai Chung Lok Fast Food announced it would close eight outlets,
displacing 200 workers without paying $3 million in wages.

The displaced employees are bringing the issue to the Labor
department while also asking assistance from the Protection of
Wages on Insolvency Fund. They claim that they were not informed
about the planned closure of the outlets, according to the
Wednesday issue of the Hong Kong iMail.

Overall, 1,000 restaurants are expected to be closed or sold this
year as anticipated by the Catering and Hotel Industry Union.

Some employees still need to collect two months' salary and their
year-end one-month bonus.


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

SINAR MAS:  Default Affects Indonesian Economy
----------------------------------------------  
A default by Sinar Mas, one of Indonesia's largest conglomerates,
could have strong implications for Indonesia's capital and debt
markets.

The group has US$12 billion worth of bonds, most of which will
fall due during the next few months. Some of the group's
subsidiaries facing financial problems are Asia Pulp and Paper
(APP), Indah Kiat, and Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII),
Business Times reported on Tuesday.

Sinar Mas owes the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA)
US$1.4 billion, of which US$143 million must be paid starting in
March of this year.

The group, founded by Eka Tjipta Widjaya, has interests in pulp
and paper, palm oil and financial services.


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

MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC:  May Repurchase Shares
-------------------------------------------
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. may repurchase its shares to
shield it from market volatility and improve the structure of its
balance sheet in order to comply with its new restructuring
program.

The company's shares have fallen by 20 percent since last March
because investors do not see prospects in technology stocks, Dow
Jones reported on Tuesday.

Japanese companies' sale of cross-shareholdings ahead of the end
of the financial year in March helped send the benchmark Nikkei
225 index to a two-year low earlier this month. This situation
has thrown share buybacks, still relatively rare in Japan, into
the spotlight.

Kunio Nakamura, Matsushita President, said the final decision to
proceed with the share buyback has not been made yet.  
Repurchasing shares will help improve returns by disposing of
assets.

The company recently unveiled a restructuring plan that includes
60 billion yen in cost cutting and factory closures.

However the plan does not include issuing tracking stocks,
selling factories to contract manufacturers and listing
subsidiaries abroad to earn currency for mergers and
acquisitions.


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

HYUNDAI HEAVY:  Debt Guarantees Expire this Month
-------------------------------------------------
Hyundai Heavy Industries' (HHI) debt guarantees to affiliate
firms will expire this year, a decrease from 618 billion won in
December of last year to 370 billion won as of January 16.

The reduction is the result of Hyundai Electronics Industries'
repayment of 240 million won in debt guaranteed by HHI.

Guarantees were also given to Hyundai Engineering and
Construction (170 billion won), Hyundai Merchant Marine (4.7
billion won) and Hyundai Group's overseas operations (190 billion
won), according to the Monday edition of Lloyd's List
International.

These guarantees must be resolved by HHI, the report says, before
breaking away from the Hyundai Group.

HHI bought a 6.9 percent stake in Hyundai Engineering &
Construction Co. and will repurchase a 12.5 percent stake in
Hyundai Merchant Marine Co.

Sales projections this year were 7.3 trillion won, an 8.2 percent
increase from last year and ordinary income was 482 billion won,
a 176 percent increase from last year. Earnings per share are
expected to be 4,394 won.


REGENT FIRE: FSS Says Insurer's Debts Exceed Assets
---------------------------------------------------
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has discovered that
Regent Fire Co., a non-life insurer, has liabilities exceeding
its assets after a due diligence audit was conducted. Regent Fire
may be declared insolvent as a result, according to the Tuesday
issue of the Korea Herald.

Lim Jai-young, an FSS director, said they would consult with
stockholders to see if they are interested in taking part in a
rescue of the troubled insurer.


SSANGYONG MOTOR:  Creditors Give One-Year Extension on Plan
-----------------------------------------------------------
Chohung Bank has revealed that Ssangyong Motor Co. has received
an extension of one year for the submission of its debt-
restructuring plan to creditor banks.

The bank is the ailing carmaker's main creditor bank, according
to the Tuesday edition of the Asian Wall Street Journal.

Ssangyong Motor, along with 11 other affiliates belonging to the
Daewoo Group, undertook a debt-restructuring process in August
1999.

The extension was approved because Ssangyong's labor unions
agreed to halt strikes as embodied in the debt-restructuring plan
and also because last year's car sales showed improvement.

The company has also not been successful in finding an interested
buyer. General Motors has held inconclusive talks with
Ssangyong's sister company, Daewoo Motor.

Ford Motor Co. also held initial negotiations last September that
resulted in no deal.


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

GADEK BHD:  Bond Repayment Prospects Dim
----------------------------------------
Local and foreign banks are worried that Gadek, a Malaysian
investment holding company, may not be able to settle its bond
repayment, which will fall due in March, according to the Tuesday
edition of the Asian Wall Street Journal.

Commerce International Merchant Bankers, the security agent for
six banks that guaranteed a 729 million ringgit Gadek bond issue
in 1996, revealed that on January 5 Gadek had failed to follow
the provisions in the bond guarantee agreement.

In the next two weeks if Gadek cannot provide collateral to cover
its bond commitments and set aside money to redeem the bonds, the
creditor banks may be forced to file suit against them.

Gadek failed to sustain the prescribe amount of cash in a fund to
finance repayment of the securities and maintain the specified
level of collateral embodied in the agreement.

Maznah Jalil, a Gadek director, has confirmed the default and is
hoping that a settlement can be reached in an "amicable manner."

