/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRAP_Public/990824.MBX   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, August 24, 1999, Vol. 2, No. 164

                            Headlines


* C H I N A  &  H O N G  K O N G *

AU KIANG INTERNATIONAL: Facing petition for winding up
CHADWICK MILLER INTN'L LTD: Facing petition for winding up
CHEUNG TAI HONG HOLDINGS: Posts annual loss after bad year
CHINA EXCEL FINANCE: Facing petition for winding up
GLISTER PROFIT LTD: Facing petition for winding up
HORTEX LIMITED: Facing petition for winding up
JUBILION LIMITED: Facing petition for winding up
NEW CENTURY INVESTMENTS: Facing petition for winding up
OCEAN POINT INDUSTRIES: Facing petition for winding up
ORIENT CONCORD LTD.: Facing petition for winding up
TIENJIAN INDUSTRIAL LTD: Facing petition for winding up
TOPFORD HOLDINGS LTD: Facing petition for winding up
TOYO HOLDINGS: Posts first-half loss
WAN MEI INDUSTRIAL: Facing petition for winding up


* I N D O N E S I A *

BANK BALI: Vow to proceed with rights issue in October
BANK BALI: Bapepam orders insider trading investigation


* K O R E A *

DAEWOO GROUP: Gov't considering fresh funds
DAEWOO GROUP: Creditors to takeover of Daewoo Securities
DAEWOO GROUP: Controversy over request for bond bad fund
INDUSTRIAL BANK OF KOREA: FSC warns of mismanagement
SAMSUNG GROUP: Creditors, co. vie over asset valuations


* M A L A Y S I A *

PETALING TIN BHD: Restructuring exercise going forward


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

ORIENT BANK: Purchase target of Allied Bank
PHILIPPINE LONG DIS.TEL.: Rehab borrowing costs may go up
PILIPINO TELEPHONE: Posts first-half loss
UNIWIDE HOLDINGS: Asset sale set despite court injunction


* S I N G A P O R E *

BROADWAY INDUSTRIAL GROUP: Reaches restructure deal


* T H A I L A N D *

ITALIAN-THAI DEVELOPMENT: Signs debt rescheduling agmt
NATIONAL FERTILISER: Taking steps to survive
TRI PETCH ISUZU SALES CO.: Mitsubishi to buy 96% stake


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

AU KIANG INTERNATIONAL: Facing petition for winding up
------------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong Sar has scheduled a hearing for
September 8 on the petition of Guangdong International
Trust and Investment Corporation Hong Kong (Holdings)
Limited (In Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation) for the
winding up of Au Kiang International Company Limited. A
notice of legal appearance must be filed on or before
September 7.

CHADWICK MILLER INTN'L LTD: Facing petition for winding up
----------------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong Sar has scheduled a hearing for
September 29 on the petition of Cheng Tai Tai Moon for the
winding up of Chadwick Miller International Limited. A
notice of legal appearance must be filed on or before
September 28.

CHEUNG TAI HONG HOLDINGS: Posts annual loss after bad year
----------------------------------------------------------
Industrial sewing machines trader and property investor
Cheung Tai Hong Holdings posted a $263.8 million net loss
for the year ended 31 March as its oldest business went
into bankruptcy and sales slumped.

The company made a net profit of $50.2 million a year ago.
Turnover shrank by 61.6 per cent to $269.9 million over the
period. The drop in sales orders brought an operating loss
of $345.6 million to the company.  Cheung Tai Hong's
chairman and chief executive officer Wong Chun-hong said
the year was a "difficult" one for the group due to asset
devaluation, tightened credit and snowballing bad debts.
Mr Wong said the group's traditional distributing business
of industrial sewing machines was badly hit during the
year.

"In particular, the bankruptcy of the oldest principal
distributor, Kwong Tai Sewing Machine, resulted in a bad
debt of $53.1 million," Mr Wong said in a statement.

The Kwong Tai incident worsened the already tightened
credit policies adopted by some bankers of the group
following the outbreak of the Asian financial crisis, he
added.  To meet the payment of bank loans coming that came
due and to avoid short-term liquidity problems, Mr Wong
said the group will reduce purchase orders, suspend the
open credit policy, speed up stock sales by price cuts and
dispose of some assets.

Besides its traditional business, property projects held by
Cheng Tai Hong suffered during the year due to asset
devaluation.  The loss on devaluation, totalling $239.4
million, was mainly driven by the sluggish office market,
according to Mr Wong.  He said the group has decided to
change the planned development of the site in Sheung Wan in
which the group has a 60 per cent interest from office to
residential use.

