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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, February 14, 2001, Vol. 4, No. 32

                               Headlines


A U S T R A L I A

ENERGY EQUITY:  Bank Approved Restructuring Plan


C H I N A  &  H O N G  K O N G

ASIA GLOBAL: Posts a $50.4 M Loss
CHINA LAKE INVESTMENTS:  Facing Winding Up Petition
KAY LEE (HONG KONG) CO.:  Facing Winding Up Petition
SINO WORLD CORP.:  Facing Winding up Petition
SOHU:  Posts US$8.3M Net Loss
SUNEVISION HOLDINGS:  Posts $71.12M Net Loss
WONG FIRE ENGINEERING: Facing Winding Up Petition


I N D O N E S I A

PT DHARMALA SAKTI:  Police Confiscate Funds
PT TJIWI:  Delays Bond Payment


J A P A N

F-ONE LTD.:  Raises 325M Yen Fresh Capital
NAMIHAYA BANK:  Operations Transferred to Daiwa Bank


K O R E A

HYUNDAI ELECTRONICS:  Sues Hyundai Trust
HYUNDAI INDUSTRIES:  Losses Mounting
YEONGMAN:  Stocks Delisted


M A L A Y S I A

LION GROUP:  Sells S$30M Building
TIMEDOTCOM:  Fails to Attract Investors


P H I L I P P I N E S

NEGROS NAVIGATION:  Metro Pacific Converts Debt to Equity
PHIL. NATIONAL BANK:  Gov't. Proposes Joint Share Sale


T H A I L A N D

COGENERATION:  Net Loss Surges to Bt1.56B
SIAM SYNTECH:  Bt17B Debt Restructuring Plan Approved
TANAYONG:  Bankruptcy Case Set for May 9


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

ENERGY EQUITY:  Bank Approved Restructuring Plan
------------------------------------------------
The Commonwealth Bank (CBA) has approved a debt-restructuring
agreement for Energy Equity, a Perth-based power group. Stewart
Elliot, Energy Equity managing director, said the company's debt
will be rescheduled in 21 months, according to the Thursday issue
of the West Australian.

Energy Equity is negotiating with banks to restructure and
refinance a longer-term amortizing facility for the planned $35
million convertible note and subscription facility.

In September Energy Equity disclosed an operating loss of $12.9
million for the year to June, down from the previous year's loss
of $45.3 million. The losses were mainly due to disappointing
currency changes and changes in the group's accounting standards.


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

ASIA GLOBAL: Posts a $50.4 M Loss
---------------------------------
Asia Global Crossing Ltd., which is building a pan-Asian fiber-
optic network, said it had a fourth-quarter loss of $50.4 million
as it completed one segment of its East Asia Crossing cable and
all of its Pacific Crossing links, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

An Asia Global Crossing Ltd. spokesperson said net income was
$12.5 million and revenue was $22.3 million in the recent quarter.

Asia Global is a venture of financier Gary Winnick's Global
Crossing Ltd., Japan's Softbank Corp. and Microsoft Corp. The
company's principal operating joint ventures are Hutchison Global
Crossing in Hong Kong and Global Access Ltd. in Japan.

Accounting for proportional ownership in these ventures, Asia
Global said it had cash revenue of $112.3 million and adjusted
cash flow of $49.2 million in the quarter. It expects
proportionate cash revenue almost to double in 2001.

Asia Global expects a loss of 60 to 65 cents a share and
consolidated capital expenditures of $850 to $925 million in 2001,
up from $754 million in 2000.


CHINA LAKE INVESTMENTS:  Facing Winding Up Petition
---------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Court of First Instance has
scheduled a hearing on February 21 on the petition of Daiwa Bank
Limited for the winding up of China Lake Investments Co. Ltd. A
Notice of legal appearance must be filed on or before February 20.


KAY LEE (HONG KONG) CO.:  Facing Winding Up Petition
----------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Court of First Instance has
scheduled a hearing on February 28 on the petition of China State
Bank Limited for the winding up of Kay Lee (Hong Kong) Co. Ltd. A
Notice of legal appearance must be filed on or before February 27.


SINO WORLD CORP.:  Facing Winding up Petition
---------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Court of First Instance has
scheduled a hearing on March 14 on the petition of Industrial and
Commercial Bank of China (Asia) Limited, formerly known as Union
Bank of Hong Kong Limited, for the winding up of Sino World
Corporation Ltd. A Notice of legal appearance must be filed on or
before March 13.


SOHU:  Posts US$8.3M Net Loss
-----------------------------
Chinese Internet portal Sohu.com yesterday reported better revenue
growth and lower losses than expected, but costs from its October
acquisition of rival ChinaRen.com saw net losses widen to US$8.3M
for the fourth quarter ended December 31, from US$2.3M a year
earlier.  

