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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  

    Tuesday, May 19, 1998, Vol. 1, No. 62

                Headlines


C H I N A   &   H O N G   K O N G

BILLION INT'L: Trading in the Nil Paid Rights
CHINA APOLLO: 1997 Results Announcement
FU HUI HOLDINGS: 1997 Results Announcement
HK FORTUNE: 1997 Results Announcement
KONG SUN HOLDINGS: 1997 Results Announcement
PO WING KWAN: 1997 Results Announcement
SIU-FUNG CERAMICS: Further Announcement on Restructuring


I N D O N E S I A

SATELIT PALAPA: S&P Downgrades Foreign Currency Rating


J A P A N

KAJIMA CORP: To Post Extraordinary Loss of Y2 Billion
KOMATSU FORKLIFT: Shares Fall on Huge Losses
MIDORI BANK: Japan Approves Bank Merger
NISSAN MOTORS: Nissan to Consolidate Distributors


K O R E A

DONG AH: Liquidation Pursued to Save Major Affiliates
HANJOO CHEMICALS: Delisting by KSE
LIFE CONSTRUCTION: Delisting by KSE
SAMJIN CHEMICALS: Delisting by KSE
SAMSUNG GROUP: Seeks US Investments of $1.2 Billion


M A L A Y S I A

EKRAN BHD: Cancels Plans to Sell Wembley Stake
MALAYSIAN RESOURCES: Reports Debt as Long-term Liability
PELANGI AIR: Ministry Urges Malaysia Airlines to Purchase


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

BILLION INT'L: Trading in the Nil Paid Rights
---------------------------------------------
Trading in the nil paid Rights in the ordinary shares of
Billion International Holdings Limited will commence at
10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, 19/5/98 under Stock Code: 2955,
Stock Short Name: Billions Int Rts and Board Lot 5,000.
(SEHK 15-May-1998)


CHINA APOLLO: 1997 Results Announcement
---------------------------------------
For the period January 1, 1997 to December 31, 1997, China
Apollo Holdings Limited reports a net loss of
HK$159,063,000 on turnover of HK$227,597,000. This compares
to a net loss of HK$10,939,000 on turnover of
HK$403,984,000 for the corresponding 1996 period.
(SEHK 15-May-1998)


FU HUI HOLDINGS: 1997 Results Announcement
------------------------------------------
For the period January 1, 1997 to December 31, 1997, Fu Hui
Holdings Limited reports a net loss of HK$51,942,000 on
turnover of HK$596,866,000. This compares to a net loss of
HK$124,155,000 on turnover of HK$500,695,000 for the
corresponding 1996 period.
(SEHK 15-May-1998)


HK FORTUNE: 1997 Results Announcement
-------------------------------------
For the period January 1, 1997 to December 31, 1997, Hong
Kong Fortune Limited reports a net loss of HK$321,229,000
on turnover of HK$10,908,000. This compares to a net loss
of HK$222,101,000 on turnover of HK$960,000 for the
corresponding 1996 period. The current year exceptional
item represents the provision for diminution in value of
the long term investment and the write off of deferred    
pre-operating expenses of subsidiaries. The current year
exceptional item represents the write off of deferred   
operating expenses of associated companies.
(SEHK 15-May-1998)


KONG SUN HOLDINGS: 1997 Results Announcement
--------------------------------------------
For the period January 1, 1997 to December 31, 1997, Kong
Sun Holdings Limited announced a net loss of HK$10,515,000
on turnover of HK$38,033,000. This compares to a net loss
of HK$12,036,000 on turnover of HK$30,602,000 for the
corresponding 1996 period.
(SEHK 15-May-1998)


PO WING KWAN: 1997 Results Announcement
---------------------------------------
For the period January 1, 1997 to December 31, 1997, Po
Wing Kwan International (Holdings) Limited reports a net
loss of HK$102,597,000 on turnover of HK$84,714,000. This
compares to a profit of HK$14,005,000 on turnover of HK$
197,601,000 for the corresponding 1996 period.
(SEHK 15-May-1998)


SIU-FUNG CERAMICS: Further Announcement on Restructuring
--------------------------------------------------------
The directors of Siu-Fung Ceramics Holdings Limited believe
that a resumption of trading at this time is not in the
best interests of the Company or of its shareholders and
creditors since the Directors believe that a premature
resumption of trading will jeopardise the efforts being
made to rescue the Company from its current financial
difficulties.

