---

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      

      Friday, April 30, 1999, Vol. 2, No. 83

                    Headlines


* C H I N A   &   H O N G   K O N G *

GUANGDONG INTERNATIONAL: Gitic credit squeeze warning
MAANSHAN IRON: Lobbies Citic for $44m debt


* I N D O N E S I A *

PT INTERNATIONAL NICKEL: Results announcement


* J A P A N *

BANK OF TOKYO-MITSUBISHI: Top bank warns of $1.28b loss
CHUO PAPERBOARD: Oji Paper likely to place Chuo under control
                      
SEGA: To post losses, cut work force
SOGO CO: Sogo selling flagship store to cut 1.6t yen debt
SONY CORP: Sony profit suffers 20% hit


* K O R E A *

DAEWOO GROUP: Samsung plays loan roulette with Daewoo
JINRO-COORS: Lotte throws hat in ring for auction
KIA MOTORS: Kia regains investment grade ratings
KOREA LIFE: Trio bids for Korea Life


* M A L A Y S I A *

BESCORP INDUSTRIES: To meet creditors over revised revamp scheme
SEG INSURANCE: Last SEG dividend by year-end
               


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

PHILIPPINE AIRLINES: Gov't entities raising $40M for PAL rehab
TRIPLE-V: Restaurateur woos creditors with new offer


* S I N G A P O R E *

EMPORIUM HOLDINGS: Guthrie and Lend Lease team up to buy Emporium
L&M GROUP: L&M loan restructure, Ernst named advisor


* T H A I L A N D *

PHOENIX PULP: Finance firms hold the cards
RAJADAMRI HOTEL: RGR plots next move
SANSIRI PLC: Sansiri to issue shares
SIAM CEMENT: Results announcement
THAI TELEPHONE: TT&T fails to seal deal with creditors


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

GUANGDONG INTERNATIONAL: Gitic credit squeeze warning
-----------------------------------------------------
Beijing's mishandling of the closure of Guangdong International
Trust & Investment Corp (Gitic) could prolong a credit squeeze on
mainland companies, a leading financial academic said.

"The consequences of Gitic are not over; it could take years just
to resolve Gitic," Brookings Institution senior fellow Nicholas
Lardy said.

"I think the way Gitic's closure was handled has been most
unfortunate," he told the China Business Summit in Shanghai
yesterday.

Mr Lardy cited lack of transparency during the debt-clearing
process and biased treatment of creditors as serious breaches
which had attracted widespread criticism.

Guangdong executive vice-governor Wang Qishan, who was in charge
of the case, was supposed to be a keynote speaker in a session to
discuss the Gitic incident and mainland foreign debt, but for
unexplained reasons he failed to show up.

Gitic was closed last October because of its inability to repay
foreign debts. It had liabilities of 38.77 billion yuan (about
HK$36.09 billion) against assets of 21.29 billion yuan, according
to figures supplied at a creditors' meeting in Guangzhou last
week.

But Mr Lardy said Beijing could still alleviate the negative
effects of its handling of the issue and win back support from
foreign investors. Authorities in Beijing could repair a lot of
the damage if they were to make public the list of creditors,
claims and most importantly, the list of liabilities. Mr Lardy
also warned that more mainland financial institutions could go
under as foreign lenders continued to tighten credit. As a
result, some additional financial institutions which were not
necessarily Itics could go bankrupt because they would not be
able to repay, Mr Lardy said. (South China Morning Post
29-Apr-1999)


MAANSHAN IRON: Lobbies Citic for $44m debt
------------------------------------------
H share Maanshan Iron & Steel (Magang) has urged China
International Trust and Investment Corp (Citic), one of the
mainland's leading conglomerates, to help repay 48 million yuan
(about HK$44.68 million) it has deposited with one of Citic's
subsidiaries. Magang made a net loss of 167.94 million yuan last
year, mainly due to provisions for deposits placed with five
domestic non-banking financial institutions, including Citic
Beijing's Ningbo subsidiary in Zhejiang province.

The provisions of 175 million yuan in the form of exceptional
items for the year accounted for about 80 per cent of the problem
deposits which Magang had failed to recover, Su Jiangang, the
company's director and chief economist, said yesterday.

