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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, April 15, 1999, Vol. 2, No. 73

                    Headlines


* C H I N A   &   H O N G   K O N G *

CHOY'S INTERNATIONAL CONTRACTING: Winding-up petition
GUANGDONG ENTERPRISES: GDE creditors face extended standstill
GUANGDONG INTERNATIONAL: New claims to bloat Gitic indebtedness
GUANGZHOU FINANCE: Winding-up hearing delayed
HATTON ENTERPRISES CORP: Winding-up Order and first meeting

KAI TIK COMPANY LIMITED: Winding-up petition
LAI SUN DEVELOPMENT: Lai Sun, BOC unit cement alliance
NIKKO RESEARCH CENTER: In members' voluntary liquidation
SIU WOR TRADING COMPANY LIMITED: Winding-up petition
TAT SHING PROVISIONS LIMITED: Winding-up petition

WAYSUNTONE COMMUNICATION: In creditors' voluntary liquidation


* J A P A N *

NISSAN MOTOR: Nissan faces big loss
SOBU CREDIT UNION: To shut down
TAITO CREDIT UNION: To shut down
TOKYO TOWA CREDIT: To shut down


* K O R E A *

KOREA FIRST BANK: Newbridge plans to minimize gov't share


* M A L A Y S I A *

EXPRESS LINGKARAN: UEM unit unable to get loan rollover
PENGKALEN HOLDINGS: Creditors agree to debt-equity conversions
TA ENTERPRISE: TA suffers RM557m pre-tax loss


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

A SORIANO: Anscor set to reduce debts
FIL-ESTATE LAND: Reaches conversion agreement with creditors


* S I N G A P O R E *

IMM MULTI: Cathay to give a complete makeover to IME
JACK CHIA: SingFin gets stay lifted in case against Jack Chia


* T H A I L A N D *

EASTERN SUGAR: Eastern Sugar to sign debt revamp pact


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

CHOY'S INTERNATIONAL CONTRACTING: Winding-up petition
-----------------------------------------------------
A petition for the winding up of Choy's International
Contracting Limited was presented to the High Court on Mar 2 by
Chu Chuk Hung and Chau Siu Keung trading as Chun Nam Decoration
Working Company whose office is situated at Room 1016, 10th
Floor, No. 11-19 Sha Tsui Road, Tsuen Wan, New Territories, and
the said petition is directed to be heard before the court at  
11:00 am on April 21, and any creditor or contributory of the
said company desirous to support or oppose the making of an order
on the said petition may appear at the time of hearing by himself
or his counsel for that purpose, and a copy of the petition will
be furnished to any creditor or contributory of the said company
requiring the same by Solicitors for the Petitioner, Fred Kan &
Co, 31st Floor, Central Plaza, 18 Harbour Road, Hong Kong on
payment of the regulated charges for the same.


GUANGDONG ENTERPRISES: GDE creditors face extended standstill
-------------------------------------------------------------
According to the South China Morning Post, insolvent GDE is
expected to extend its informal standstill arrangement to suspend
principal repayments beyond the originally proposed date of April
15 due to delays in preparing a restructuring plan.

The standstill was generally understood to last until the firm
was able to provide a restructuring proposal including assets to
be injected into GDE, said sources close to the company.

Creditor banks, however, were told earlier that a preliminary
restructuring proposal, originally expected to be ready this
month, would be delayed for several weeks.

The steering committees of creditor banks of GDE and Nam Yue, the
Guangdong provincial government's investment arm in Macau, will
meet company officials and their financial adviser, Goldman
Sachs, tomorrow to talk about the progress of the restructuring
measures at the meeting.

Deputy chief executive of Bank of China's Hong Kong-Macau
Regional Office, Lam Kwong-siu, said a delay of one or two months
should not be a problem as long as the money owed was repaid and
the terms of restructuring were in the interest of creditor
banks.

He said that whether proposals for a debt-for-equity swap, if
any, could be accepted would hinge on the prospects of the firm's
operations.


GUANGDONG INTERNATIONAL: New claims to bloat Gitic indebtedness
---------------------------------------------------------------
According to the Hong Kong Standard, Louie Choi, a partner at
KPMG Peat Marwick, provisional liquidator for Gitic, said
yesterday claims being filed by creditors with Gitic's
liquidation committee included potential liabilities not
previously known and could further bloat Gitic's indebtedness.

A meeting has been scheduled for April 20 to be attended by the
provincial government, creditor banks and the liquidation
committee.