The group is also expecting to obtain a cash return of not
less than $110 million over the next five years.  Cheung
Tai Hong had acquired a 50 per cent stake in a property
development project in Shunyi District, a low rise
residential one in Beijing, for $40 million.  (Hong Kong
Standard  23-Aug-1999)

CHINA EXCEL FINANCE: Facing petition for winding up
---------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong Sar has scheduled a hearing for
September 8 on the petition for the winding up of China
Excel Finance (Holdings) Limited. A notice of legal
appearance must be filed on or before September 7.

GLISTER PROFIT LTD: Facing petition for winding up
--------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong Sar has scheduled a hearing for
November 3 on the petition of The Daiwa Bank Limited for
the winding up of Glister Profit Limited. A notice of legal
appearance must be filed on or before November 2.

HORTEX LIMITED: Facing petition for winding up
----------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong Sar has scheduled a hearing for
October 20 on the petition of Leung Hon Chow for the
winding up of Hortex Limited. A notice of legal appearance
must be filed on or before October 19.

JUBILION LIMITED: Facing petition for winding up
------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong Sar has scheduled a hearing for
September 15 on the petition of The National Commercial
Bank Limited for the winding up of Jubilion Limited. A
notice of legal appearance must be filed on or before
September 14.

NEW CENTURY INVESTMENTS: Facing petition for winding up
-------------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong Sar has scheduled a hearing for
October 27 on the petition of Desert Palace Inc. for the
winding up of New Century (International) Investments Co.
Ltd. A notice of legal appearance must be filed on or
before October 26.

OCEAN POINT INDUSTRIES: Facing petition for winding up
------------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong Sar has scheduled a hearing for
October 27 on the petition of Lun Chun Ying for the winding
up of Ocean Point Industries Limited. A notice of legal
appearance must be filed on or before October 26.

ORIENT CONCORD LTD.: Facing petition for winding up
---------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong Sar has scheduled a hearing for
November 3 on the petition of Chan Kam Choi for the winding
up of Orient Concord Limited. A notice of legal appearance
must be filed on or before November 2.

TIENJIAN INDUSTRIAL LTD.: Facing petition for winding up
--------------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong Sar has scheduled a hearing for
September 8 on the petition of Luo Jian Shin Chen for the
winding up of Tienjian Industrial Limited. A notice of
legal appearance must be filed on or before September 7.

TOPFORD HOLDINGS LTD: Facing petition for winding up
----------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong Sar has scheduled a hearing for
September 8 on the petition of Dechadee Somkid for the
winding up of Topford Holdings Limited. A notice of legal
appearance must be filed on or before September 7.

TOYO HOLDINGS: Posts first-half loss
------------------------------------
Electronic components and audio equipment manufacturer Toyo
Holdings reported a $567.36M net loss for the six months
ended June 30, compared to a $30M net profit last year.  
Turnover dropped 9.8% to $1.79B over the interim period.  A
24.33 cents loss per share was also recorded.  Chairman
Christopher Ho Wing-on said the group was undergoing a cost
reduction program to improve operational efficiency and
expand existing major product lines, especially components.

WAN MEI INDUSTRIAL: Facing petition for winding up
--------------------------------------------------
The High Court of Hong Kong Sar has scheduled a hearing for
September 8 on the petition of Rick (Hong Kong) Limited  
for the winding up of Wan Mei Industrial Co. Limited (in
voluntary liquidation). A notice of legal appearance must
be filed on or before September 7.


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

BANK BALI: Vow to proceed with rights issue in October
------------------------------------------------------
Bank Bali (BB), rocked by scandal allegations, says it will
proceed with its plan to issue rights shares in October,
although the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) and Surabaya
Stock Exchange (SSX) have suspended trading in BB shares.

BB management team chairman Douglass Beckett, of the
Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), yesterday admitted that the
sale of BB shares had been suspended following the scam.
"Preventive measures have been taken until there
is clarification on allegations about the commission
payment," he said.  (Asia Pulse  19-Aug-1999)

BANK BALI: Bapepam orders insider trading investigation
-------------------------------------------------------
The Capital Market Supervisory Agency (Bapepam) has ordered
investigation into possible insider trading at Bank Bali
(JSX:BNBL) and violation of information transparency
regulation, Bapepam Chief Jusuf Anwar said.

Bank Bali has most likely violated Bapepam regulations on
failure to provide information on the cession transaction
and information on insider trading concerning trading of
its shares, he said.  According to him, the failure to
provide information on the cession transaction with PT Era
Giat Prima (EGP) can be categorised as a civil action.