He said the company was optimistic it could recover the remaining
20 per cent of the deposits, or about 45 million yuan.

Magang was one of several H-share companies which reported
difficulties in withdrawing maturing deposits placed with
domestic non-banking financial institutions, particularly after
Beijing shut down Guangdong International Trust and Investment
Corp (Gitic) late last year.

Mr Su said the company had placed 30 million yuan worth of fixed
deposits with Gitic and 9.32 million yuan with China Venturetech,
the two state investment companies which were closed by the
government. Magang was also unable to recover 48 million yuan
from Citic's Ningbo subsidiary, 50 million yuan from investment
and trust firm Hainan Saige, and 80 million yuan from Shenzhen
Leasing.

Mr Su said Magang had taken Citic's Ningbo subsidiary and the
Hainan firm to court, and had won rulings in its favour asking
the two firms to repay the principal and interest. However, he
was not optimistic about recovering the bulk of the money.
He said the company had written to Citic's Beijing headquarters
and asked it to intervene but had yet to hear any response.

Magang said sales fell 6.24 per cent last year to 6.23 billion
yuan while profits before exceptional items were 7.89 million
yuan, compared with 72.49 million yuan. (South China Morning Post
29-Apr-1999)


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

PT INTERNATIONAL NICKEL: Results announcement
---------------------------------------------
PT International Nickel Indonesia Tbk ("PT Inco") announced today
an unaudited loss for the first quarter of 1999 of $2.1 million,
or one cent per share, compared with earnings of $5.2 million, or
two cents per share, for the first quarter of 1998, and a loss of
$3.7 million, or one cent per share, for the fourth quarter of
1998. (Canada Newswire; 04/29/99)


=========
J A P A N  
=========

BANK OF TOKYO-MITSUBISHI: Top bank warns of $1.28b loss
-------------------------------------------------------
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi yesterday warned it expected to report a
pretax loss of 20 billion yen (about HK$1.28 billion) at the
parent-company level in the year to March 31. The alert reversed
earlier forecasts of 30 billion yen in parent pretax profit, the
bank said. "This decrease is largely stemming from the fact that
BTM [Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi] has accelerated the final disposal
of non-performing assets and has taken several pre-emptive
actions," it said.

The bank, the largest in Japan, said it expected 45 billion yen
in net profit in the financial year, still down from 55 billion
yen in net profit projected earlier. (South China Morning Post
29-Apr-1999)


CHUO PAPERBOARD: Oji Paper likely to place Chuo under control
                      
-------------------------------------------------------------
Oji Paper Co. is considering placing Chuo Paperboard Co.
effectively under its control by purchasing new shares to be
issued by the financially troubled paperboard maker through
third-party allotment, Oji sources said Wednesday. The purchase
would raise Oji's equity stake in Chuo to around 40% from the  
current 8.6%, the sources said.

Oji, the biggest Japanese paper and pulp maker, is also
considering sending an official to Chuo as its president.
Chuo, which is listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock
Exchange, raised 3 billion yen in April last year through third-
party allotment of new shares to a number of companies, including
Oji and trading house Itochu Corp., as a step to promote its  
restructuring.

But Chuo has yet to improve earnings under Japan's prolonged
recession and expects its earnings report for fiscal 1998 ended
in March to show an unconsolidated net loss of 20.3 billion yen.

Chuo is planning to reduce its capital and then request Oji and
some other companies to accept new shares totaling 6 billion yen,
while asking creditor financial institutions to abandon their
claims on loans worth 11.4 billion yen.

Oji intends to accept the request on the condition that Chuo's
creditors agree to forgive their loan claims, the sources said.
The addition of Chuo to the Oji group would give it a share of
25% or more of the paperboard market, the largest in the
industry. (Kyodo News 28-Apr-1999)


SEGA: To post losses, cut work force
------------------------------------
Computer game maker Sega expects to post a loss of 45 billion  
yen, or $378 million, for the fiscal year that ended March 31 and
plans to eliminate 1,000 jobs, or about a quarter of its work
force. The company, which also makes arcade games, said today it
will slash fixed costs by 30 percent, and close 101 amusement
facilities in Japan as part of a restructuring aimed at shoring
up profitability. Sega, which had previously forecast a net
profit of 1.6 billion yen, cited difficulties in its United
States, United Kingdom and Australian operations as reasons for
the loss. (AP Online 28-Apr-1999)


