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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, December 31, 1998, Vol. 1, No. 218
  
                          Headlines


* C H I N A   &   H O N G   K O N G *

CULTURECOM HOLDINGS: Proceeding with Rights Issue
LAI SUN: Shares surge on stake-sale rumor
THEME INTERNATIONAL: Wharf seeks wind-up of troubled retailer
TIANJIN TIANHAI: Tianjin Marine puts debt on hold

* J A P A N *

LONG TERM: Dividend Payments Probed
TOKYU CONSTRUCTION: Ousts President in Wake of Financial Woes

* K O R E A *

HYUNDAI GROUP: Reshuffles Senior Management Posts
HYUNDAI MOTOR: Filed False Audit
KIA MOTORS: To Restructure Capital for Hyundai's Control

* M A L A Y S I A *

DIAMOND IMPACT: Winding-up petition
ENERYIELD: Winding-up petition
GEMA BAKTI: Winding-up petition
HIN KEE: Voluntary winding-up
INTERKOL: Winding-up petition
PERUSAHAAN SADUR: Half-Year Results ending September 30, 1998
RIA SUKAHATI: Winding-up petition
SNH CONSULTANCY: Winding-up petition
TAGREEN MOULD: Winding-up petition
TENAGA NASIONAL: Disposal of Power stations

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

PHILIPPINE AIRLINES: Miyazawa Fund Eyed as Cathay Alternative
PHILIPPINE AIRLINES: Company Insists Cathay & Norhwest in Talks
PHILIPPINE AIRLINES: Future Said to Look Grim

* S I N G A P O R E *

GRP LTD.: Says loan agreement breach not due to default

* T H A I L A N D *

KRUNG THAI: Government plans to sell half of Krung stake
SIAM COMMERCIAL: Bank Looking for US$603 Million Bailout Money


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

CULTURECOM HOLDINGS: Proceeding with Rights Issue
-------------------------------------------------
Culturecom Holdings announced it proposed to raise $32.62 million
via a rights issue. The company said it would offer 217.52
million rights shares at 10 cents each, representing
approximately 20 per cent of the existing issued capital of the
company.  It also announced that shareholder Chamberlin
Investments had entered into a subscription arrangement with its
owner ViaGOLD Capital, ans Kingston Investments. Under the
arrangement, ViaGOLD will subscribe to 147.03 million of the new
shares through Chamberlin at 15 cents each.


LAI SUN: Shares surge on stake-sale rumor
-----------------------------------------
According to the South China Morning Post, shares in the Lai Sun
group of companies rose sharply yesterday on speculation of plans
by Lai Sun Development (LSD) to sell its stake in mainland
property arm Lai Fung Holdings.  Rumors circulated in the market
that LSD was studying plans to bring in the Bank of China Group
as a strategic investor in Lai Fung. One source told the Post
that Lai Fung might issue $700 million to $800 million in
convertible bonds to Bank of China while another said LSD might
sell its Lai Fung shares to the group.

Bank of China's property subsidiary Sun Chung Estate bought a 2.1
per cent stake in Lai Fung when the latter went public through a
share placement and new issue in November last year.  According
to some analysts talking to the Post, this could be part of Lai
Sun group's debt-restructuring program rather than a pure share-
holding transfer deal.


THEME INTERNATIONAL: Wharf seeks wind-up of troubled retailer
-------------------------------------------------------------
According to the South China Morning Post, five subsidiaries of
Wharf (Holdings) filed a petition for the winding up of fashion
store Theme which is wholly owned by Theme International
Holdings. The five companies - Charris, Mullein, Wettersley,
Bright Smart and Excellent Base - were owners of the shopping
complex, Plaza Hollywood in which Theme had operated an outlet
up to August 3 before closing 23 of its 32 local outlets. Theme
claimed the closures were made because landlords had refused to
reduce rents amid the retail slump. Several stores were reopened
following rent reductions but the Plaza Hollywood outlet has
remained shut.

Hit hard by the retail slump, the Post said, Theme suffered an
$806.62 million net loss for the year to March 31 compared to a
net profit of $90.76 million last year.  The company's Singapore
retailing off-shoot, Emporium Holdings (Singapore), went into
bankruptcy protection in July.  The two investments accounted for
most of a $338.91 million exceptional loss.

Theme is restructuring its $304 million debt with 12 bank
creditors and with the help of substantial shareholder China
Everbright which holds 20 per cent of Theme and has provided an
$80 million cash facility for the company.  To boost cash flow,
Theme recently put its 40 per cent interest in Fitlady Investment
Holdings on sale for $90 million, despite opposition by Fitlady
shareholder SCM China Growth Fund. It has applied to the stock
exchange to delay the release of its latest profit and loss
account in the six months to September, which was due yesterday.
The delay was caused by unfinished auditing work.  The company
did not give a revised date for the account's release.