A Bapepam decree in 1996 calls for listed companies to
inform any material facts that could affect the share value
or report investment decisions two days after the latest
transaction.  Bank Bali's Rp904 trillion cession
transaction is a material fact as it has brought loss to
Bank Bali.  Moreover, he added, Bapepam can charge Bank
Bali for violating a civil law over its failure to provide
information about the cessie transaction.

Anwar added that the investigation cannot be stopped even
if PT EGP returns the cessie transaction fee.  An executive
at the capital market said the investigation can begin by
going through the company's budget document.  According to
him, Bapepam and the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) must also
ask Bank Bali to show them its budget documents and
correspondence documents relating to the cessie
transaction.

JSX President Director Mas Achmad Daniri said the
surveillance system showed an indication of insider trading
in Bank Bali just before BTO.  (Asia Pulse  20-Aug-1999)


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

DAEWOO GROUP: Gov't considering fresh funds
-------------------------------------------
The government is reportedly discussing with Daewoo
creditors the injection of new funds into subsidiaries of
the troubled conglomerate and the restructuring of their
debts to increase corporate value and normalize operations.

"Debt rescheduling or provision of new loans to Daewoo's
units is under consideration in order to boost their sell-
off prices," a government official said. "It is important
at this time to impress upon investors and consumers that
it is business as usual at the subsidiaries and that the
only difference is that there will be new owners," he said.

Since the announcement of the sweeping restructuring
program last week, Daewoo's units have been experiencing
significant drop-offs in output. Even if the subsidiaries
are to be sold off, creditors should enable them to keep
their factories going, which will help get better prices
for them, the official said.

Among the options the government and Daewoo creditors are
looking at are the writing off of part of the debts, the
conversion of other parts of the debts into equity and the
rescheduling of debt repayments.

"The difficulties faced by the Daewoo subsidiaries,
including the partial suspension of production, have long
been expected," the official said, "and this is actually
nothing out of the ordinary. The critical thing for now is
for Daewoo and its creditors to proceed with restructuring
as planned but in such a way that the value of the
subsidiaries can be optimized."

He went on to say that the focus of the restructuring must
be on convincing investors and consumers of the potential
for normalization and that the Financial Supervisory
Service is working out plans to support such activities.
At the same time, the official said, the government will be
monitoring the restructuring process to ensure that both
Daewoo and its creditors stick to the guidelines adopted
last week.

To keep Daewoo afloat, creditor banks have already thrown
the group a $3.4-billion lifeline which is saddled with
about $51 billion in debts.  (Korea Herald  23-Aug-1999,
Korea Times  22-Aug-1999)

DAEWOO GROUP: Creditors to takeover of Daewoo Securities
--------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of the embattled Daewoo Group will complete the
takeover of Daewoo Securities today in order to resolve its
liquidity shortage stemming from investors' redemptions of
funds from trust accounts.

A government official said yesterday that the brokerage
firm has been in distress following the government's
lifting of a ban Aug. 12 on withdrawals of funds from trust
accounts at investment trust companies and securities
firms.

"The company's operations were disrupted by the reluctance
of banks and other brokerage firms to lend short-term
funds, which it needed to meet redemption demands from
clients," he said.

The key to normalizing its operations, he said, is
restoring its credibility, which can be attained by having
creditors take over as early as possible.

"The creditors will complete the takeover procedure by
today, naming a new management lineup," the official said.
While the replacement of the firm's incumbent president is
certain, some managers who are needed to preserve the value
of its assets will be retained, he added.

The creditors are not expected to change the name of the
company after the takeover in consideration of the fact
that it is a widely recognized brand name.  (Korea Herald  
23-Aug-1999)

DAEWOO GROUP: Controversy over request for bond bad fund
--------------------------------------------------------
The request of the nation's securities and investment trust
firms for government funds to settle market jitters has
raised the ire of many, including the government.

After weeks of unofficially recommending Seoul inject
public funds for a number of such measures, securities and
investment trust firms are planning to formally request
that the government establish a fund to absorb bonds issued
by troubled Daewoo firms for separate operation in a so-
called 'bad fund'. Along with several analysts, the
Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) have criticized the
proposal on the basis that any move to compensate firms for
losses stemming from their own poor asset management is a
perfect example of the kind of moral hazard that needs to
be eliminated.

The president of one investment trust firm maintains,
however, that the government is responsible for damages
incurred by investment trust firms due to state
intervention in the rolling over of Daewoo loans and the
extension of new loans to the troubled business group.
Financial firms belonging to chaebols such as Hyundai and
Samsung have been spearheading the push for government
support because they have been accumulating Daewoo bonds at
particularly high rates since the latter half of the year.