Creditors could file their claims until the deadline tomorrow,
but further claims could be entertained beyond the deadline if
creditors could show strong proof in support of their claims.

Claims not previously known to the liquidation committee would be
considered on their individual merit.

Mr Choi said that a group of Gitic creditor banks and bank
experts from Hong Kong had raised the prospects of restructuring
Gitic. The Guangdong provincial government and the liquidation
committee had several meetings with them to discuss the option
and was still awaiting a concrete proposal from them.

He said the liquidation committee and the Guangdong provincial
government were ready to consider any restructuring proposal by
the creditors but it would be practically impossible to include
in the agenda of next week's meeting any proposal that might be
presented this week.


GUANGZHOU FINANCE: Winding-up hearing delayed
---------------------------------------------------
According to the South China Morning Post, Guangzhou Finance
sought a postponement of the hearing on the petition for its
wind-up, originally scheduled for today, to allow more time to
reach an agreement with the banking syndicate that filed the
petition, sources said.

Sources said little progress had been made for the withdrawal of
the petition.

The creditors made a number of requests to the firm as conditions
to withdraw or postpone the hearing without much success. The
requests include details about the restructuring plan and the
extent of support from the Guangzhou government.


HATTON ENTERPRISES CORP: Winding-up Order and first meeting
-----------------------------------------------------------
A winding-up order was issued for Hatton Enterprises Corporation
on March 29, 1999. The date of presentation of the petition was
January 14, 1999. Registered Office: Cutlass Building, Wickham's
Cay, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. Date of
Meetings: April 22 creditors at 2:30 pm; contributories at 3:30
pm. Place: at the Official Receiver's office: 10th Floor,
Queensway Government Offices, 66 Queensway, Hong Kong. Acting
Official Receiver & Provisional Liquidator: C J Robinson.


KAI TIK COMPANY LIMITED: Winding-up petition
--------------------------------------------
A petition for the winding up of Kai Tik Company Limited was
presented to the High Court on Jan 4 Yu Wing Construction and
Investment Company Limited whose registered office is situated at
Flats C & D, 3rd Floor, Uwa Building, 18-19 Connaught Road West,
Hong Kong, and the said petition is directed to be heard before
the court at 9:30 am on April 28, and any creditor or
contributory of the said company desirous to support or oppose
the making of an order on the said petition may appear at the
time of hearing by himself or his counsel for that purpose, and a
copy of the petition will be furnished to any creditor or
contributory of the said company requiring the same by Solicitors
for the Petitioner, Ford, Kwan & Company, Suites 1505-1508,
Chinachem Golden Plaza, 77 Mody Road, Tsimshatsui East, Kowloon
on payment of the regulated charges for the same.


LAI SUN DEVELOPMENT: Lai Sun, BOC unit cement alliance
------------------------------------------------------
According to the South China Morning Post and the Hong Kong
Standard, Lai Sun Development (LSD) said on Monday it would grant
an option to Bank of China (BOC)'s Sun Chung Estate to subscribe
for 230 million exising LSD-held shares -- or 22.02 per cent --
in its mainland arm Lai Fung Holdings for about $149.5 million,
at 65 cents each.

On full exercise of the option, which will expire in October
2002, LSD's holding in Lai Fung would drop to 52.65 per cent from
74.67 per cent. Sun Chung Estate, which bought a 2.05 per cent
stake in Lai Fung when it listed in November 1997, would see its
Lai Fung holding rise to 24.07 per cent on full exercise of the
option.

Lai Fung is exploring the possibility of arranging a fund-raising
exercise for working capital purposes with Sun Chung Estate.

LSD vice-president Keith Jacobsen said the share-sale option
would not immediately boost LSD's financial situation as the
consideration was not significant and the option would not expire
until 2002.

He said as the holdings of LSD and Sun Chung Estate in Lai Fung
would be 76.72 per cent on full exercise of the option, LSD would
place 1.72 per cent of the stake on the market, ensuring 25 per
cent of the shares remain in public hands.


NIKKO RESEARCH CENTER: In members' voluntary liquidation
--------------------------------------------------------
The creditors of Nikko Research Center (Hong Kong) Limited,
which is being voluntarily wound up, are required on or before  
May 12 to send in their names, addresses and particulars of their
debts or claims to J G W Blauuw or Mr David R Hague the Joint and
Several Liquidators of the said company, and if so required by
notice in writing from the liquidator(s), are personally or by
their solicitors to come in and prove their debts or claims at
such time and place specified in such notice, or in default
thereof, they will be excluded from the benefit of any
distribution before such debts are proved.