SOGO CO: Sogo selling flagship store to cut 1.6t yen debt
---------------------------------------------------------
Sogo Co, a mid-sized Japanese department store operator, will
sell its flagship Osaka store this year for more than 35 billion
yen to pay down its 1.6 trillion yen (S$22.8 billion) group debt,
the Nihon Keizai newspaper said, citing president Kyoichi Yamada.
The company will lease back the building from the buyer and
continue operations, the report said. Sogo will also shut a
money-losing store in Chiba prefecture, near Tokyo, in two years,
the paper said.

A spokesman at Sogo's Osaka head office declined to comment
on the report. The company, which has outlets in Tokyo, Osaka
and Kobe, earlier this month reported a group net loss of 25.6
billion yen for the year ended Feb 28, compared with a profit of
600 million yen the year before.

Sogo and other department store operators are feeling the pinch
of Japan's worst recession in more than a half-century as
consumers refrain from buying new clothes and expensive goods.
The seasonally adjusted index for sales at the nation's retail
stores fell 2.4 per cent in March from February, the Ministry of
International Trade and Industry said on Tuesday. For the year
ended March 31, sales dropped 3.2 per cent, the second straight
year of decline.

Sogo's weak earnings were also a result of 25.8 billion yen set
aside as loss reserves on loans it provided to affiliated
companies.

Sogo expects to post a group net profit of 500 million yen this
fiscal year. It said it will cut 2,000 group jobs in the next two
years from the current 11,123, a reduction of 18 per cent.
(Bloomberg and Singapore Business Times 29-Apr-1999)


SONY CORP: Sony profit suffers 20% hit
--------------------------------------
Sony Corp, maker of the Walkman personal stereo and PlayStation
game player, said yesterday that its profits sagged nearly 20 per
cent in the just-ended business year amid prolonged economic
woes. Sony posted a consolidated net profit of 179 billion yen
($S2.5 billion) for the year ended on March 31, a substantial
fall from a record 222 billion yen hit only a year earlier.
Sony's profits are calculated under US accounting rules.

On a consolidated operating basis, Sony's profits for 1998/99
plunged nearly 35 per cent to 338.65 billion yen, partly
reflecting economic downturns in Asia and Latin America which
weighed on Sony's ability to be price-competitive on its
products.

Sony said although the yen's year-on-year weakness raised the
full year's group operating profit by 72 billion yen, recent
volatility had made it more difficult to manage global
procurement, manufacturing and sales activities, and damaged its
business results in the second half of the year. (Reuters and
Singapore Business Times 29-Apr-1999)


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

DAEWOO GROUP: Samsung plays loan roulette with Daewoo
-----------------------------------------------------
After sitting on opposite sides of the negotiating table for
months, Samsung and Daewoo have resumed their cozy lender-debtor
relationship. A government financial sector official revealed
Thursday that Samsung's financial units provided a total of W200
billion in loans to Daewoo subsidiaries following the striking of
an agreement between the two groups for the big deal realignment
of the automobile sector.

The official said that Samsung had mobilized its finance-related
subsidiaries to collect on a total of W800 billion in loans it
had made to Daewoo subsidiaries prior to big deal negotiations in
the automobile sector with the aim of undermining Daewoo's
position.

At the same time, Samsung was able to improve its own financial
standing in talks for the realignment of the electronics sector.
Following the settlement of the big deal between Daewoo Motors
and Samsung Motors, Samsung decided to extend a W200 billion loan
to Daewoo. The same official said he understands that Samsung
plans to extend another W700 billion in the future. (Digital
ChosunIlbo 29-Apr-1999)


JINRO-COORS: Lotte throws hat in ring for auction
-------------------------------------------------
Making the most of its healthy financial standing, Lotte is
preparing to advance into the local beer market and the major
confectionery and beverage producer has emerged as a front-runner
in the auctioning off of Jinro-Coors, brewers of the popular
brand Cass. Lotte business group announced Wednesday that it will
try to purchase the beer company from parent firm Jinro, which
now owns 100% of the Jinro-Coors following the withdrawal of U.S.
partner Coors from its 33% stake in December 1997.