But gross margins were still far worse than rivals NetEase.
Sina.com has 93 percent of revenues coming from the sluggish
Internet advertising market, making analysts skeptical Sohu would
meet its target of break-even in 2003.

Sohu.com said its net loss for the year ended December was US$23.2
million, compared with US$4.4 million for the year 1999. Loss per
share rose to US$1.14 from 47 cents a year before. Full-year
revenue surged 270 percent to US$6 million.


SUNEVISION HOLDINGS:  Posts $71.12M Net Loss
--------------------------------------------
SUNeVision Holdings Ltd, the Internet arm of Sun Hung Kai
Properties, reported a widened net loss of $71.12 million for the
six-months ended December 31, 2000, compared with a net loss of
$16.1 million a year earlier.

Turnover was $80.88 million during the period. Loss per share was
3.84 cents. No interim dividend was declared, CN-Market News
reported on Tuesday.


WONG FIRE ENGINEERING: Facing Winding Up Petition
---------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Court of First Instance has
scheduled a hearing on March 14 on the petition of China State
Bank Limited for the winding up of Wong Fire Engineering &
Consultants Ltd. A Notice of legal appearance must be filed on or
before March 13.


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

PT DHARMALA SAKTI:  Police Confiscate Funds
-------------------------------------------
Indonesian police have seized the proceeds of an auction of shares
in the local life insurance unit of Canada's Manulife Financial
Corp, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

Seized were about 160 billion rupiah ($17 million) from two
accounts at Indonesia's Bank Central Asia, which contained money
Manulife paid in October to buy an additional 40 percent stake in
PT Asuransi Jiwa Manulife Indonesia from its bankrupt partner, PT
Dharmala Sakti Sejahtera.

European, U.S. and Asian creditors of PT Dharmala will lay claim
on the seized funds because it was intended for them. The fund is
still in the bank.

The judge at the South Jakarta District Court issued the seizure
order for still unknown reasons.

Dharmala Sakti Sejahtera is the second company in the Dharmala
group to be declared bankrupt. PT Dharmala Agrifood was the first
large company to be declared bankrupt under Indonesia's revamped
bankruptcy law.


PT TJIWI:  Delays Bond Payment
------------------------------
PT Tjiwi Kimia Tbk, an Indonesian unit of Asia Pulp and Paper
(APP), will be delayed in paying a $200 million bond issue due in
2001 within 30 days after February 1, Reuters reported on Monday.

Last week Tjiwi made a delayed interest payment of $30 million on
its $600 million in bonds due in 2004.

Tjiwi's failure to make timely coupon payments on the bonds had
triggered concern over more defaults on APP and other companies
within the group, and had prompted credit agencies to downgrade
their ratings.

Analysts have warned the group is experiencing serious liquidity
problems. It has nearly $2 billion in notes, coupon payments and
bank loans falling due this year.


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

F-ONE LTD.:  Raises 325M Yen Fresh Capital
------------------------------------------
F-one Ltd., an ailing men's clothing maker, will strengthen its
financial base by raising fresh capital of 325 million yen by
issuing new shares debt relief, Jiji Press English News Service
reported on Friday.

The new shares will be alloted to Good Hill Co., a privately held
maker of men's wear, which will boost F-one's capital to 2.41
billion yen.

Part of the capital, 1.39 billion yen, will be used to cover the
deficit. As a result, F-one's capital will be reduced to 1,027
million yen, with Good Hill becoming the biggest shareholder with
a stake of 33.2 percent.

Mitsui and Co., which is currently the biggest shareholder of F-
one, will contribute to the restructuring program by forgiving
part of its loans.

Slumping apparel sales and lower profit margins have forced F-one
to revise its estimate of a loss of 90 million yen in the year
to March to a loss of 2.7 billion yen.


NAMIHAYA BANK:  Operations Transferred to Daiwa Bank
----------------------------------------------------
Namihaya Bank transferred its operations to the Daiwa Bank group
Tuesday, 18 months after the Osaka-based second-tier regional bank
failed with heavy debts and was put under government control,
Kyodo News reported on Tuesday.

Under the agreement signed last July with government-appointed
administrators, the Daiwa Bank group took over 68 of Namihaya
Bank's 135 outlets and some 1,000 employees. Of the 68 branches,
seven went to Daiwa Bank and 61 to Kinki Osaka Bank, an affiliate
of Daiwa Bank.

In August 1999, the Financial Reconstruction Commission
declared Namihaya insolvent and dispatched government-
appointed administrators to oversee its operation until a
buyer could be found. It is unclear what percentage of the
300 billion yen in bad loans the Resolution and Collection
Organization (RCO) will sell back to Namihaya.