The Company entered into a heads of agreement regarding a
possible restructuring of the Company (the"Proposals") with
Mr. Lee Siu Fung, Siegfried and Shui Hua Development and
Enterprises Limited ("Shui Hua") on 22nd November, 1997. On
2nd April, 1998, Shui Hua and China Everbright Holdings
Company Limited ("China Everbright") entered into a non-
legally binding, conditional memorandum of agreement
regarding the Proposals. It is envisaged that debt
restructuring agreements between the relevant parties will
be entered into by the end of June, 1998 and the   
restructuring process will be completed before the end of
August, 1998.
The trading of the Company's shares was suspended on 28th
October, 1996, at the request of the Company, due to severe
cash flow problems brought about, in part, by the problems
faced by the Company's German subsidiaries, which were a
major revenue source, threatening the continuing trading of
the Company.

Although the Company has every intention of complying with
the resumption policy of the Stock Exchange, the Directors
do not believe it is appropriate that the resumption of
trading should take place at this time. The Directors
intend, however, to request trading in the Company's shares   
be resumed immediately after the Proposals have been
completed, which is expected to be before the end of
August, 1998.

In the meantime, the shares of the Company remain suspended
from trading on the Stock Exchange.

            By order of the Board
            Siu-Fung Ceramics Holdings Limited
            Lee Siu Fung, Siegfried
            Chairman

    Hong Kong, 14th May, 1998

(SEHK 15-May-1998)


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

SATELIT PALAPA: S&P Downgrades Foreign Currency Rating
------------------------------------------------------
Standard & Poor's has downgraded its long-term foreign
currency rating on PT Satelit Palapa Indonesia (Satelindo)
to 'CCC-' from 'B-', reflecting ongoing concerns about
Satelindo's balance-sheet structure and ability to
adequately meet maturing foreign currency debt obligations.
The rating remains on CreditWatch with negative
implications, where it was placed on March 13, 1998.

While Standard & Poor's continues to assess Satelindo's
operations as sound, tight domestic liquidity conditions
and higher-than-expected bad debts have compounded the
recent financial stresses experienced in relation to
largely unhedged foreign currency borrowings.

As a consequence, Satelindo was unable to repay maturing
commercial paper earlier in the year; instead, the company
obtained a six-month extension from its creditors. Standard
& Poor's believes the extension of the commercial paper
obligations provides only temporary relief, and does not
address structural problems within Satelindo's balance
sheet.

Although Satelindo should generate sufficient cash flow to
meet forthcoming interest payments, it will not be in a
position to meet future debt maturities. Therefore, if
Satelindo cannot soon arrange an extension of its debt
maturity profile, or a reduction in its overall debt
burden, the company's rating will move sharply lower in the
very near term.

Satelindo has appointed external consultants to assess the
company's balance-sheet structure. Standard & Poor's
believes it highly likely that a recapitalization will be
recommended and accepted by Satelindo.

Standard & Poor's is looking for an injection of at least
US$100 million to stabilize the rating at the 'CCC-' level.
In the event of a larger capital injection, the rating
would rise but stay within the 'CCC' category.
(Asia Pulse 18-May-1998)


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

KAJIMA CORP: To Post Extraordinary Loss of Y2 Billion
-----------------------------------------------------
Japanese construction company Kajima Corp is expected to
post an extraordinary loss of about 200 billion yen (S$2.5
billion) this fiscal year due mostly to the disposal of
non-performing real estate purchases, the Nihon Keizai
Shimbun reported yesterday. Kajima is expected to post a
net loss for the current fiscal year, which ends on March
31, 1999, it said.
(Singapore BusinessTimes 18-May-1998)


KOMATSU FORKLIFT: Shares Fall on Huge Losses
--------------------------------------------
Komatsu Forklift Co. (7225 JP ) fell 7 yen to 292.
The forklift truck maker reported a parent net loss of 2.12
billion yen for the year ended March 31. That's 240.3
percent less than the most recent forecast by Toyo Keizai.
(Bloomberg Japan Equity Movers 18-May-1998)


MIDORI BANK: Japan Approves Bank Merger
---------------------------------------      
A midsize regional Japanese bank has reached agreement to
absorb a cash-strapped Midori Bank, the Ministry of Finance
said Friday. The ministry said that Hanshin Bank, located
in central Japan, will acquire Midori, which was set up to
take over the now defunct Hyogo Bank. Hyogo Bank collapsed
in 1995 under the weight of bad loans.

Minister of Finance Hikaru Matsunaga said in a statement
that funds from the Deposit Insurance Corp., which insure
bank deposits, will be used to protect Midori's customers.

The corporation was recently granted access to up to $127
million in public money to assist restructuring of the
banking industry through purchases of bad debt.

Midori's effective unrecoverable losses are between 350
billion and 400 billion yen ($2.61 billion and $2.98
billion), said Kimio Yamaguchi, head of the ministry's
Banking Bureau. Most of the losses were inherited from the
defunct Hyogo Bank, he said.

Midori has been essentially insolvent since March 31,
Yamaguchi said.

