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             A S I A   P A C I F I C      

      Monday, May 4, 1998, Vol. 1, No. 51

                    Headlines


C H I N A   &   H O N G   K O N G

AWT HOLDINGS: Creditors Demanding Repayment
CP POKPHAND: Starts to Offload Assets
FAIRYOUNG HOLDINGS: Major Shareholder Reduced by Creditor
LEADING SPIRIT: Trading Heavy in Spite of Investigations
MARIA'S BAKERY: Founder and Partner are Biggest Creditors
WING ON INT'L: Takes Large Provisions on Lower Profit


K O R E A

CORYO SECURITIES: Government Revokes Licence
DONGSUH SECURITIES: Government Revokes Licence
SAMSUNG HEAVY: Volvo Negotiations Nearing Final Stages


M A L A Y S I A

EKRAN BHD: Compensation for Failed Dam Project
KONSORTIUM: MISC Buys Assets for US$220 Million


T H A I L A N D

RATANAKOSIN INSURANCE: Non-Life Company to Close


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

AWT HOLDINGS: Creditors Demanding Repayment
-------------------------------------------
Troubled freight forwarding and property investment company
AWT Holdings said it received writs from creditors
demanding repayment of $45 million. AWT said yesterday it
made a net loss of $287 million for the five months ended
in February. The losses stemmed mainly from a write-down of
$61 million on investment properties, $102 million on fixed
assets from its real estate agency, and $56 million in
provisions for doubtful debts owed it by trade debtors. By
comparison, the company has about $50 million in available
cash and bank balances. It also has about $173 million in
trade receivables and $133 million in fixed assets.

AWT has total and contingent liabilities of more than $340
million. It made a net loss of $63.5 million for the six
months to September 30 last year. It will issue 25 million
new shares - or 3.18 per cent of its enlarged share capital
- to mainland developer Goldenluck Enterprises to avoid
having to complete a US$1.3 million deal to buy two flats
in Shanghai. AWT said the deal values the company at 20
cents a share, an 83.5 per cent premium over its last
traded price on April 20. However, no money will change
hands for the shares.

AWT said its deal to sell a 40 per cent stake in wholly
owned subsidiary AWT Transport for $8 million to director
Fong Chun-fat and other investors was on schedule with a
final $4 million payment to be made by September 10.
(South China Morning Post 01-May-1998)


CP POKPHAND: Starts to Offload Assets
-------------------------------------
Cash-strapped CP Pokphand started to offload its assets
yesterday, while denying it has held talks with a mainland
company over the sale of a direct stake in the firm. CP
Pokphand said its New York-listed subsidiary, Ek Chor China
Motorcycle, had sold its 50 per cent interest in Shanghai-
Ek Chor Motorcycle to its joint-venture partner, Shanghai
Automotive. The deal, worth 106 million yuan (about
HK$98.69 million), was subject to mainland regulatory
approval and was expected to be completed late next month,
the Hong Kong-listed arm of the leading Thai conglomerate
said.

News of the sale failed to boost CP Pokphand's shares,
which have been under severe pressure since the company
said last week it risked default on bonds worth US$92.8
million if the paper was redeemed. CP Pokphand shares
dropped 4.66 per cent yesterday to 41 HK cents. At the
start of last week, the stock was trading at HK$1.15.

The firm is in talks with creditors about restructuring its
debts, which are said by analysts to total up to US$1
billion. A meeting with bondholders is set for May 29. Mr
Sumet said interest payments due on all floating-rate notes
had been paid on time but that access to ongoing working
capital depended on "the co-operation of our lenders".

The firm also moved to quash rumours sparked by press
reports it was in negotiations with Sichuan's New Hope
Agricultural Holdings to sell a direct stake to the
Shenzhen-listed company. It said: "The directors would like
to clarify that no negotiations or agreements have ever
been entered into."
(South China Morning Post 01-May-1998)


FAIRYOUNG HOLDINGS: Major Shareholder Reduced by Creditor
---------------------------------------------------------
Shares in Fairyoung Holdings fell yesterday after the 59.2
per cent stake held by chairman and majority shareholder
John Chan Boon-ning was reduced by a creditor. Fairyoung
slumped almost 13 per cent to 68 cents. The company said
Chan had had his stake reduced to 55.6 per cent during
April 23 and 24, as shares pledged to cover loans were sold
by CU Securities. The stake is held through Chan's private
company, Angklong. Chan had also pledged a 43 per cent
interest in Fairyoung to Tai Fook Finance, but Angklong
said it had not been informed of other institutions'
intentions to sell the interest. Chan was charged in March
with stealing $81 million from Fairyoung's associate,
Pacific Ports.