The banks that guaranteed the Gadek bonds face losses if the
company can't redeem the securities. The bonds are scheduled for
redemption on March 18.

In the event Gadek cannot redeem the bonds -- which financial
executives familiar with the situation say is likely -- the
guarantor banks will be forced to step in to pay bondholders.


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

EYCO GROUP:  SEC Wants Liquidation Plan Submitted
-------------------------------------------------
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has urged the
liquidator of the Eyco Group of Companies to submit a liquidation
plan and expressed "disappointment" over the failure to preserve
the company's assets, the Manila Standard reported on Friday.

SEC chairperson Lilia Bautista will impose a fee of P350,000 on
lawyer Edgardo Tarriela, liquidator, unless he can submit the
liquidation plan next week.

The Eyco Group of Companies is owned by businessman Eulogio
Yutingco.

Earlier, a consortium of creditor banks asked the SEC to
authorize them to take over Eyco's assets for "safekeeping" until
a new liquidator has been named.

The consortium's members include Philippine National Bank,
Solidbank, Far East Bank and Trust Co., AsiaTrust Bank, Bank of
the Philippine Islands, Metrobank, Batangas Savings and Loan Bank
and Bank of Commerce.


PHIL. NATIONAL BANK:  Ready to Settle P15B Debt
-----------------------------------------------  
The Philippine National Bank (PNB) has agreed with the central
bank to pay its P15 billion debt through the dacion en pago, a
payment-in-kind arrangement.

BSP Deputy Governor Alberto Reyes said PNB would pay the debt
within the 180-day period in cash or in assets. The debt could
not be converted into a long-term obligation, according to the
Wednesday issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Reyes said the bank's rehabilitation program was on track and
could be approved by the central bank in the coming weeks.

"We will not buy NPLs from PNB," said Reyes. "As of today, the
rehab plan schedule is on track." The central bank earlier said
PNB's rehabilitation plan should be approved within the month.

Reyes also said that BSP will not buy non-performing loans from
PNB and since the rehabilitation plan is going as scheduled, it
is expected to be approved in one month.

The bank has the highest non-performing loans ratio in the
industry. It has about P22 billion in real or other properties
owned or acquired.


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

LERNOUT & HAUSPIE:  Retrenches Staff
------------------------------------
Lernout & Hauspie (Singapore), a subsidiary of the Belgian
software company, will retrench all but eight of its 40 staff
because the research and marketing departments will be closed.

L & H develops software for speech recognition, text-to-speech
and text-to-text conversion, speech translation and compression.

The remaining eight sales and administration staff will continue
to support customers, according to the Friday issue of the
Business Times.

L & H Asia, the Singapore office, is now under interim judicial
management, which is being overseen by Arthur Andersen.

The layoffs came as a surprise because then-CEO John Duerden had
flagged the retrenchment plan.

Trouble started when financial irregularities were suspected
after the examination of books showing turnover jumped from
US$29,000 in 1998 to US$80.3 million in 1999. The company has
admitted to errors in its books for the financial years 1998 to
2000 and has promised to correct them.

But the restated accounts do not show clearly the irregularities
and as much as US$227 million, or one-third of the supposed
revenue for the past two-and-a-half years, may not be reflected
in the books properly.

The company filed for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. in
November and was delisted from the Nasdaq in December. In
Belgium, the court denied its petition for bankruptcy protection
because its financial statements were not properly declared and
the restructuring plan was incomplete.


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

ADKINSON SECURITIES:  Posts a Bt69M Net Loss
--------------------------------------------
Adkinson Securities has posted a net loss of Bt69.57 million for
last year compared to Bt256.96 million profit in 1999 because of
the deregulation of brokerage fees that was implemented in
October of last year, the Nation reported on Wednesday.

For the fourth quarter of last year Adkinson registered a net
loss of Bt33.55 million while during the same period in the
previous year it had a net profit of Bt4.32 million.


HAHA THANAKIT:  Court Declares Firm Bankrupt
--------------------------------------------
The Central Bankruptcy Court has declared Haha Thanakit Finance
and Securities (MTT) bankrupt and placed it in receivership.

FRA secretary-general Montri Chenvidyakarn said the move was
necessary to protect the rights of creditors, according to the
Wednesday issue of the Bangkok Post.


SIAM COMMERCIAL BANK:  Closes China & Cambodia Branches
-------------------------------------------------------
Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) is closing down one of its branches in
Cambodia and an office in China and most likely will close
offices in Europe.

Maleerat Pluemchitchom, Vice President of SCB, said it is
shutting down its unprofitable branch office in Sihanoukville
because it has no prospect for expansion. The location is
reportedly too far from business centers, according to the
Wednesday edition of Business Day.

In China SCB is seeking the Central Bank of China's permission to
close its representative office in Naning because there are no
future plans to expand.

SCB will have three remaining branches in Cambodia. SCB also has
six offices in New York, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vientiane
and Mumbai, as well as representative offices in Los Angeles and
Naning and a joint-venture bank in Vietnam.

Maleerat said some overseas offices might not have turned profits
as expected while others have brought in money for the bank
comparable to last year's results.

As of the end of last year, the total assets of SCB's overseas
offices stood at 36 billion baht, compared with 50 billion baht
at the end of 1999.



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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Inc., Trenton, NJ USA, and Beard Group, Inc., Washington,
DC USA. Lexy Mueller, Managing Editor, James Philip P.
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Copyright 2001.  All rights reserved.  ISSN: 1520-9482.

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