According to the Hong Kong Standard, Theme had asked for the
release of interim results for the six months ending September 30
to be postponed to February 15 and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
has rejected Theme's request.  Theme said it would aim at having
the figures ready by January 15.


TIANJIN TIANHAI: Tianjin Marine puts debt on hold
-------------------------------------------------
A report appearing in the South China Morning Post says that
Shanghai-listed B share firm Tianjin Marine Shipping Co announced
yesterday that it had agreed to allow the biggest of its
shareholders, Tianjin Tianhai Group, to postpone repayments on
261 million yuan owed to the listed company. It also agreed to
allow Tianjin Tianhai to use assets, including some real estate,
to repay the debt, according to a statement in the Shanghai
Securities News.

An official from Tianjin Marine, in which Tianhai Group has a
38.92 per cent stake, said Tianhai Group agreed to pay interest
on the debt owed but he did not say how much this would be.  The
plan must be approved by shareholders of the listed company and a
date for a shareholders' meeting has yet to be fixed.  Shares in
Tinajin Marine A shares were suspended for trading on the
Shanghai Exchange yesterday.





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

LONG TERM: Dividend Payments Probed
-----------------------------------
A report described in Asian newspapers yesterday said that the
collapsed Long Term Credit Bank of Japan allegedly offered
dividends to its shareholders this year despite having
insufficient asset backing.  The Securities and Exchange
Surveillance Commission confirmed that it is investigating the
matter.


TOKYU CONSTRUCTION: Ousts President in Wake of Financial Woes
-------------------------------------------------------------
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reports that Tokyu Construction Co. (JP
1855) decided at a meeting of its board of directors Monday to
appoint as president Kuniyoshi Ihara, vice president of Tokyu
Corp. (JP 9005), replacing Tetsu Goto, who will step down to take
responsibility for the general contractor's dire financial
condition. Tetsu Goto is the eldest son of the late Noboru Goto,
former head of the Tokyu group.

In an attempt to restructure, Tokyu Construction is expected to
make a third-party allocation of new shares worth 30 billion yen
to increase its capital, with the new shares to be acquired by
Tokyu group firms including Tokyu Corp.  The Tokyo-based
construction company will also slash its payroll by 1,300 to
2,800 by March 2002.

Tokyu Construction is projected to post a net loss for the third
straight year in the current term, Nikkei related.  The general
contractor forecasts special losses totaling 92 billion yen in
the coming three years, due mainly to disposal of nonperforming
assets, company sources told Nikkei.



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

HYUNDAI GROUP: Reshuffles Senior Management Posts
-------------------------------------------------
Park Se-yong, president and chief executive officer of Hyundai
Corp., was promoted to vice chairman and CEO of the company while
vice president Chung Jae-kwan was promoted to the presidency in a
reshuffle at the Hyundai Group, according to the Korea Times.

Pyo Sam-soo, 46, executive managing director of Hyundai
Information Technology Co., was promoted to vice president and
chief executive officer of the firm.  Pyo was promoted to head
the firm one year after he was promoted to the executive managing
directorship, the Times noted.  Yoon Myoung-joong, vice president
of Hyundai Motor Service Co., was promoted to president of
Hyundai Financial Services Co.

Subsidiaries of the Hyundai Group have been conducting reshuffles
individually, unlike previous years when the group announced its
reshuffle en masse, the Times commented.


HYUNDAI MOTOR: Filed False Audit
--------------------------------
Hyundai Motor was found to have falsified its financial audit
reports for the year 1997, and was reprimanded and punished by
the Security Supervisory Board, the ChosunIlbo reports this week.  
Seven certified public accounting firms who performed the audits
were also given warnings.  The board said that in the case of
Hyundai Motor, the company was reprimanded because it
shortchanged the reported amount of short-term loans and other
credit arrangements by W163.8 billion in its audited report,
which was then approved by the public CPA.


KIA MOTORS: To Restructure Capital for Hyundai's Control
--------------------------------------------------------
Financially-stricken Kia Motors Corp. will reduce its capital of
37.8 billion won by 90 percent and then increase the capital by
3,863 percent to 1.5 trillion won next Feb. 1 to pave the way for
the Hyundai Group to hold a controlling 51-percent stake in the
company, the Korea Stock Exchange (KSE) said, in a report
appearing in the Korea Herald.

The capital will be reduced by converting 10 old common shares
into one new share to reduce the number of shares to 75.06
million, the Herald related, and the capital increase will
increase the number to 300 million, including the 75.06 million
shares converted from old shares accounting for 2.52 percent.  
The capital increase will be made in a manner that the consortium
of five Hyundai-affiliated companies will buy 153 million shares
at a price of 5,500 won per share for a 51-percent stake. And
then the creditor banks of Kia will convert their debt into a
total of 120 million shares at a rate of 15,000 won per share for
a 40-percent stake, and that old shareholders and employees will
be distributed 9.72 million shares each at a price of 5,000 won
per share for a 3.24-percent stake each.