SIU WOR TRADING COMPANY LIMITED: Winding-up petition
----------------------------------------------------
A petition for the winding up of Siu Wor Trading Company Limited
was presented to the High Court on Jan 26 by Hertfordshire
Limited, and the said petition is directed to be heard before the
court at 11:00 am on April 28, and any creditor or contributory
of the said company desirous to support or oppose the making of
an order on the said petition may appear at the time of hearing
by himself or his counsel for that purpose, and a copy of the
petition will be furnished to any creditor or contributory of the
said company requiring the same by Solicitors for the Petitioner,  
Ford, Kwan & Company, Suites 1505-1508, Chinachem Golden Plaza,
77 Mody Road, Tsimshatsui East, Kowloon on payment of the
regulated charges for the same.


TAT SHING PROVISIONS LIMITED: Winding-up petition
-------------------------------------------------
A petition for the winding up of Tat Shing Provisions Limited was
presented to the High Court on Mar 29 by Chan Shun Yung of Ground
Floor, No. 14, Lane 4, Tai Tau Lane Village, Sheung Shui, New
Territories, and the said petition is directed to be heard before
the court at 9:30 am on May 19, and any creditor or contributory
of the said company desirous to support or oppose the making of
an order on the said petition may appear at the time of hearing
by himself or his counsel for that purpose, and a copy of the
petition will be furnished to any creditor or contributory of the
said company requiring the same by Tam Lee Po Lin, Nina for
Director of Legal Aid, 27th Floor, Queensway Government Offices,
66 Queensway, Hong Kong on payment of the regulated charges for
the same.


WAYSUNTONE COMMUNICATION: In creditors' voluntary liquidation
-------------------------------------------------------------
The creditors of Waysuntone Communication Limited, which is
being voluntarily wound up, are required on or before May 10 to
send in their names, addresses and particulars of their debts or
claims to the Liquidator(s) of the said company, and if so
required by notice in writing from the liquidator(s), are
personally or by their solicitors to come in and prove their
debts or claims at such time and place specified in such notice,
or in default thereof, they will be excluded from the benefit of
any distribution before such debts are proved. Liquidators:
Ho Tak Sang, 714 Concordia Plaza, 1 Science Museum Road, Kowloon.


=========
J A P A N  
=========

NISSAN MOTOR: Nissan faces big loss
-----------------------------------
Nissan Motor Co., Japan's second biggest automaker, lost  
substantially more than it had expected last fiscal year and its
chairman is expected to resign as a result, the Yomiuri newspaper
reported Wednesday. But a Nissan spokeswoman said the report was
speculative. She said the company is putting together its
earnings results for the latest fiscal year and no final numbers
are available.

The newspaper said Nissan lost more than 30 billion yen, or $252
million, in the fiscal year ended March 31, three times more than
10 billion yen loss projected for the year in November. Nissan
Chairman Yoshifumi Tsuji was expected to resign to take  
responsibility for the unexpectedly large loss and a
restructuring effort designed to resuscitate the troubled
automaker, the newspaper said.

The loss resulted from sluggish domestic sales which eroded
operating profit, along with special losses from Nissan's
securities portfolio and aid extended to affiliated dealerships,
the paper reported.

The newspaper also reported that Nissan may either slash its
dividend payments or forego them entirely. Also Wednesday, a
spokesman for Nissan said the company's North American operations
are likely to have posted a profit in fiscal 1998 for the first
time in two years. Last month, Renault SA of France agreed to pay
$5.4 billion for a 36.8 percent stake in debt-hobbled Nissan.
                                 
(AP Online 14-Apr-1999)                         


SOBU CREDIT UNION: To shut down
-------------------------------
Three ailing credit unions in Tokyo will dissolve themselves due
to bad-loan problems, financial industry sources said Wednesday.
Taito Credit Union, Tokyo Towa Credit Union, both in Taito Ward,
and Sobu Credit Union in Sumida Ward will transfer their deposits
and healthy loans to other credit unions in Tokyo, while their
bad loans will be sold to Resolution and Collection Corp., the
sources said. (Kyodo News 13-Apr-1999)