Jinro declared bankruptcy in September 1997 and has been trying
to sell off its beer unit to raise funds. Jinro-Coors shares the
local beer market with Korea's two other major brewers, Hite and
OB. Jinro said that in addition to Lotte, other companies
expressing interest in participating in the bidding include old
partners Coors, Belgium's Interbrau and a number of other brewers
from Australia and New Zealand. According to market observers,
the auction is likely to end up being be a three-way war between
Lotte, Coors and Interbrau. (Digital ChosunIlbo 29-Apr-1999)


KIA MOTORS: Kia regains investment grade ratings
------------------------------------------------
Kia Motors Corp., now owned by the Hyundai Group but remaining an
independent entity, has floated "investment grade" commercial
papers (CPs) and can now raise funds easier since its bankruptcy
21 months ago. Kia said Thursday that it received an investment
grade rating of "B+" from Korea Investors Service Co. and "B-"
from Korea Management Consulting and Credit Rating Corp. on its
CPs. It is rare for a company under court receivership to gain
investment grade ratings.

Kia Motors and its truck-making affiliate Asia Motor Co. were
acquired by Hyundai Motor through an international auction in
December. Hyundai promised to keep Kia cars and operations alive
for a certain period of time while resorting the company's
capacity.

With the issuance of investment-grade CPs, Kia can seek fresh
bank loans and trade financing to operate normally as a
commercial company, a first since declaring bankruptcy in July
1997, a Kia spokesman said.

Major banks have already begun to revise Kia's loan portfolios
under the improved ratings. The latest review by the two local
agencies may also influence international confidence in Kia since
the two firms have strategic alliances with Moody's and Fitch
IBCA. Buoyed by the latest review, Kia plans to request to the
court for early graduation from receivership, the spokesman
added. (Korea Times 29-Apr-1999)


KOREA LIFE: Trio bids for Korea Life
------------------------------------
Axa of France, Metropolitan Life Insurance of the United States
and South Korea's LG Group are bidding for Korea Life Insurance
as the government tries to sell a quarter of its life insurance
industry to foreigners. The three bidders have until May 8 to
submit proposals for South Korea's third-largest life insurer,
said Lee Jong-koo, director-general of Korea's Financial
Supervisory Commission (FSC), which is overseeing the nation's
financial and corporate reforms. The government hopes to select a
buyer by the end of June.

The multi-billion-dollar sale of Korea Life and seven other
firms, which together hold about 25 per cent of Korea's life
insurance market, will help raise funds to rebuild the financial
system, which all but collapsed in 1997.

LG, Korea's fourth-largest conglomerate, may bid to take over
Korea Life in conjunction with a foreign insurer, Mr Lee said. He
did not identify which company that could be.

Korea Life, previously controlled by Shindongah Group, has debts
that exceed its assets by 2.5 trillion won (about HK$16.35
billion), according to the FSC. (South China Morning Post
29-Apr-1999)


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

BESCORP INDUSTRIES: To meet creditors over revised revamp scheme
----------------------------------------------------------------
Bescorp Industries Bhd expects to convene a creditors' meeting to
consider the revised terms of its proposed restructuring scheme
within the next three months. Bescorp executive director Koay
Kang Chuwan said the group would obtain a court order to hold the
meeting after the finalisation of the revised proposal. Koay said
after Bescorp's AGM in Shah Alam yesterday the group was expected
to turn around by the year 2000, provided the revised terms were
accepted by the creditors. Bescorp is implementing a
restructuring plan as part of a scheme of arrangement with its
creditors under Section 176 of the Companies Act.

As of June 20, 1998, Bescorp had reported total liabilities of
close to RM200mil, including all bank facilities and trade
creditors.

In December last year, Bescorp had entered into two memorandums
of understanding to acquire five furniture companies as part of
the move to revive its operations. Under the proposal, the five
companies would collectively hold up to 53.27% of Bescorp's paid-
up capital upon completion of the acquisitions.