The governor of the Bank of Japan, Masaru Hayami, said that
the central bank will also support the agreement between
the two banks.
(AP Online 15-May-1998)


NISSAN MOTORS: Nissan to Consolidate Distributors
-------------------------------------------------
Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co is planning to
restructure its domestic sales network by fiscal 2000 in
order to cut costs, a Japanese financial daily reported on
Saturday. Nissan will consolidate its four dealership
networks into two by fiscal 2000 and also consolidate its
regional sales head offices as part of the company's
restructuring, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported, citing
company sources.

Nissan, Japan's number two automaker, decided that
restructuring its dealership channels was necessary to
boost domestic sales and cut costs, the paper said.

The company is currently discussing a tie-up with Germany's
Daimler-Benz AG and is also trying to regain market share
in Japan, it said.

Another national daily, the Yomuiri Shimbun, reported
Nissan's restructuring moves are aimed at trimming the
automaker's unconsolidated debt by 1 trillion yen ($7.4
billion) over the next three years.

Both papers reported that Nissan will merge its Nissan and
Motor dealership networks as a single distributor and also
consolidate the Sunny and Prince dealership networks into
another.

Nissan's domestic sales dipped below one million units in
fiscal 1997 for the first time in 26 years.
(Reuters 16-May-1998)


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

DONG AH: Liquidation Pursued to Save Major Affiliates
-----------------------------------------------------
Dong Ah Group is going to be dismantled to ensure its major
affiliates can survive, and to facilitate the process, the
conglomerate will carry out emergency measures, including
payroll deductions.

Dong Ah Construction Industrial Co., the flagship company
of the nation's tenth largest conglomerate, said Monday it
will soon install an emergency management committee
comprising labor and management to oversee the group's
liquidation and to pay off its debts. Some of its major
arms could be sold off and others dismantled.

The construction company said even its money-making
affiliates like the Korea Express Co., and the Dong Ah
Housing Finance Co. would be on the sales block, while
those poorly-managed affiliates face liquidation.
Construction-related affiliates will be merged with Dong Ah
Construction.

Properties the conglomerate owns, including those land
tabled for apartment construction, and the group's office
in central Seoul, and securities valued at 1.64 trillion
won will be sold and the proceeds will be used to pay off
its debts, it said.

That would mean the complete break up of Dong Ah. In the
salvage plan, directors would give up their bonuses,
employees would see a 12-percent, across-the-board cut in
monthly salaries and partake in unpaid vacations so as to
save some 80 billion won in expenses -- 40 percent of total
annual salaries.

Director-level officers at all affiliates would be forced
to tender their resignations en masse -- to take
responsibility for poor management -- to share the burden
with staff.

Dong Ah said the emergency management committee will
takeover from Dong Ah Chairman Choi Won-suk, who resigned
last week. Survival plans mean a new transparent firm with
expert management.
(Asia Pulse 18-May-1998)

The joint petition by the Dong Ah Group's creditor banks
for allowing the conglomerate to change the use of its
reclaimed land from farming to industrial use appears set
to reignite the controversy surrounding the landfill.
The petition was made as something short of a precondition
for the banks to provide syndicate rescue loans, during a
meeting between Lee Hun-jai, chairman of the Financial
Supervisory Board. Faced with the joint appeal, however,
the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries reiterated its
previous position that the reclaimed land owned by Dong Ah
Construction Industrial Co., one of key affiliates of the
Dong Ah Group, should be remained as farming use.
(Korea Herald 19-May-1998)


HANJOO CHEMICALS: Delisting by KSE
----------------------------------
The Korea Stock Exchange (KSE) is set to discharge three
Korean firms -- Hanjoo Chemicals, Samjin Chemicals and Life
Construction -- by Tuesday, according to the KSE Sunday.

The delisting comes as a result of the three firms using up
all their available capital in the wake of the economic
recession and slow sales.

The KSE's action will bring down the number of listed firms
and listed issues on the Seoul bourse to 773 and 948.
(Asia Pulse 18-May-1998)


LIFE CONSTRUCTION: Delisting by KSE
-----------------------------------
The Korea Stock Exchange (KSE) is set to discharge three
Korean firms -- Hanjoo Chemicals, Samjin Chemicals and Life
Construction -- by Tuesday, according to the KSE Sunday.

The delisting comes as a result of the three firms using up
all their available capital in the wake of the economic
recession and slow sales.

The KSE's action will bring down the number of listed firms
and listed issues on the Seoul bourse to 773 and 948.
(Asia Pulse 18-May-1998)


SAMJIN CHEMICALS: Delisting by KSE
----------------------------------
The Korea Stock Exchange (KSE) is set to discharge three
Korean firms -- Hanjoo Chemicals, Samjin Chemicals and Life
Construction -- by Tuesday, according to the KSE Sunday.

The delisting comes as a result of the three firms using up
all their available capital in the wake of the economic
recession and slow sales.