The 6.84 million shares of Kia, representing 9.04 percent of the
capital, Ford Motor sold in block trading Dec. 22 were bought by
J.P. Morgan, the KSE disclosed, according to the Herald.



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


DIAMOND IMPACT: Winding-up petition
-----------------------------------
CSR Building Materials Sdn Bhd on 6/10/98 petitioned for the
winding-up of Diamond Impact (M) Sdn Bhd.  The petition is
directed to be heard on 5/2/99.


ENERYIELD: Winding-up petition
------------------------------
Oriental Finance Bhd on 18/12/98 petitioned for the winding-up of
Eneryield (M) Sdn Bhd.


GEMA BAKTI: Winding-up petition
-------------------------------
Bank Bumiputra Malaysia Bhd on 1/12/98 petitioned for the
winding-up of Gema Bakti Sdn Bhd.  The petition is directed to be
heard on 9/4/99.


HIN KEE: Voluntary winding-up
-----------------------------
The members of Hin Kee Sdn Bhd on 23/12/98 resolved to wind-up
the company voluntarily.  Creditors are requested to submit their
claims before 1/2/99.


INTERKOL: Winding-up petition
-----------------------------
Bandar Utama Promenade Sdn Bhd on 17/9/98 petitioned for the
winding-up of Interkol (M) Sdn Bhd.  The petition is directed to
be heard on 29/1/99.


PERUSAHAAN SADUR: Half-Year Results ending September 30, 1998
-------------------------------------------------------------
Perstima (listed on the KLSE) reported a group pre-tax operating
loss of RM23.898mil for the 6months ended 30/9/98, compared to a
loss of RM0.685mil previously.


RIA SUKAHATI: Winding-up petition
---------------------------------
Hotel Grand Central Limited on 24/11/98 petitioned for the
winding-up of Ria Sukahati Holiday Sdn Bhd.


SNH CONSULTANCY: Winding-up petition
------------------------------------
Oriental Finance Bhd on 18/12/98 petitioned for the winding-up of
SNH Consultancy Sdn Bhd.


TAGREEN MOULD: Winding-up petition
----------------------------------
Aseam Credit Sdn Bhd on 24/8/98 petitioned for the winding-up of
Tagreen Mould Industries Sdn Bhd.  The petition is directed to be
heard on 5/2/99.


TENAGA NASIONAL: Disposal of Power stations
-------------------------------------------
Tenaga Nasional Bhd (the national electricity board, listed on
the KLSE) will sell 5 more non-hydro power stations.  The proceed
from the sale will be used to retire loans, restructure present
debts, make investments and capital expenditure.

As previously reported, Tenaga said earlier this month it planned
to sell a 330 megawatt power plant to independent power producer
Powertek for 740 million ringgit.  It said then that it had
agreed to accept 296 million ringgit in cash and stagger the
remaining 444 million ringgit payment over six years and
combine it with an option to buy up to 27.85 per cent of
Powertek's equity.

According to the Hong Kong Standard, Tenaga chairman Ahmad
Tajudin said yesterday Tenaga may divest 7 per cent of Powertek's
enlarged equity after the acquisition to strategic foreign
investors. He said he hoped the deal would be finalised in the
next three months.  

Tenaga has current liabilities of 4.45 billion ringgit and long-
term loans totalling 22.3 billion ringgit. The sale of the plant
to Powertek is part of Tenaga's move to divest its generation
assets, lower its costs and focus on transmission and
distribution.  The company announced in June plans to sell a
2,000 mw plant to independent power producer Malakoff Power.
Construction group YTL Power International said on December 21 it
was looking to buy power generation assets from Tenaga.


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

PHILIPPINE AIRLINES: Miyazawa Fund Eyed as Cathay Alternative
-------------------------------------------------------------
Balita News and AFP report that Philippine President Joseph
Estrada said he is eyeing Japan's 30-billion-dollar fund for
ailing Asian economies to help rehabilitate the money-losing
Philippine Airlines (PAL) and keep it flying.  Estrada said
tapping the fund, proposed by Japanese Finance Minister Kiichi
Miyazawa in October, was "our alternative" to the search for a
strategic partner for PAL.  "We will try our best to see to it
that PAL will continue its operations," he said.

Earlier this month Finance Secretary Edgardo Espiritu had
proposed that Manila seek 150 million dollars for the
rehabilitation of PAL from the Miyazawa fund.

The fund, proposed by Japanese Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa
is earmarked for firms and governments hit by the Asian financial
crisis.