A bad fund would collect Daewoo bonds currently scattered
out among a number of investment trust firms to be managed
separately, with any loss to be shared between the
government, securities and investment trust firms, and
individual investors.  (Digital ChosunIlbo  22-Aug-1999)

INDUSTRIAL BANK OF KOREA: FSC warns of mismanagement
----------------------------------------------------
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has slapped a
warning on Industrial Bank of Korea for mismanagement,
reprimanding 30 former and incumbent executives and staff
of the state-invested bank.

The bank, the first state-invested bank to receive a
restructuring order, must submit an overhaul outline that
includes streamlining within next two months.  The FSC said
the bank, which primarily serves small and mid-sized
companies, is saddled with non-performing assets of 2.4
trillion won (US$ 2 billion) with non-performing ratio up
1.53 percentage point from a year earlier to 10.88
percent as of March.

The bank failed to screen carefully whether 24 small ailing
companies were capable of repayment before extending new
loans and resulted in bad loans worth 150 billion won. It
also saw huge losses in investments in overseas  
derivatives.  Industrial Bank recorded a net deficit of
1.35 trillion won last year despite injection of public
funds worth 1.7 trillion won in October.  (Asia Pulse  20-
Aug-1999)

SAMSUNG GROUP: Creditors, co. vie over asset valuations
-------------------------------------------------------
The Samsung Group and creditor banks have plunged back into
a last-stage stalemate over the debt assumption of the
bankrupt Samsung Motors. On Friday, the Korea Institute of
Finance (KIF), which supports the stance of the creditor
banks, said that the per-share value of the unlisted
Samsung Life Insurance was estimated to reach just 38,500
won, far below the Samsung-claimed quotation of 700,000
won.

Samsung immediately attacked the KIF report, saying that
creditors are attempting to purposely undervalue the 4
million Samsung Life shares donated by Samsung chairman Lee
Kun-hee towards resolving Samsung Motors' 4.3 trillion won
in debts.

After a lengthy tug-of-war, Samsung recently agreed to
cover possible shortfalls if the value of the 4 million
Samsung Life shares falls short of the targeted 2.8
trillion won.  However, the sharp gap in the asset
valuation is feared to delay the ongoing negotiations on
how Samsung will cover the shortfalls. Samsung demanded
that payments be made after the listing of the insurer,
whereas creditors called for immediate payments.  (Korea
Herald  23-Aug-1999)


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

PETALING TIN BHD: Restructuring exercise going forward
------------------------------------------------------
After receiving the green light from shareholders for its
rescue plan yesterday, Petaling Tin Bhd is moving ahead to
complete the exercise in its efforts to revive its
business.

The exercise would take two to three months to complete,
Petaling Tin chief financial officer Lai Gin Nyap told
reporters after the company's AGM and EGM in Kuala Lumpur
yesterday.  Petaling Tin will emerge as a property player
following the completion of the rescue exercise which would
involve the proposed acquisition of the entire stake in
property development company Golden Domain Holdings Sdn
Bhd.  Lai said the completion of the exercise would provide
Petaling Tin with a wide array of ongoing projects and a
significant land bank which could generate steady revenue.

"We just want to focus on completing this exercise, and get
the company back on track with solid business," he said,
adding that for almost one year, the company was left with
"zero business" after its mining business ceased.

Lai said the exercise would basically put the company on a
stronger footing and also help it to turn around.
Petaling Tin incurred a post-tax loss of RM15.869mil for
the financial year ended Oct 31, 1998.  Lai said
shareholders were told that the company was expected to
perform well after the rescue exercise.

On the question of employees, Lai said, the current
management team would be retained despite the change in its
core business.  Asked if there would be a name change to
reflect its new business, he said this had yet to be
decided.  (Star Online  21-Aug-1999)


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

ORIENT BANK: Purchase target of Allied Bank
-------------------------------------------
Allied Banking Corp said it is set to acquire cash-strapped
Orient Commercial Banking Corp.

The Bangko Sentral (Central Bank of the Philippines)
ordered the closure of Orient Bank last October due to
mounting bad loans and evidence of insider abuse. The
commercial bank was later placed for liquidation by the
state's Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp (PDIC).

Allied Bank president Peter Favila said the bank's offer to
acquire Orient Bank, estimated at over one billion
Philippine pesos (PhP) (US$25 million at PhP39.592=US$1),
is at least PhP50 million (US$1.26 million) higher than the
other interested party, Philippine Banking Corp. PhilBank
was recently acquired by the Metropolitan Bank and Trust
Company and will be merged with Global Business Bank, the
commercial banking arm of Metrobank.