TAITO CREDIT UNION: To shut down
--------------------------------
Three ailing credit unions in Tokyo will dissolve themselves due
to bad-loan problems, financial industry sources said Wednesday.
Taito Credit Union, Tokyo Towa Credit Union, both in Taito Ward,
and Sobu Credit Union in Sumida Ward will transfer their deposits
and healthy loans to other credit unions in Tokyo, while their
bad loans will be sold to Resolution and Collection Corp., the
sources said. (Kyodo News 13-Apr-1999)


TOKYO TOWA CREDIT: To shut down
-------------------------------
Three ailing credit unions in Tokyo will dissolve themselves due
to bad-loan problems, financial industry sources said Wednesday.
Taito Credit Union, Tokyo Towa Credit Union, both in Taito Ward,
and Sobu Credit Union in Sumida Ward will transfer their deposits
and healthy loans to other credit unions in Tokyo, while their
bad loans will be sold to Resolution and Collection Corp., the
sources said. (Kyodo News 13-Apr-1999)


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

KOREA FIRST BANK: Newbridge plans to minimize gov't share
---------------------------------------------------------
Newbridge Capital, new owner of the Korea First Bank (KFB),
intends to "minimize" the amount of government capital for the
recovery of the ailing bank. The U.S. investor plans to provide
more capital than the government requests as it hopes to fully
recapitalize the bank, a Newbridge official told The Korea Times
yesterday.

There have been various articles which report that the deal on
the KFB is in deadlock because Newbridge is asking the government
to provide more financial supports for the recapitalization of
the bank. The Newbridge negotiator flatly ruled out all those
speculative reports.

On the total value of nonperforming loans (NPLs) of the KFB, the
Newbridge official explained that there can be no discrepancy
between the two sides, again ruling out the contents of previous
reports by local newspapers.

What the two sides are negotiating is not the total size of the
NPLs but how to evaluate loans to be kept at the KFB after the
completion of takeover, he said. If loans are booked at their
real value, the KFB will be able to keep more loans and minimize
the size of transfer to the bad bank, according to him.

Newbridge was earlier chosen as the company that would buy the
KFB. It was offered a 51 percent stake of the KFB while the
government decided to retain 49 percent with another warrants of
11 percent with no options attached. The government injected 1.5
trillion won into the KFB last year and holds 93.75 percent stake
in the bank. The KFB's paid-in-capital stood at 1.6 trillion at
the end of last year. (Korea Times 14-Apr-1999)


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

EXPRESS LINGKARAN: UEM unit unable to get loan rollover
-------------------------------------------------------
United Engineers (Malaysia) Bhd (UEM) said yesterday its toll-
road operating unit, Express Lingkaran Tengah Sdn Bhd (Elite),
was unable to request a rollover of its 440 million Malaysian
ringgit (S$199.4 million) notes issue facility as it could not
meet one of the requirements. It said that as at March 30, the
principal sum and interest obligation of Elite on the notes were
RM440 million and RM9.33 million, respectively. (Reuters and
Singapore Business Times 14-Apr-1999)


PENGKALEN HOLDINGS: Creditors agree to debt-equity conversions
--------------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of Pengkalen Holdings Bhd (PHB) have agreed to the
proposed debt-equity conversions and the proposed composite
schemes of arrangement of Pengkalen Securities Sdn Bhd and Kimara
Equities Sdn Bhd at the court convened meetings held earlier this
month. The PHB scheme involved the creditors of the company and
11 of its subsidiaries.

The subsidiaries are Pengkalen Capital Bhd, Pengkalen Equities
Sdn Bhd, Fiberoptik (Sabah) Sdn Bhd, Pengkalen Engineering &
Construction Sdn Bhd, Bayan Niaga Sdn Bhd, Pengkalen Holiday
Resort Sdn Bhd, Pengkalen Pasar Borong Sdn Bhd, Pengkalen Raya
Sdn Bhd, Pengkalen Building Materials Sdn Bhd, Cocoa Specialities
(M) Sdn Bhd and Kuril Plantations Sdn Bhd.

However, according to a PHB statement, creditors of seven
subsidiaries did not approve the proposed scheme of arrangement
but this would not affect the going concern basis nor the
viability of the restructured PHB group. The seven are Pengkalen
Heights Sdn Bhd, Pengkalen Concrete Sdn Bhd, Pengkalen Concrete
(E.M.) Sdn Bhd, Office Business Systems Sdn Bhd, Pengkalen Travel
Sdn Bhd, Technitone (M) Sdn Bhd and Pengkalen Foodservices Sdn
Bhd.