Koay said the group was not facing any threat of winding up. (The
Star Online 29-Apr-1999)


SEG INSURANCE: Last SEG dividend by year-end
               
--------------------------------------------
SEG Insurance Sdn Bhd, declared insolvent on July 10, 1998, is
expected to make its last dividend payment at the end of this
year, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz said.   
SEG's liquidation exercise would only be completed when its
liquidator realised all assets to pay and distribute dividends.
The liquidator was still waiting for answers from 84 claims worth
RM62,000 given by the company.

"This will be settled middle of this year and if this happens,
the last dividend payment will be at the end of the year," he
told Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar (BN-Batang Lupar) who asked why
the liquidation process took so long.

SEG was declared insolvent when the company declared itself
bankrupt in 1998 after suffering major losses. Following this,
Bank Negara Malaysia appointed Abdul Samad Alias from Tetuan
Samad & Co as liquidator.

Claims for mandatory injuries on behalf of the third parties and  
compensation for workers have been paid through the insurance
guarantee scheme. Until Dec 31, 1998, 1,294 claims worth RM21.5
million was given to SEG and 94 per cent of the claims (1,210)
worth RM11.3 million have been settled. (New Straits Times
27-Apr-1999)


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

PHILIPPINE AIRLINES: Gov't entities raising $40M for PAL rehab
--------------------------------------------------------------
To protect their investments, government financial institutions
(GFIs) agreed to exercise their preemptive rights and raise up to
$40 million for the cash-strapped in Philippine Airlines, Inc.
(PAL), Finance Secretary Edgardo Espiritu said yesterday. Land
Bank of the Philippines, the Development Bank of the Philippines,
the Government Service Insurance System and the Philippine
National Bank will form part of a group of government-owned or -
controlled financial institutions which will help raise the
needed funds to finance PAL's rehabilitation, Mr. Espiritu told
reporters.

"By doing this, (the GFIs) would really be saving their original
investments (which) they would (otherwise) have to write off,"
the Finance chief said.

Meanwhile, the rehabilitation plan of PAL will remain the same
despite the reentry of its government shareholders, some of which
are also its other secured creditors.

A PAL official, requesting anonymity, said "only the IRR (interim
rehabilitation receiver) and the Securities and Exchange
Commission can change the rehabilitation plan."

The official said that as of early last night, there has been no
formal communication from the GFIs of their intention.

The four GFIs together control 14% of PAL, equivalent to three
board seats, an investment that many had all along considered
ill-advised especially when PAL started losing in the early
1990s.

Exercising their preemptive rights at this point when PAL still
has to prove that it can indeed overcome its financial problems
could be risky for the GFIs, whose financial strength come from
government workers' contributions and deposits of the National
Government, among others.

Mr. Espiritu, however, said the GFIs will be exercising their
preemptive rights only "to the extent of their ownership," which
means "the financial institutions will not be infusing fresh
equity into the airline." Explaining, he said the GFIs could
demand the redemption of the shares within three to five years
and get back their investments in full. The Finance chief said
the GFIs could raise additional funds for PAL provided its
rehabilitation plan is viable, that a retrenchment is undertaken
and it will initiate an initial public offering (IPO).

"The GFIs agreed on this basis," Mr. Espiritu said.
(BusinessWorld 30-Apr-1999)


TRIPLE-V: Restaurateur woos creditors with new offer
----------------------------------------------------
Triple-V Restaurant Group owner and president Victor
Villavicencio has offered his shares in Subic Bay Waterfront
Dev't. Corp. (SBWDC) as collateral to his restaurant chain's
debts, BusinessWorld learned. Triple-V, which runs the Saisaki,
Dad's, 8 Treasures and Kamayan dining establishments, owes 17
creditor banks between 900 million Philippine pesos (PhP) and
PhP1 billion. Most of the loans are unsecured and are now past
due, sources said.

"Banks initially wanted to get the (SBWDC) shares as
collateral... All of these things are being discussed... Nothing
has been finalized yet," said AsianBank Corp. senior vice
president George Chua.

Another source from one of the group's creditor banks said the
banks also want a fresh equity infusion into Triple-V.

But already the source said Mr. Villavicencio, who is SBWDC's
chairman, has agreed to include his shares in the company and
some other assets in the mortgage trust indenture (MTI), a loan
instrument which pools assets to be used as security against a
company's debts. It facilitates foreclosure in the event of
nonpayment of loans.