Pending regulatory approval by the central bank, Mr. Favila
said the bank of tobacco tycoon Lucio Tan will only acquire
the license to operate the 52 bank branches of Orient Bank
since other assets will remain with the PDIC as liquidator
and may be used to pay off Orient's creditors.  Mr. Favila
said Allied will assume responsibility of paying uninsured
depositors of Orient Bank, amounting to about PhP2.3
billion (US$58 million).

But he added Orient Bank depositors can only withdraw 20%
of their deposits while the rest may be withdrawn within
five years.  Aside from the claims of depositors, Orient
Bank also owed PhP2.4 billion (US$61 million) to the Bangko
Sentral, PhP900 million to PDIC, and PhP1.1 billion in
emergency advances. These liabilities exceed the bank's
assets of only PhP3 billion, based on latest PDIC
estimates. It is still not known if Allied Bank or
taxpayers -- through the central bank or the PDIC -- will
take a hit on the liabilities.

Before he stepped down from office, retired Bangko Sentral
Gov. Gabriel Singson vowed that Orient Bank's loans will
not be written off by authorities. However, regulators
admitted it may take them awhile to recover their exposures
to the three-year old commercial bank owned by property
developer Jose Go of the Ever Gotesco Group. A memorandum
of agreement is expected to be signed between the banks
within the month, said Mr. Favila.  (Business World  23-
Aug-1999)

PHILIPPINE LONG DIS.TEL.: Rehab borrowing costs may go up
---------------------------------------------------------
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co (PLDT), the country's
biggest telecommunications provider, may have to pay more
to borrow as it restructures debt at its loss-making
Pilipino Telephone Corp unit, said analysts.

Traders said the yield premium for PLDT's four-month-old
US$175 million (S$292 million) 10-year global bonds due
2009 had increased about 25 basis points since Aug 2 to
about 505 basis points more than US Treasury bonds of
comparable maturity.

"The news is certainly affecting both Piltel and PLDT
bonds, the latter have been under pressure for a while now
owing to this issue," said Raja Visweswaran, head of Asia
fixed-income research at BA Asia Ltd, a unit of Bank of
America Corp in Hongkong.

Analysts said investors were concerned that PLDT, which saw
profit tumble 73 per cent in the second quarter of this
year to 588.6 million pesos (S$44.7 million), might have to
fully absorb Piltel and its 34 billion peso debt.  Both
Piltel, a cellular communications provider, and parent PLDT
were hurt by Asia's financial crisis, which caused demand
to slump and the cost of overseas calls to surge after the
peso was devalued, making it more difficult to repay debt.
Last week, PNB reported that its second-quarter profit fell
97 per cent to 4 million pesos because of rising bad loans.

"PLDT's bonds have held in pretty well given the
difficulties at Piltel and the weaker-than-expected
operating performance," said Chris Francis, managing
director of fixed-income research at Merrill Lynch Asia
Pacific Ltd in Hongkong.

Piltel, which earlier this week reported a loss of 1.57
billion pesos during the first half of this year, said its
US$193 million 10-year convertible Eurobond due 2006 would
be restructured after it completed a restructuring of its
bank debt.  That bond is quoted at only about 60 per cent
of its face value, a distressed trading level that implies
investors doubt that they'll be fully repaid on time.  
(Bloomberg; Business Times  21-Aug-1999)

PILIPINO TELEPHONE: Posts first-half loss
-----------------------------------------
The Pilipino Telephone Corporation (Piltel) disclosed that
its net loss widened to 1.569 billion pesos in the year's
first six months from 107 million pesos a year earlier,
reflecting lower revenue, as well as increased costs due
largely to sharply higher depreciation.

Piltel's revenue declined 21 per cent to 1.875 billion
pesos, despite a 30 per cent increase in subscribers to
538,000 as at 30th June, comprising 415,000 cellular
subscribers, 76,000 land-line subscribers and 47,000 paging
subscribers.  The Company's cellular subscriber base
continued its recent trend toward the growing dominance of
pre-paid subscribers - who now account for 61 per cent of
cellular customers compared with 33 per cent a year earlier
- rather than those subscribing to billed subscription
plans which carry higher average revenues.

Operating costs rose 35 per cent to 2.807 billion pesos,
due largely to an 86 per cent rise in depreciation to 1.468
billion pesos related to the addition of cell sites,
bringing the Company's total to 386 (including micro-cells
and repeaters), as well as measures to upgrade and enhance
the efficiency of its business officers which now number
52.

Stripping out depreciation, operating expenses rose only 4
per cent to 1.339 billion pesos. After depreciation, the
element in operating costs relating to compensation and
benefits grew 11 per cent to 334 million pesos, despite the
reduction in headcount from 1,841 at year end 1998 to 1,386
in June 1999, due to retroactive salary adjustments as
stipulated in collective bargaining agreements.