The court convened meetings of the other PHB subsidiaries--
Network Foods (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Network Foods Industries Sdn
Bhd and Focusprint Sdn Bhd--have been adjourned to April 27.

Under the scheme, PHB proposes to pay creditors with newly issued
shares. Creditors of the two broking subsidiaries would be paid
with irredeemable cumulative preference shares. Amounts owed to
other companies in the group would be converted to irredeemable
preference shares and redeemable exchangeable preference shares.
Meanwhile, creditors of Kimara Equities have additionally voted
for the creation of bonds to the value of RM1mil in favour of
Pengurusan Danaharta Bhd which acquired some loans from a
financial institution. (The Star Online 14-Apr-1999)


TA ENTERPRISE: TA suffers RM557m pre-tax loss
---------------------------------------------
TA Enterprise Bhd has suffered a group pre-tax loss of 557       
million Malaysian ringgit (S$252.4 million) for the year ended
Jan 31, 1998, compared with a pre-tax profit of RM46.45 million
achieved in the previous year. Announcing the unaudited results
here yesterday, TA said that at company level it had recorded a
pre-tax loss of RM425.7 million against a pre-tax profit of RM194
million in 1997. Group turnover plunged to RM441 million during
the period from RM887.56 million.

TA said it has made full provision for doubtful debts amounting
to RM597 million in respect of trade debtors, having the value of
their collaterals eroded. It has also made adequate provision for
diminution in value of its investments. Total shareholders' fund
of the group still stands at RM912 million.

TA has recommended a final dividend of one per cent less tax.
(Bernama and Singapore Business Times 14-Apr-1999)


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

A SORIANO: Anscor set to reduce debts
-------------------------------------
Publicly-listed A. Soriano Corp. (Anscor) said it plans to reduce
debts further this year to cut down interest payments. While
saying there is "some room for optimism as the Asian crisis seems
to have bottomed out," prospects for the coming year remain
uncertain, Anscor said in a disclosure to the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Acknowledging that the government has taken
measures to revive the economy, the firm said, "Any improvement
in the economy will enable the company to resume its objective to
realigning its portfolio and further consolidating its investment
platform."

Last year, Anscor said it sustained a net loss of 126.6 million
Philippine pesos (PhP) from a positive net income of PhP141.1
million in 1997.

The firm attributed this to its decision to book its
proportionate share in the loan-loss provision of Asian Bank, its
banking subsidiary, which amounted to PhP160 million. This was to
provide "a sufficient buffer for any contingencies that could
result because of the unpredictable business conditions," it
explained. (BusinessWorld 14-Apr-1999)


FIL-ESTATE LAND: Reaches conversion agreement with creditors
------------------------------------------------------------
The Asian Wall Street Journal reported that the Fil-Estate Land
Inc. has reached an agreement with its creditors to convert one
billion pesos in debts so that its short-term obligations can be
paid back over the next three to five years. These debts were
reportedly renewable annually by the firm's creditor banks, but
this arrangement allows these loans to be converted into long-
term debt.


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

IMM MULTI: Cathay to give a complete makeover to IME
----------------------------------------------------
Loss-making IMM Multi-Enterprise (IME) is to be given a complete
makeover by cinema chain Cathay Organisation Holdings through a
reverse takeover. According to the Business Times of Singapore,
Cathay chairman and chief executive officer Choo Meileen told a
press conference on Monday that IME would first be turned into a
shell company by disposing of all its businesses, leaving it with
cash of S$19.7mil. It will then use S$13.05mil of that to buy
five profitable companies from Cathay at book value.

The five Cathay companies are Cathay Cineplexes, Cathay Keris,
Cathay Bowl, Cathay Properties and Cathay Cineleisure
International. They are in the business of film exhibition, film
distribution, film library, bowling centre management and
property management.

Last year, they generated a total after tax profit of S$1.6mil.
No projections were given for the current financial year.

In early January, Choo's Greenall Pte Ltd was granted a call
option to buy from IME majority shareholder International
Merchandise Mart (IMM) its entire 75% stake or 60 million shares.  
The price is 27 Singapore cents apiece, which is IME's net
tangible asset value as at end-February plus a 2-cent premium.

IME's loss-making businesses--Megamart cash-and-carry business
and Whimsy family entertainment business--are to be bought by
IMME itself. The price is equal to the book value of those
businesses. However, if these businesses could be sold to another
buyer at a higher price then the difference would be paid to IME.