PAL management had prepared a rehabilitation plan which calls
for an infusion of 150 million dollars in new money to keep PAL
flying.  Some of this money was envisaged as coming from a
strategic foreign investor but the failure of the talks with
Cathay Pacific Airways and Northwest Airlines, has put the plan
in peril, raising the possibility that PAL may have to close down
if no new financing is found.  Estrada meanwhile said he was
still hopeful PAL could still forge an agreement with Cathay
Pacific despite the collapse of negotiations earlier.  Asked
about earlier statements that he would meet with PAL chairman
Lucio Tan and Cathay Pacific executives to revive the stalled
talks between them, Estrada told reporters "it (the meeting)
hasn't happened yet but they're still negotiating."  

"I hope they will settle it . . . next month," Estrada added
without giving details.  

In Hong Kong, a spokeswoman for Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong said:
"We are not involved in any negotiations with PAL."


PHILIPPINE AIRLINES: Company Insists Cathay & Norhwest in Talks
---------------------------------------------------------------
The Associated Press reports that debt-strapped Philippine
Airlines is holding talks with foreign investors who might be
able to revive the national carrier, a government official said
Friday.  The discussions, the AP reports, include Cathay Pacific
Airlines and Northwest Airlines, presidential Executive Secretary
Ronaldo Zamora said in a radio interview.

Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific announced this month that it was
pulling out of the talks.  But Zamora said Friday, "The truth is
their discussions are continuing.  However, in order not to
disturb the talks, they are not disclosing this to the public."   
Zamora also said that the government is prepared to help the
airline "under commercial terms" but it will not to take over
PAL.  "That is clearly out of the question," he said, according
to the AP.


PHILIPPINE AIRLINES: Future Said to Look Grim
---------------------------------------------
M2 Communications says that while Philippine president Joseph
Estrada is hoping to tap into Japan's US$30bn fund for ailing
Asian economies as a last resort to save Philippine Airlines from
folding, and on December 28 formally requested that the Japanese
government make a loan of US$150m under the Miyazawa Fund through
the Japan Export-Import Bank, Finance Secretary Edgardo Espiruto
believes it is unlikely that the government will be able to bail  
the airline out and he believes it more than likely that
the airline will be forced to close.  The President, M2 says, is
hoping that talks between Cathay Pacific and  PAL will recommence
and save the airline.  Talks with Cathay and Northwest  Airlines
are currently continuing in private.  Other rumors suggest that
the state pension fund, Social Security System is willing to
invest up to US$25.7m in PAL if the airline can clean up its
balance sheet.  

In further news, a petition has been put in by the Sycip, Salazar
and Hernandez and Gatmaitan Law Offices on behalf of their
clients to gain an extension until January 24 to  submit their
comments about the PAL remediation plan.  Other creditors have  
already submitted comments.  The Airline Pilots Association of
the Philippines has also submitted comments and has rejected the
PAL plan.  In a five-page document to the Securities and Exchange
Commission, the Union declared itself unhappy with the plan's
dependence on securing a strategic partner, the lack of an
employee plan, and the unjustified reduction of the fleet.


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

GRP LTD.: Says loan agreement breach not due to default
-------------------------------------------------------
GRP Ltd., according to Business Times, said that while it had
breached a loan covenant, the breach was not due to a default in
any loan repayment.  The hose and marine specialist made the
clarification in relation to an announcement on Christmas Eve, in
which GRP said that it had in October started talks with its
bankers over a restructuring of its banking facilities, the Times
reported.

The restructuring was triggered by an "inadvertent breach" of a
negative pledge covenant relating to an unsecured short-term bank
facility.  GRP said the breach arose when it granted a mortgage
on its Tanjong Penjuru premises in favour of its principal
banker, in return for additional facilities to fund its China
operations.  The company's other bankers then suspended or
requested repayment of facilities totalling $8.9 million. GRP
also explained why it had kept mum -- until last week -- about
the matter.  It said that it was assured of its bankers' support
and that any adverse publicity concerning the loan restructuring
would have affected its businesses.


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


KRUNG THAI: Government plans to sell half of Krung stake
--------------------------------------------------------
According to the South China Morning Post, Thailand will sell
half of state-controlled Krung Thai Bank to investors to raise at
least 100 billion baht as part of the nation's move to privatise
the bank. The sale is expected to be completed by the end of
2000.  According to the Hong Kong Standard, the market shrugged
off an announcement on Monday that the state-run Krung Thai Bank
had adopted a restructuring plan aimed at restoring it to
financial health by mid-1999.


SIAM COMMERCIAL: Bank Looking for US$603 Million Bailout Money
--------------------------------------------------------------
According to news reports, Siam Commercial Bank said earlier this
week it is seeking US$603 million in capital from a scheme set up
by the government to rescue indebted financial institutions. The
move comes amid mounting non-performing loans in the banking
sector, which have reached 46 per cent of loans.




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
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                 * * * End of Transmission * * *