Utilities, maintenance, insurance and related security
services grew 34 per cent to 204 million pesos due to the
payment of prior year's billings, while provisioning for
doubtful accounts increased 13 per cent to 123 million
pesos as a result of more conservative changes in the
provisioning policy.

However, operating expenses were successfully reduced in
such areas as rent, commissions and advertising. Piltel's
CEO and President Napoleon Nazareno said:

"Despite our losses in the first half, we firmly believe
that Piltel is taking the right actions to generate
positive, long-term results. We have stabilized the company
and right-sized our manpower complement. We have begun new
marketing initiatives based on thorough and systematic
market research. We are also moving forward in our debt-
restructuring negotiations with the Company's banks,
bondholders and Marubeni, and a Memorandum of Understanding
with the banks is currently being negotiated."  (Asia Pulse  
19-Aug-1999)

UNIWIDE HOLDINGS: Asset sale set despite court injunction
---------------------------------------------------------
Despite an order suspending all claims against Uniwide
Holdings, Inc., creditor ING Bank NV is set to sell at a
public auction 218 parcels of land in Cavite earlier
mortgaged for a 27-million-peso loan (US$682,000 at
PhP39.592=US$1).

The public auction is set for August 26.  However, the
debt-laden group of companies will not allow its creditors
to take liquidation matters into their own hands.  Last
Friday, the retail giant and property firm asked the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue a
temporary restraining order to stop the scheduled
extrajudicial sale of Uniwide properties in Naic Cavite by
ING Bank.

In another petition, Uniwide also asked the Commission to
cite ING Bank and its officers for indirect contempt and
order all parties to cease and desist from proceeding with
the extrajudicial sale.  Despite the initial 30-day debt
moratorium issued last June 29, and the 60-day extension
granted by the SEC, ING Bank released a notice last July 9
for the extrajudicial sale of some 218 parcels of Uniwide
property, with a total area of 38,229 square meters. The
Naic properties are mortgaged to the said creditor bank for
debts amounting to over PhP27.41 million (US$694,000).

Citing a Supreme Court ruling that any foreclosure pending
rehabilitation shall not be allowed so as not cause
discrimination among creditors, Uniwide said scheduled
foreclosure by ING Bank will not only greatly affect the
feasibility and viability of the rehab plan, it will also
give undue preference to ING Bank.

"Unless restrained creditor ING Bank will proceed with the
scheduled extrajudicial sale," Uniwide said. Uniwide
further stressed that ING Bank's actions constitute
indirect contempt under SEC rules. As such actions are a
"disobedience of or resistance to a lawful writ, process,
order, judgment," more particularly, a disobedience of the
debt moratorium.

As this developed, market sources said the Gow family has
reached an agreement with the group of El Shaddai leader
Mike Velarde for a 53% stake in the company's warehouse
stores.  The deal -- which could reach PhP1 billion (US$25
million) -- was reported to have been concluded last week.
Mr. Velarde and Uniwide officials were unavailable for
confirmation. However, Mr. Velarde told his members during
the rally last Friday that he is set to form a
"cooperative" which would benefit his El Shaddai flock.

Aside from El Shaddai, the Gow family is also reportedly in
talks with four other prospective investors and hopes to
raise PhP500 million (US$12.63 million).  Uniwide's total
loans have reached PhP12 billion (US$303 million), this
amount excludes PhP1.2 billion (US$30.3 million) for
interest payments.

Earlier, Uniwide was granted by the SEC a 60-day suspension
on the payment on debts. It also created an interim
receivership committee, headed by former Petron Corp.
chairman Monico Jacob, to look into Uniwide's finances.
In its petition to the SEC on the ING Bank auction, Uniwide
said "whenever a distressed corporation asks the SEC for
rehabilitation and suspension of payments, preferred
creditors may no longer assert such preference, but as
earlier stated, stand on equal footing with other
creditors. Foreclosure shall be disallowed so as not to
prejudice other creditors or cause discrimination among
them."

Uniwide added that the scheduled sale by ING Bank will also
affect the feasibility and viability of its ongoing
rehabilitation and debt-restructuring program.  Earlier,
analysts said the El Shaddai-Gow deal is seen to be
favorable on both sides.  The purchase price is at 73%
discount given the appraised value of the company is at
PhP3.4 billion (US$86 million). For the seller, the amount
will cover 47% of demandable debts which have reached
PhP1.9 billion (US$48 million).  (Business World  23-Aug-
1999)


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BROADWAY INDUSTRIAL GROUP: Reaches restructure deal        
---------------------------------------------------  
Consumer electronics packaging firm Broadway Industrial
Group has struck a deal with its seven creditor banks to
restructure and maintain the company's existing credit
lines.