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

HYUNDAI ELECTRONICS:  Sues Hyundai Trust
----------------------------------------
Hyundai Electronics Industries filed a lawsuit against Hyundai
Investment Trust & Securities to avoid a 220 billion won (HK$1.32
billion) bailout of the cash-strapped affiliate, according to the
Tuesday issue of Hong Kong iMail.

The company, which owns 27.1 percent of the financial unit, is
asking a Seoul court to render invalid a new share issue by
Hyundai Investment Trust, Hyundai Electronics said in a submission
to the Korea Stock Exchange. A cancellation of the share issue
would mean the chipmaker does not have to exchange securities it
owns for new shares in the investment trust.

The dispute highlights the widening rift within Hyundai Group as
its affiliates try to shed financial commitments to other units,
find new owners or become independent.

Kim Seung Soo, a Hyundai Electronic official, said they wanted to
focus on their restructuring and rejected the debt-to-equity swap
offer from Hyundai Trust.

The world's second-largest computer memory chipmaker cannot afford
to keep up financial ties with other Hyundai companies, which
helped force it to a record loss of 2.4 trillion won last year,
757 billion won of which came from charges related to its
ownership of the securities company and other unprofitable
affiliates.

The government wants Hyundai Electronics to live up to
commitments, which may help Hyundai Investment and two other
Hyundai financial units complete an agreement on a proposed US$860
million (HK$6.7 billion) investment from American International
Group and other investors.


HYUNDAI INDUSTRIES:  Losses Mounting
------------------------------------
Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world's No. 1 shipbuilder, has
mounting losses from affiliates and the high cost of restructuring
has caused profits to plunge by 95 percent compared to last year.

Net income in 1999 was at 322.8 billion won compared to last
year's 15.1 billion won, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

Hyundai Heavy has in the past suffered from having to support less
profitable group units, although that burden is set to lessen as
it steps up efforts to separate from Hyundai Group.

The shipbuilder aims to eliminate payment guarantees on debts owed
by other group units and sever remaining ties to other Hyundai
companies by the end of this year.


YEONGMAN:  Stocks Delisted
--------------------------
Yeongman Bank and three other insolvent merchant banks -- Central,
H&S and Korea -- were de-listed from the Korea Stock Exchange
after the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) revoked their
business licenses, according to the Saturday issue of The Korea
Herald. The four banks will be merged into Hanaro Merchant Bank.

Only Kumho, Korea-French, Regent and Tong-Hyundai were the
remaining merchant banks no de-listed.

Jin Nyum, Korean Finance and Economy Minister, had said these
insolvent merchant banks could only receive government bailouts if
they are placed under a holding company.

The government has set aside 2 trillion won of public money for
the cleanup of the four companies. The state corporation then will
assume the bad assets of the merchant banks.


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

LION GROUP:  Sells S$30M Building
---------------------------------
The Lion Group, one of Malaysia's largest corporate debtors, will
sell its commercial building in Singapore for S$30 million,
Channelnewsasia reported on Tuesday.

The four-story freehold commercial building at Changi Road has a
floor area of over 41,000 square feet. That means a sales price of
about S$750 per square foot.

The Lion Group comprises eight publicly traded companies that
control 383 other firms including property developers, steel,
insurance, chocolate and tire makers.

It has total debts of over RM10 billion and runs operations
scattered over Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and China.


TIMEDOTCOM:  Fails to Attract Investors
---------------------------------------
Time DotCom Bhd.'s initial share sale has not attracted enough
investors since only a small portion of the 323 million shares
were offered to the public at 3.30 ringgit each, Bloomberg
reported on Tuesday.

Time Engineering Bhd., the parent company, said the shares were
priced at 55 times Time DotCom's expected 2001 profit of 6 sen a
share, about 1.5 times more expensive than Telekom Malaysia Bhd.,
the nation's biggest phone company.

The lack of interest was due to the diminished demand for goods
and services, which may lead to the delay in the disposition of
other large Malaysian share sales.


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

NEGROS NAVIGATION:  Metro Pacific Converts Debt to Equity
---------------------------------------------------------
Negors Navigation Co. (Nenaco) will convert P1.3 billion of debt
to equity belonging to Metro Pacific Corp (MPC), according to the
Tuesday's Philippine Daily Inquirer.

MPC has long been planning to divest its controlling stake in
Nenaco but has not been able to do so while the company was
operating in the red. It tapped HSBC Corp. as the financial
adviser to undertake Nenaco's rehabilitation.

Michael Go, MPC spokesman, said the company would subscribe to
P1.3 billion worth of new shares to be issued by Nenaco at a par
value of P1 each.

The financial restructuring of Nenaco aims to wipe out 76.8
percent of its P1.7-billion debt through the following steps:

ú The reduction in the authorized capital stock of Nenaco from P4
billion to P400 million by trimming the number of shares from four
billion to 400 million shares with a par value of P1 per share.