Fairyoung is selling its 43 per cent stake in Pacific Ports
to New World Infrastructure and a private company closely
linked to Macau magnate Stanley Ho Hung-sun.
(South China Morning Post 01-May-1998)


LEADING SPIRIT: Trading Heavy in Spite of Investigations
--------------------------------------------------------
Shares in Leading Spirit (Holdings) and subsidiary Leading
Spirit Conrowa Electric (LS Conrowa) continued to trade
heavily despite investigations by the Securities Futures
and Commission. Leading Spirit and LS Conrowa topped the
most sought after stocks yesterday with nearly one billion
Leading Spirit shares changing hands and 220 million LS
Conrowa shares traded. The value of Leading Spirit shares
traded was about $176 million. Leading Spirit finished 1.1
per cent lower at 17 cents while LS Conrowa was down 1.1
per cent to 17.3 cents.

The firms said yesterday the commission was looking into
the high turnover, especially between April 2 and April 22
when daily transactions reached 1,380 for Leading Spirit
shares and 1,174 for LS Conrowa shares.
(South China Morning Post 01-May-1998)


MARIA'S BAKERY: Founder and Partner are Biggest Creditors
---------------------------------------------------------
The founder and partner of the collapsed Maria's bakery and
catering business have emerged as its biggest creditors,
the provisional liquidator disclosed last night. The
founder of the empire, Maria Lee Tseng Chiu-kwan, 70, and
her business partner, Fung Lau Shun-kwan, had each pumped
in about $40 million in a vain attempt to rescue the
business. Ernst & Young said the pair would probably be the
biggest creditors. By yesterday, about 15 parties had shown
interest in taking over the crumbling empire, said Stephen
Liu Yiu-keung of Ernst & Young. It was understood an
overseas buyer was among the interested parties.

Mr Liu declined to discuss the background of the potential
buyers. But he said his firm would be able to compile some
briefing material, including some on the company's assets
and liabilities, to supply interested parties by today.
Maria's assets consist mainly of the Maria's Bakery chain
of 23 leased bakery product retail outlets and a wholly
owned 10,000 square-foot factory in To Kwa Wan and the
catering operation run by Maria's Catering. Initial
screening of financial reports found Maria's Bakery had
accumulated losses of $85 million. Mrs Lee and Mrs Fung had
mortgaged some of their properties and pumped a total of
$40 million each to save the company.

The accumulated loss at Maria's Catering was $7.5 million,
with fixed assets worth $600,000 and cash assets worth $28
million. The group owed its workers about $20 million in
wages and long-service payment. Mrs Lee said last night she
and her business partner Mrs Fung had tried to seek buyers
several years ago.
(South China Morning Post 01-May-1998)


WING ON INT'L: Takes Large Provisions on Lower Profit
-----------------------------------------------------
Retailer and broker Wing On International Holdings has
emerged as the latest victim of last October's stock market
crash, taking provisions of $225 million and seeing its net
profit almost halved to $142.52 million last year. The
company also suffered from the retail slump as a weak
performance at retailing arm Wing On Department Stores
caused operating profit to drop 21 per cent to $320
million, it said. The company was troubled by a $190.2
million exceptional loss, including a $195.26 million
provision for diminution in value of listed investments and
securities and a $30 million provision for doubtful debts.
The provisions wiped off gains from property disposals and
legal-cost recovery.

Wing On said doubtful debts were linked to a margin-
customer receivable, which devalued significantly as the
customer failed to repay the money. In the year to last
December, turnover fell 5.73 per cent to $2.85 billion.
Earnings per share were down 55 per cent to 79 cents.
(South China Morning Post 01-May-1998)


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

CORYO SECURITIES: Government Revokes Licence
--------------------------------------------
The government had decided to revoke business licences for
the bankrupt Coryo and Dongsuh Securities, in line with a
request by the Financial Supervisory Commission, the
Finance and Economy Ministry said Friday (TCR-AP 27-Apr-
1998). The government action may take place on May 20,
following a hearing session. The two brokerage houses will
have to appoint liquidators to oversee the wind-up of the
firms.
(Asia Pulse 01-May-1998)


DONGSUH SECURITIES: Government Revokes Licence
----------------------------------------------
The government had decided to revoke business licences for
the bankrupt Coryo and Dongsuh Securities, in line with a
request by the Financial Supervisory Commission, the
Finance and Economy Ministry said Friday (TCR-AP 27-Apr-
1998). The government action may take place on May 20,
following a hearing session. The two brokerage houses will
have to appoint liquidators to oversee the wind-up of the
firms.
(Asia Pulse 01-May-1998)


SAMSUNG HEAVY: Volvo Negotiations Nearing Final Stages
------------------------------------------------------
Leif Johansson, visiting chairman of Volvo, said Friday
that the Swedish company would seek a strategic alliance
with Korean businesses in other sectors if ongoing
negotiations to acquire the heavy equipment division of
Samsung Heavy Industries were concluded. The negotiations
are reportedly at the final stages of conclusion pending
only signing. Johansson said he could not elaborate on the
deal since the negotiations had not been concluded. He
added, however, that he expected the negotiations to go in
the good direction.