Broadway will also raise $9.3 million from the sale of
1,000 redeemable cumulative convertible preference shares
(CPS) of one cent each, at $10,000 per share, to British
venture capital company 3i Group plc.   Under the bank
restructuring agreement, the seven creditor banks will
continue to make available to Broadway some $61.2 million
in banking facilities "up to the amount of principal
outstanding until the final repayment dates".

The seven banks are DBS Bank, Maybank, PT Bank Negara
Indonesia, Keppel-TatLee Bank, OCBC Bank and the Singapore
branches of The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and the Industrial
& Commercial Bank of China.  

The CPS can be converted into ordinary shares at 37 cents
each from April 1, 2001.  If all are converted, the maximum
number of ordinary shares issued to the 3i Group will be
about 27.03 million, about 23.6 per cent of Broadway's
existing share capital. If they are not converted, the CPS
will be redeemed on the fifth anniversary date of their
issue.  Yield on the CPS is 6.5 per cent a year payable
half-yearly in arrears.

Broadway executive chairman S S Wong said he is pleased
with the two deals and expressed confidence that the moves
will help the loss-making company to consolidate its
turnaround. "It is an endorsement of our improving
fundamentals," he said in a statement. "With the successful
conclusion of these two important deals, the group is now
ready to push ahead confidently with its business plans to
internationalise its operations and grow the company in a
profitable manner."

The company chalked up a full-year loss of $15.8 million
last year and had long-term bank loans of $56.6 million at
end-December. Including extraordinaries, bottomline loss
swelled to $18.8 million.  A large part of the loss was due
to foreign exchange exposure arising from foreign currency
loans taken to finance overseas investments. Besides
Singapore, the company operates in Malaysia, Thailand,
China and Indonesia.

In an effort to pull the company back into the black,
Broadway recently appointed a Dane, Bjarne Uhde Nielsen, as
its chief executive officer. Mr Nielsen, who was with
Danish trading company EAC for 28 years, takes up his post
today.  Broadway closed Friday at 38.5 cents, up 3.5 cents.
(Business Times  23-Aug-1999)


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T H A I L A N D
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ITALIAN-THAI DEVELOPMENT: Signs debt rescheduling agmt
------------------------------------------------------
Italian-Thai Development Plc has signed an agreement with
its bankers for the rescheduling of its debts.

In a process initiated and led by the company, consensual
agreement was reached following extensive discussions
between the company and all of its lenders.  Remarkably in
the context of other Thai restructurings the complex
process was completed within only one year. This is seen as
a tribute to the management of the company, the strength of
its business and the cooperation which characterises its
relationship with its bankers.

The company was supported during the restructuring by its
advisers Commerzbank, Ernst & Young and Freshfields. SCB
Securities was the domestic adviser to the company.
Premchai Karnasuta, president of Italian-Thai Development,
said that as a result of the rescheduling the business has
a sound financial base from which to move forward.

Sanwa International Finance Ltd, on behalf of the lenders,
complimented the company for the responsible approach it
had taken in managing the rescheduling process and
expressed confidence in Italian-Thai Development and its
management.  (The Nation  23-Aug-1999)

NATIONAL FERTILISER: Taking steps to survive
--------------------------------------------
The government and state-controlled banks have been asked
to ante up 5.1 billion baht to keep National Fertiliser Plc
(NFC) solvent.

NFC president Nath Chamoraman said the company would offer
existing shareholders, led by the Petroleum Authority of
Thailand, 600 million new shares at five baht each in a
rights sale.  The company said it would also swap 410
million new shares, at five baht each, for debt with Siam
City Bank, Krung Thai Bank, and the Industrial Finance
Corporation of Thailand and the private Siam Commercial
Bank.

The rights sale and debt-for-equity swap will double the
banks' combined stake in NFC to 40%. It would also provide
much-needed working capital and make the company's debt
more manageable, Mr Nath said.  The four banks in March
converted $214 million of NFC's foreign-currency debt to
7.9 billion baht to reduce currency risk, as the company
sells fertiliser in the domestic market but pays dollars
for imported raw materials.

NFC opened the country's largest fertiliser plant in 1997
after a decade of political and funding hurdles.  It has
annual capacity of one million tons. NFC's main rival, Thai
Central Chemical Plc, recently expanded the capacity of its
Ayutthaya plant to 1.2 million tons. The third main player,
Thai Fertiliser, produces 550,000 tons.

Thai Central Chemical said yesterday that it anticipated a
sharp decline in profit this year due to falling domestic
prices and tougher competition.  Profit would be between
400 million and 500 million baht, compared with 1.46
billion last year, said Gumthorn Utaranwuthipong, executive
director.