Negotiations for Triple-V's debt restructuring, however, have yet
to be finalized, the source stressed. Some of the 17 creditor-
banks are Philippine National Bank, Banco de Oro, Land Bank of
the Philippines, Asiatrust Development Corp., Asianbank,
Philippine Commercial International Bank and Far East Bank and
Trust Co. Mr. Chua said AsianBank has between PhP70 million and
PhP80 million in loans to Triple-V. Earlier, Triple-V requested
creditor banks to give the company a reprieve from interest
payments. It also asked banks for a longer repayment term and
lower interest rates. (BusinessWorld 30-Apr-1999)


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

EMPORIUM HOLDINGS: Guthrie and Lend Lease team up to buy Emporium
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Locally-listed Guthrie GTS, in partnership with the Lend Lease
group of Australia, is buying over the businesses of financially-
troubled retailer Emporium Holdings for a token $3 in shares, and
assumed debts of $165 million. Guthrie announced yesterday that
its subsidiary, Guthrie Detico, has entered into an amalgamation
agreement with Emporium Holdings, Emporium Department Store and
Katong Emporium & Supermarket, all of which are under judicial
management.

Guthrie Detico will acquire the assets and liabilities of the
Emporium group, including its properties, leases, fixed assets,
hirepurchase assets, inventory and contracts, but excluding cash
in hand, certain security deposits and debts.

As it will be taking over outstanding loans of $165 million
granted to the Emporium group by Overseas Union Bank, Guthrie
Detico will pay for the purchase by issuing just one share of $1
each to the three Emporium companies. The loans are secured by
mortgages over properties that will be acquired by Guthrie
Detico.

The properties to be transfered comprise 11 owned properties
with a total 350,000 square feet and four leased properties with
78,000 sq ft, mostly strategically located and enjoying good
customer traffic, Guthrie said.

While Guthrie Detico is currently wholly-owned by Guthrie, an
agreement has been reached for Asia Pacific Investment Company
(Apic), a unit of the Lend Lease group, to acquire a 50 per cent
stake in Guthrie Detico. Guthrie and Lend Lease were also
partners in the Jurong Point Shopping Centre project.

The amalgamation agreement is subject to certain conditions,
including the approvals of the HDB and the Land Dealings
Approval Unit for the assignment of certain properties, OUB
consenting to the transfer of properties and loans, and the title
to the properties being in order. Apic's investment in Guthrie
Detico is also subject to OUB's approval.

Earlier this month, Emporium Holdings said it would ask for
another three-month extension for its debt moratorium which
expires at the end of the month, after talks with an Asian family
trust keen to buy into its businesses appeared to have fallen
through.

The company's 180-day debt moratorium was initially set to
expire on Feb 10. In February, its judicial manager asked for,
and was granted, an extension to the end of March. Last month, it
went to the High Court once again to ask for a three-month
extension but was given a month.

In March, the group's sales dropped to about $5 million from $7
million in January and February. However, sales are expected to
improve to about $6 million this month. So far, Emporium has
managed to maintain a positive cash flow from its operations.
(Singapore Business Times 29-Apr-1999)


L&M GROUP: L&M loan restructure, Ernst named advisor
----------------------------------------------------
L&M Group Investments yesterday said it has appointed Ernst &
Young as financial adviser to help the company restructure its
existing bank facilities. Ernst & Young will also help L&M
formulate a plan for a recapitalisation exercise. The mainboard-
listed engineering and construction firm previously said it was
in talks with certain banks to restructure facilities granted to
wholly-owned subsidiary L&M International, under the multi-option
facility agreement which expired last July. It added it was also
seeking to restructure existing facilities with bilateral banks.

L&M said recently that it has secured $260 million worth of
projects as at end-1998, and said its core business remains
viable. It said it would, with Ernst & Young, "explore and
consider options to obtain medium-term financing and equity
capital for its operations". (Singapore Business Times 29-Apr-
1999)


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

PHOENIX PULP: Finance firms hold the cards
------------------------------------------
With both sides in the six-year battle to control Phoenix Pulp
and Paper Plc running out of money, the final decision on its
management's fate could be decided today at the annual
shareholders' meeting. The task of declaring a victor could fall
to Phatra Thanakit and National Finance Plc, which together
control 29% of the company's shares.