ú Nenaco's capital stock will then be re-increased from P400
million to P3 billion.

ú Nenaco will issue 1.3 billion new shares, more or less, with a
par value of P1 each against a debt conversion, thus increasing
the issued share capital to P1.6 billion.

MPC had been trying to dispose of its stake in Nenaco for quite
some time now but is trying to improve the balance sheet to
extract a higher price. Nenaco had been losing for years now but
MPC will not sell it at a loss.

MPC acquired a 55-percent stake in Nenaco, which provides
integrated services in shipping, trucking, warehousing, forwarding
and delivery of bulk and break-bulk cargoes, as part of its bid to
diversify into other businesses.


PHIL. NATIONAL BANK:  Gov't. Proposes Joint Share Sale
------------------------------------------------------
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has recommended a joint sale
of the stakes of taipan Lucio Tan and the national government in
Philippine National Bank to resolve the issues delaying the bank's
rehabilitation.

PNB's rehabilitation plan has been stalled indefinitely after the
new Macapagal administration decided to review it. The plan needs
the Department of Finance's approval, according to the Tuesday
issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

The joint sale by the government and Tan in June 2000 failed after
it was snubbed by local and foreign bidders. Another joint sale
was proposed by Bangko Sentral Governor Rafael Buenaventura late
last year to resolve the issue of cronyism involving Tan, one of
the biggest campaign donors of former President Estrada.

A joint sale is being proposed anew by the BSP chief to resolve
pending issues, including the bank's rehabilitation after the
payment of its P25 billion emergency loan from the BSP and the
Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. was questioned by the Macapagal
administration.


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

COGENERATION:  Net Loss Surges to Bt1.56B
-----------------------------------------
Cogeneration (COCO), Thailand's third-largest private power
producer, said its net loss in the six months ending December 31
surged eightfold to Bt1.56 billion, as a result of massive foreign
exchange reversals, even though sales rose by 46.6 percent,
Business Day Thailand reported on Tuesday.

COCO's consolidated net loss for the period increased to Bt1.5
billion, up from Bt190.20 million the previous year.

The firm and its subsidiaries suffered exchange losses of Bt1.3
billion over the six-month period, as the baht slumped from 39.28
to the dollar on June 30 to 43.44 to the dollar on Dec 31 2000.

In addition, losses of Bt214.5 million and Bt219.6 million
resulted from buy-backs of convertible debentures as well as a
provision for the right to redeem them before the due date.

COCO's consolidated sales revenues increased by 46.6 percent to
5.8 billion baht, from 3.99 billion baht in the previous year.


SIAM SYNTECH:  Bt17B Debt Restructuring Plan Approved
-----------------------------------------------------
A majority of creditors have approved a debt-restructuring plan
for Siam Syntech Construction Plc. of Bt17 billion, according to
the Tuesday edition of the Nation.

Richee Venture Holding, owned by a group of leading Thai
businessmen including Pong Sarasin and Paron Israsena, will play a
crucial part in bailing out Somsak Leeswasditrakul's Siam Syntech.
Richee, which will initially inject Bt300 million of fresh capital
into Siam Syntech, will take 75 percent of the construction firm.

Suchat Boonbanjerdsri, director of joint venture Richee Capital
Alliance Co Ltd., said that after the recapitalisation process
Richee Venture Holding will hold a 75 percent stake in Syntec,
while financial creditors will hold 24 percent and the remaining
stake would be controlled by older shareholders.

Creditors are planning to forgive Bt8.9 billion worth of Syntech
debts representing 94 percent of the firm's total debt of Bt17.06
billion. This will be the largest debt forgiveness made in
Thailand.

The company will reduce its registered capital from Bt397.05
million to Bt3.97 million, then boost capital back up to Bt400
million at a later date.

In six months, Richee Venture Holding, which has registered funds
of only Bt1 million at present, would then inject the Bt300
million into the company. The rest of the funds will be held by
creditors, who will convert some of the remaining loans to equity.

Payment of some of the remaining Bt830 million worth of loans will
be rescheduled from this year to 2008, with a two-year grace
period.

The company will begin implementing the debt-rehabilitation plan
as soon as it is approved by the courts, Suchat said.


TANAYONG:  Bankruptcy Case Set for May 9
----------------------------------------
A bankruptcy hearing for developer Tanayong is scheduled for May
9, according to the Saturday issue of the Bangkok Post.

The Central Bankruptcy Court has ruled that Tanayong must pay Bt19
million it owes to Sarton International, a contractor owned by a
Hong Kong firm. Tanayong claims the payment was made and is only
questioning the amount of debt. The developer said it has no
intention of defaulting its debt payments.

Sarton lawyers said they filed the bankruptcy action as an
additional step in pressing their claims, and remained open to
negotiations with Tanayong.



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

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

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

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