The acquisitions exclude Cathay's properties such as the landmark
Cathay Building and all start-up operations which had not built
up a stable earnings track record. However, Greenall does not
rule out injecting these into the listed vehicle in the long run.

IME, which incurred a loss of S$717,000 for the year to end-
February, also has the option to acquire other Cathay business,
such as cinema and bowling operations in Malaysia, the film
production business and post-production and film restoration
business, over a five-year period. IME shareholders will vote on
all the deals at an EGM to be held at the end of next month.

The next step would be for Greenall to make a mandatory general
offer for the rest of IME shares, also at 27 cents each, at the
end of June.

DBS Bank managing director (capital markets) Eric Ang, who put
the deal together, said that Greenall intended to preserve the
listing status of IME. (The Star Online 14-Apr-1999)


JACK CHIA: SingFin gets stay lifted in case against Jack Chia
-------------------------------------------------------------
The Jack Chia saga continues with Singapore Finance (SingFin)
successfully getting the High Court on Monday to lift a stay on
proceedings against Jack Chia Properties (Singapore) for the
recovery of some $470,000. On the same day, Jack Chia-MPH
managing director Clement Chia switched his lawyer from
Palakrishnan & Partners to Drew & Napier. Why? No one was
telling.

Last week, Rajah & Tann, which had just last month won for Jack
Chia Holdings (Singapore), another of the Chiarapurk companies,
an eight-week stay of action against SingFin's sister company,
Hong Leong Finance, is said to have decided to discharge
themselves from acting for the company following its failure to
keep them fully apprised of developments.

At about the same time, Jack Chia Properties obtained a six-week
stay against SingFin's proceedings for summary judgement over a
$470,000 sum, pending a proposed scheme of arrangement. But the
finance company successfully argued that that the proposed scheme
was never in place.

SingFin had in recent weeks sold almost all the shares pledged by
the family of the late Jack Chiarapurk for some $3 million in
loans. The $470,000 is the shortfall between the amount recovered
and the loans. Together with the sales by Hong Leong, the
Chiarapurk's stake in JC-MPH had been slashed from over 55 per
cent to a little more than 40 per cent. However, the rest of the
Chiarapurk family's creditors have requested SingFin not to
proceed with its action while the search for a white knight is
on.

Just last week, six privately-held companies belonging to the
founding family had petitioned to be placed under judicial
management to stave off creditors to whom they owe some $100
million. The six were: Jack Chia Properties (Singapore),
Ernismore Holdings, Star of Siam, Sabreor, Jack Chia Holdings
(Singapore) and Emerford.

The petition is expected to be heard in about a month's time but
meanwhile creditors are barred from selling or disposing of any
of the six companies' assets without prior permission of the
courts.

JC-MPH's founding family owes 15 banks and finance companies --
including Hong Leong Finance, SingFin, HongkongBank, Standard
Chartered Bank, Bangkok Bank, Maybank, Indian Bank and OCBC Bank
-- more than $100 million in share loans. Meanwhile, JC-MPH
financial adviser Nicky Tan yesterday gave an update on the
company to the family's creditor banks. (Singapore Business Times
14-Apr-1999)


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

EASTERN SUGAR: Eastern Sugar to sign debt revamp pact
-----------------------------------------------------
Eastern Sugar Ltd is expected to sign a debt-restructuring
agreement with its creditors soon to extend its debt-repayment
period by eight to 10 years and increase its credit line,
enabling the firm to pay cane-planters.

Nattika Wattanavekin, president of Eastern Sugar, said the
company had concluded its debt-restructuring plan and would soon
sign the agreement with creditors, led by Siam Commercial Bank.
Under the plan, creditors will extend the loan payment by eight
to 10 years on Eastern Sugar's total debts of Bt2 billion and
inject fresh capital into the company to pay planters.

According to Nattika, after signing the plan, the company will
allow a strategic partner to hold some equity stake in a bid to
increase production efficiency and improve Eastern Sugar's
management. The percentage of the equity acquisition is not
limited and will depend on the negotiations, she said.

"We want to join hands with a strategic partner who can
contribute to the company through higher production efficiency
and better management. We do not want only capital contribution,
since we will no longer have financial problems after the debt
restructuring has been concluded," Nattika said.

The debt restructuring will help ease the company's liquidity
crunch, and the new partner will strengthen its competitiveness
in the long run, she added.

The Thai government should assist the industry through an
increase in the domestic price in the short term, she said,
otherwise the producers will not be able to tackle long-term
problems such as low productivity. (The Nation 14-Apr-1999)


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