Suphadej Poonpipat, CEO of National Finance, said his company was
neutral. He said National Finance was interested only as an
investor, and had no experience in pulp and paper.

Shares have been suspended from trading since last August. They
last traded at 19 baht.

About 40 million Phoenix shares, or 30% of the total, have not
been seized by financial firms but are still pledged with them.
The shares belong to virtually all the rival parties, as they
sought additional financing to keep their other businesses afloat
over the past three years. They are pledged with local banks
including Bangkok Bank, Thai Farmers Bank, Siam Commercial Bank,
and the late Bangkok Bank of Commerce. Foreign creditors include
HSBC, Bharat Overseas Bank, Credit Agricole Indosuez and the
Singapore branch of Merita, a Scandinavian merchant bank. With
30% of Phoenix shares still pledged to financial institutions,
and another 37% held by them, it is clear who will call the shots
today.

Creditors say the loans are still performing, though the EODC
side maintains that any payments being made are token ones at
best. "Under Bank of Thailand rules, these assets are performing
although we have put them on the watch list," said a banker who
holds Phoenix shares as collateral. He said that while payments
were not always on time, they were not at the stage where they
could be called NPLs. A bigger concern for the banker is the
prospect of Phoenix being delisted. He said delisting would
destroy shareholder value and would leave very few options, as
the Phoenix controversy has scared off many potential strategic
investors.

The SET has threatened to delist Phoenix if it does not translate
the results of a special independent audit into Thai. The audit,
by PricewaterhouseCoopers, was prompted by allegations Mr Shah
made about irregular transactions made by EODC and related
companies. The auditors found no irregularities. (Bangkok Post
29-Apr-1999)


RAJADAMRI HOTEL: RGR plots next move
------------------------------------
ROYAL Garden Resorts (RGR) and its financial adviser Jardine
Flemming Thanakom are studying a new strategy to compete with
Goldman Sachs' better offer for Rajadamri Hotel Plc (RHC), said
William E Heinecke, chief executive officer of the Minor Group,
major shareholders of RGR. Goldman Sachs raised the tender offer
price from Bt38 to Bt43 or one baht higher than RGR's latest
offer of Bt42. However, Heinecke declined to comment on the
possible price increase to beat Goldman Sachs.

Yesterday, RHC welcomed three new directors from Goldman Sachs
and Charn Issara group who replaced representatives from Japanese
shareholder EIE. The three directors are Henry Cornell of Goldman
Sachs, Songkran Issara and Akkanee Tuptimtong from the Charn
Issara group.

Heinecke reaffirmed that RGR will not sell its 24 per cent
interest in RHC. However, he declined to comment on a report that
the Crown Property Bureau may sell its 6 per cent interest to the
one who makes a better offer. Narin Opamurathawongs, managing
director of Asset Plus, Goldman Sachs' financial adviser, said
some minority shareholders have sold their RHC shares to
Goldman Sachs. (The Nation 29-Apr-1999)


SANSIRI PLC: Sansiri to issue shares
------------------------------------
SANSIRI Plc has reached separate agreements with four creditors
to restructure an additional Bt207 million of the company's debt.
In a press statement, the property company said it planned to
issue a total of 50 million shares to the creditors via private
placements, at a price of Bt5 per share. The company will receive
Bt222.7 million from the sales. Some 19 million shares will be
offered to DBS Thai Danu Bank, fetching Bt95 million, while four
million shares will go to Kay Thai Co Ltd, raising Bt20. A
further 18 million shares will be sold to Tisco Finance Plc, at
Bt90 million, and 353,846 shares to Chanachai Co Ltd, for Bt17.7
million.

Following the offerings, DBS Thai Danu Bank will hold 18.03 per
cent of Sansiri's capital, inclusive of its previously built-up
holding, Kay Thai 3.19 per cent, Tisco Finance 14.36 per cent,
and Chanachai 0.28 per cent, inclusive of a previous holding.