The KSE's action will bring down the number of listed firms
and listed issues on the Seoul bourse to 773 and 948.
(Asia Pulse 18-May-1998)


SAMSUNG GROUP: Seeks US Investments of $1.2 Billion
---------------------------------------------------
One of South Korea's largest conglomerates, Samsung, has
succeeded in enticing pledges from American firms to invest
US$1.2 billion in its subsidiaries by year's end.

A delegation of chief executives from Samsung subsidiaries,
now visiting the United States on an investment-seeking
tour, announced the news from Samsung's U.S. Headquarters
in New Jersey Friday.

Samsung officials, however, did not elaborate on financial
details, citing accounting matters underway. Samsung has
already succeeded in securing a total of $1.3 billion in
investments to its subsidiaries from European firms, and
from proceeds from sales of its heavy equipment company and
from overseas' assets, bringing to $2.5 billion the total
foreign currency available to it by year's end.
(Asia Pulse 18-May-1998)


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

EKRAN BHD: Cancels Plans to Sell Wembley Stake
----------------------------------------------
Malaysian construction company Ekran Bhd yesterday said it
has scrapped plans to sell 32.8 per cent of Wembley
Industries Holdings Bhd to businessman Tiong King Sing.
Ekran, the developer of the now-deferred US$5.3 billion
(S$8.7 billion) Bakun dam, cancelled the proposed sale 10
months after first announcing it wanted to sell the stake
for M$284.5 million (S$124.5 million), or M$6 for each
Wembley share.

On July 11, Ekran announced it had agreed to sell Wembley
Industries in order to focus on the Bakun Dam project.
Since then, the Malaysian economy and companies have been
hurt by a weakening currency and rising interest rates.
The government then decided to cut spending, making the
Bakun hydro-electric dam project a casualty.

Ekran did not give any reasons for the cancellation of the
proposed Wembley sale. Its officials could not be reached
for comments.

Ekran shares rose one sen to close at 59 sen last Friday.
On July 11, the shares had closed at M$4.88.

Wembley shares were last traded at 71 sen on March 30
before they were halted from trading. They had closed at
M$3.34 on July 11.
(The Straits Times 18-May-1998)


MALAYSIAN RESOURCES: Reports Debt as Long-term Liability
--------------------------------------------------------
Nine months after the end of its last financial year,
Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB) has
finally released its annual report and analysts could not
help noticing the unconventional way the company has chosen
to deal with its debt problems.

MRCB, which owns the publishing group New Straits Times
Press, had put the delay in releasing the report down to
its need to resolve the issue of refinancing its short-term
loan of US$250 million (S$411.3 million) that it had taken
out to buy its 27 per cent stake in Rashid Hussain Berhad
(RHB).

For its financial year ended August 31, 1997, MRCB has
classified the US$250 million loan under long-term
liabilities rather than short-term borrowings.

Financial experts say MRCB could technically do so since it
had managed to get the short-term loan refinanced as a
long-term loan by the time it finalised its accounts on
April 30th.

MRCB could not pay its creditors in December when the loan,
revalued at 1 billion Malaysian ringgit (S$435.3 million)
because of the currency's depreciation, came due.

But MRCB has since rescheduled a new payback date for
US$150 million of the loan to between one and three years,
and the remaining US$100 million on September 1, 1998.

Several investment analysts remarked that so long as the
entire sum is reflected in the balance sheet, its auditors
Price Waterhouse could approve a reclassification of that
loan based on subsequent events that had taken place.

Some analysts pointed out that the accounting tactic likely
helped the group out of further potential problems with its
creditors. If the group had accounted the sum under short-
term borrowings, the figure could affect loan covenants and
yardsticks bankers use to judge their borrowers' financial
health.

The company said it planned to make no provisions for
diminution in value since these were long-term investments.
(Singapore BusinessTimes 18-May-1998)


PELANGI AIR: Ministry Urges Malaysia Airlines to Purchase
---------------------------------------------------------
The Transport Ministry has requested Malaysia Airlines
(MAS) to speed up the purchase of ailing Pelangi Air Sdn
Bhd, a small airline serving Malaysian towns and cities and
those of the neighbouring countries.

Deputy Minsiter Mohd Ali Rustam said the matter was brought
up in the Ministry's post-Cabinet meeting four times in the
past two months. However, there has been no progress in the
proposed acquisition of majority shares by MAS in Pelangi
Air.

At present, Pelangi Air only operates the Malacca-Pekan
Baru route from the Batu Berendam airport in Malacca. Two
years back, the company had to cease operations of the
Singapore-Malacca-Ipoh, Malacca-Ipoh-Phuket and Kuala
Terengganu-Penang and the Malacca-medan routes due to
financial constraints.

Mohd Ali said the services to these destinations should be
revived so that there would be more tourist arrivals,
particularly to Malacca.
(Asia Pulse 18-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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