Asked about the strategy Volvo was pursuing in its  
investment in Korea, Johansson said Korea, armed with high  
competitive power in the manufacturing sector, could serve
as a good bridgehead for Volvo's Asian operations. Samsung
Heavy Industries, he said, represented Volvo's first-ever
big investment project in Korea. If the acqusition deal and
related projects were done well, Volvo could proceed to
invest in other sectors, he said.

Volvo, he said, chose Samsung as its investment partner  
because the Korean conglomerate had many business areas
that were related to it, and its corporate culture had much
in common with it. He hailed Korea for its efforts to
overcome economic crisis, and expressed confidence that
Korea could get out of the crisis sooner or later because
the country boasts hardworking workers, corporations with
competitive power and technological prowess.
(Asia Pulse 01-May-1998)


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

EKRAN BHD: Compensation for Failed Dam Project
----------------------------------------------
Bakun dam builder Ekran Bhd said it was negotiating to      
get fair and appropriate compensation from the      
government for the shelved hydroelectric project which the
company was building. The national Bernama news agency
yesterday quoted Ekran's executive chairman Ting Pek Khiing
as saying in the company's annual report that the
compensation should commensurate with the massive capital
outlay Ekran had spent. The Bakun dam project, sited in a
thick forest in the east Malaysian state of Sarawak, was
shelved last year due to the economic slowdown.

The government has since taken away the project from Ekran,
the project's developer, and has told Ekran it would be
compensated. The government said on April 20 that
compensation for Ekran would be around 200 million
Malaysian ringgit (S$85 million).

Mr Ting said Ekran anticipates a slowdown in business
activities, especially in its core activities of
construction and infrastructure development.
(Singapore BusinessTimes 01-May-1998)


KONSORTIUM: MISC Buys Assets for US$220 Million
-----------------------------------------------
Malaysia International Shipping Corp. has bought the
shipping assets of cash-strapped Konsortium Perkapalan --
controlled by Mirzan Mahathir -- for US$220 million
(S$348.5 million) in cash. Besides the cash payment, MISC
will absorb Konsortium's debt of US$311 million. Analysts
said the price tag, which is at the low end of an
independent valuation, would help dispel talk that the
Malaysian government was bailing out Mr Mirzan, the eldest
son of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. MISC's parent is
national oil firm Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas),
which is directly under the Prime Minister's Office.

Independent adviser Chase Manhattan Bank had valued
Konsortium's entire shipping business at between US$224
million and US$313 million, excluding the debt. Sources
said Konsortium's debt-to-equity ratio of three times would
be wiped out by the cash infusion. However, it is expected
to suffer up to 300 million Malaysian ringgit (S$127.2
million) loss from the deal, which it will book as an
extraordinary item in its accounts.

"Konsortium Perkapalan lost the goodwill," a source close
to the company explained, referring to the goodwill paid
for some of the assets acquired in the last few years.  
MISC has bought the assets based on their net tangible
asset (NTA) values without any goodwill attached.

Without its shipping business -- its biggest income
generator last year -- Konsortium will be reduced to a
land-based logistics company with activities in haulage,
freight forwarding, warehousing and insurance. A source
close to Mr Mirzan said he would now concentrate on
expanding the land-based business.
(Singapore BusinessTimes 01-May-1998)


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

RATANAKOSIN INSURANCE: Non-Life Company to Close
------------------------------------------------
Moves are underway for the official closure of a Thai non-
life insurance company, Ratanakosin Insurance, which is
facing liquidity problems. If the recommended closure,
being presented to deputy Commerce Minister, Photipong
Lamsam, is carried out, it will be the first occasion that
a non-life firm has been shut down by the government. The
downturn in the vehicle sales sector - by as much as 70 pct
- has severely hit Thailand's non-life insurance business.

The Insurance Department has already called on Ratanakosin
Insurance executives to present a rehabilitation plan in
early April. The department also requires the company to
seek 100 million baht (US$2.5 million), to settle debts
with trade partners. But departmental director general,
Piphat Intarasupht, said the plan had failed to indicate
specific sources for the injection of funds.
(Asia Pulse 01-May-1998)


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

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