Sansiri early last month welcomed US-based property development
giant Starwood Capital as a major partner. Starwood is eligible
to buy up to 50 per cent of the Thai company. (The Nation
29-Apr-1999)


SIAM CEMENT: Results announcement
---------------------------------
Thailand's biggest industrial conglomerate Siam Cement (SCC)
made a loss during the first quarter of 1999 due to provisions
for one-time expenses from an early retirement program, which
could cost as much as 3 billion baht, as well as a weakening
baht. SCC lost 1.17 billion baht, compared with a slightly
revised net profit of 24.4 billion baht in the first quarter last
year. Profit per share was 9.71 baht, against 203.53 baht per
share a year earlier.

The company said it had already paid 1.13 billion baht to fund
the early retirement program. SCC also suffered a 621 million
baht currency loss during the quarter as the baht weakened 2.4
percent against the dollar which magnified the burden of its
$3.83 billion foreign debt when transferred into baht.

Sales fell by 20 percent to 25.7 billion baht as the country
endures its worst recession in a generation and an increase in
competition from neighboring countries hurt exports.

In February, SCC announced a multi-billion-dollar assets sale
after posting a 1998 net profit of 19.34 billion baht, boosted by
forex gains over an operating loss of 2.4 billion baht.
Consolidated revenue dropped 8 percent last year and domestic
sale revenue plunged 27 percent.

Siam Cement said it planned a multi-billion-baht assets sale this
year under a strategy to purge non-core operations and get back
to the basics of cement, paper and petrochemicals.

Chumpol said the group had already sold off some of its
non-core assets and was in talks concerning other units.

"In the cement division we have held discussions with the six
largest global producers to consider the most suitable
joint-venture partner to manufacture cement," he said.

"Siam Pulp and Paper has engaged Salomon Smith Barney as its
financial advisor to seek a strategic partner or buyer for the
printing and writing business and co-generation interests."
"Siam Cement is reducing its stake in Siam Tyre from its present
49 percent to 19 percent, by selling to Fuchs of Germany."
(Business Day [Thailand] 29-Apr-1999)


THAI TELEPHONE: TT&T fails to seal deal with creditors
------------------------------------------------------
The financially-troubled Thai Telephone & Telecommunication Plc
(TT&T), the operator of a provincial telephone line project, has
failed to reach a standstill agreement with its creditors. For
months the company has attempted to negotiate with the creditors
for a compromise after suffering severely from the economic
crisis and foreign-debt burden caused by the baht depreciation.
Both sides have now reached an impasse over its debt-
restructuring plan.

TT&T chairman Viroj Nualkhair conceded that it could not do
anything now with the creditors waiting for the government's
policy on the conversion of telecom concession contracts before
considering a standstill agreement as an initial step for the
debt-restructuring process.

TT&T had appointed Chase Manhattan (SEA) Ltd as its financial
adviser for the debt-restructuring plan while the secured lender
appointed the secured-lender committee led by Credit Lyonnais and
Thai Farmers Bank for the negotiations. PricewaterhouseCoopers
was appointed its cash monitoring auditor.

Dr Tongchat Hongladaromp, president of TT&T, said the company
will hasten to sign the standstill agreement if there is a clear
message on the conversion of telecom concessions from the
government. The company shoulders a Bt25-billion long-term debt
burden with 40 per cent in foreign debts.

The Transport and Communications Ministry previously hired Credit
Suisse First Boston as its adviser to prepare a study on the
conversion of telecom concession contracts. However, the State
Enterprise Policy Committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and
Commerce Minister Supachai Panitchpakdi did not approve the
proposed study and later asked Thailand Development Research
Institute (TDRI) to study the matter.

Earlier, the creditors had urged the Transport and Communications
Ministry to hasten the conversion framework to solve the problems
of the debt-ridden TT&T.

Last week, TT&T led another three leading telecom firms --
TelecomAsia, Shinawatra Group and United Communications Industry
-- in submitting a letter to Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai urging
a hastening of the conversion plan and suspension of the sharing
of revenues with the state telecom agencies according to the
concession contracts until the conversion is completed.

In 1998, TT&T generated Bt6.1 billion in revenue, down 6.2 per
cent from the year earlier with net profits of Bt690 million
resulting from foreign-exchange gains. (The Nation 29-Apr-1999)


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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