The profit could also be affected by a foreign exchange
loss due to the weakening baht. Last year the company had a
759 million baht forex gain.  Mr Gumthorn forecast sales of
10 billion baht, more than 10% below last year's level of
11.4 billion.  Plengsakdi Prakaspesat, the company's senior
adviser, said local fertiliser prices had fallen by between
10% and 15% in line with declines in the world market
price.

As well, the government has suspended its normal
procurement of fertilisers since it has 200,000 tons of
stocks left from last year. Complaints about rigging of
earlier bids have also prompted officials to study new
procurement procedures.  Thai Central Chemical expects to
maintain its sales volume at around 1.25 million tons this
year. It sold 1.22 million tons last year for a 30% market
share, Mr Plengsakdi said.   (Bangkok Post  21-Aug-1999)

TRI PETCH ISUZU SALES CO.: Mitsubishi to buy 96% stake
------------------------------------------------------
Mitsubishi Corp will take a 96-per-cent stake in Thailand's
second largest auto-distributor, Tri Petch Isuzu Sales Co
(TPIS) after it finalises a debt-to-equity conversion
strategy by the end of this year.

Mitsubishi currently has a 20-per-cent direct holding in
TPIS, and at the request of the Thai subsidiary it will
transform a Bt6-billion soft loan it extended to TPIS into
additional equity in the Thai firm. TPIS is under threat of
losing its decade-long leadership in the one-tonne pick-up
truck market to rival Toyota Motor Thailand.

The debt-to-equity conversion plan by Mitsubishi will
create a heavy dilution of other shareholders in TPIS,
which include Thai leading business families Boonsoong
(18%), Sarasin (6%), Chansue (6%) and Krisdakorn (1%) as
well as BTM Finance and Securities (Thailand) Co (5%) and
Isuzu Motor of Japan (19%).

Other TPIS shareholders include Mitsubishi (Thailand) Co
and Thai MC Co, which are the local subsidiaries of
Mitsubishi Corp, having a combined 25-per-cent stake in the
Thai company. TPIS' current registered capital is as low as
Bt200 million.

TPIS president Goro Shintani described the move as further
assistance from Mitsubishi to help the Thai company reduce
its financial burden. Although there would not be a written
agreement for other shareholders to buy back their shares
in TPIS, Shintani said it was not the intention of
Mitsubishi to take over the Thai company and the programme
should be regarded as a temporary measure.

"We maintain the principal of not doing business alone,"
said Shintani, who has been on secondment from Mitsubishi.
Mitsubishi's take-over has not come at a total surprise
since the firm granted a soft loan to TPIS in October 1998.
The Thai company stated in a press announcement: "While
taking the ongoing market situation into account, Tri Petch
Isuzu will study the change of this loan into a capital
increase when it deems necessary."

TPIS used the soft loan to repay its commercial-bank debts.
Thanks to the planned recapitalisation, its previous
downsizing actions and product-price adjustments, Shintani
said, TPIS is expected to halve its loss this year compared
to 1998.   Shintani expected the Thai market to take until
2003 to 2004 to recover to its 1996 volume of 600,000
units.

From January to July this year, the auto market bounced
back by 28.2 per cent year on year to total 102,350 units
after shrinking by more than 60 per cent last year.
Although Toyota is moving fast to overtake the TPIS's
leadership in Thailand's highly important one-tonne pick-
up-truck market, Shintani said TPIS would maintain its
policy of not competing on price and rejected rumours that
the company would introduce a major model change as soon as
2002.

According to the January-to-July 1999 auto-sales report
released last week by Toyota, Toyota was lagging only 79
units behind Isuzu in the one-tonne pick-up segment, 22,794
versus 22,715. While the total pick-up market grew by 41.8
per cent during the period, Toyota achieved a 117-per-cent
sales rise compared to 34.3 per cent of Isuzu.

Toyota would lag further behind Isuzu if one excluded
Toyota's Sport Rider sales from the pick-up figures (see
tables). Shintani said the Sport Rider should be treated as
a sports utility vehicle.  However, Shintani said he gave
full support to the Ministry of Finance's plan to change
pick-up trucks' excise tax in a bid to promote ''passenger
pick-up vehicles'' (PPV), a new category that the Sport
Rider conforms with.

Shintani said the government plan would draw an ''active
reaction'' from the auto industry. For instance TPIS will
introduce two new models, a double-cab pick-up and a PPV,
like the successful Cameo model that it introduced seven
years ago.  Isuzu had to stop production of the Cameo after
the Excise Department slapped a passenger-car tax on it to
protect local pick-up modifiers.  (The Nation  23-Aug-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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