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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, October 21, 1999, Vol. 2, No. 205

                            Headlines


* C H I N A  &  H O N G  K O N G *

STIME WATCH INT'L.: Restructuring not immediately working
UDL HOLDINGS: Restructuring not immediately working


* I N D O N E S I A *

BANK MANDIRI: Gets agreement on $966 million restructuring


* J A P A N *

DAIEI: Posts six-month loss
MITSUBISHI MOTORS: First-half loss projected


* K O R E A *

DAEWOO GROUP: Foreign debt problem turning the corner?
DAEWOO MOTOR CO.: KDB to take charge of GM talks
HYUNDAI MOTOR CO.: Battling on two fronts


* M A L A Y S I A *

KELANAMAS INDUSTRIES: Posts quarterly loss


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

UNIWIDE GROUP: Reveals rehab strategy


* T H A I L A N D *

ACUMEN CO.: To issue debentures to refinance debt
BANK OF ASIA: Posts three-quarter loss
BANPU PLC: To issue debentures for investment, debts
DBS THAI DANU BANK: Posts three-quarter loss
FINANCE ONE PLC: Court asked to postpone fraud hearing
STANCHART NAKORNTHON BANK: Reports Bt1.08 bn loss
THAI PETROLEUM PIPELINE CO.: Debt-restructuring pact ahead


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

STIME WATCH INT'L.: Restructuring not immediately working
UDL HOLDINGS: Restructuring not immediately working
---------------------------------------------------------
Watch-maker Stime Watch International and marine-
engineering concern UDL Holdings have slumped after their
return to trade and announcements of conditional debt-
restructuring proposals involving substantial rights
issues.  Stime Watch shares fell 21.2 per cent to 13.7
cents, while UDL plunged 53.6 per cent to 3.2 cents.  Both
counters had thin trading turnover of less than $600,000.

Huge China, wholly owned by Cheung Lik-chung, owner of
unlisted pharmaceutical and property investment holding
company Lik Chung Group (Holdings), has proposed to take
control of Stime Watch for $29.4 million.  Lik Chung also
manufactures and distributes health-care products to
mainland hospitals and pharmacies. The proposal could see
Huge China subscribe to 400 million new Stime shares for $8
million, for a 42.9 per cent holding.

Huge China said it planned to apply to regulators for a
waiver on making a mandatory general offer to other
existing shareholders. In addition, a three-for-two rights
shares issue after the new shares subscription could raise
$25 million after expenses, to be used for debt repayment.
Under the proposal, creditor banks would waive 15 per cent
of $150 million owed by Stime Watch, while taking Stime
Watch rights shares equal to an 8.8 per cent stake.

Meanwhile, UDL and its key subsidiaries have proposed the
issue of new shares and rights shares to the group's
creditors equal to 50 per cent of its enlarged share
capital, in exchange for the discharge of debts amounting
to $1.73 billion.  The share issuances, which will increase
the company's share capital to 504.6 million shares, will
come after a 20-to-1 share consolidation.  UDL's winding-up
proposal has been adjourned to December 1.  (South China
Morning Post  20-Oct-1999)


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

BANK MANDIRI: Gets agreement on $966 million restructuring
----------------------------------------------------------
Bank Mandiri has reached agreement with 131 customers for
credit restructuring worth Rp7.5 trillion (US$ 966
million), Bank Mandiri President Director Robby Djohan
stated yesterday.

"Of Bank Mandiri's total non-performing corporate loans,
28% are targeted for complete restructuring by the end of
December 1999," said Djohan, adding that during the past
three months the bank had successfully recovered loans plus
interest of the value of Rp1.1 trillion.

According to him, Bank Mandiri's credit restructuring
refers to the 19 steps for restructuring outlined by the
Ministry of Finance. All credit under restructuring is
subject to a commercial tariff commensurate with market
rates.  Bank Mandiri's progressive steps in the
restructuring of credit adds to the other success achieved
since the start of the bank's operations last July 31
when the merger of four state banks to form Bank Mandiri
was affected smoothly, followed by the government issuing
Rp103 million in recapitalisation bonds for Bank Mandiri.
(Asia Pulse  18-Oct-1999)


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

DAIEI: Posts six-month loss
---------------------------
Daiei shares fell 5.2% after Japan's second-largest
operator of general merchandise stores and supermarkets
posted a loss for the six months to August 31.  Daiei fell
20yen to 365.

Daiei said its second straight first-half loss will not
knock it off track for a 2.8B yen full-year net profit in
the full year.  The company has said it needs the savings
from job cuts and asset sales to repay debt that piled up
around its failed diversification into restaurants, hotels,
real estate and other businesses during the 1980s.

MITSUBISHI MOTORS: First-half loss projected
--------------------------------------------
Mitsubishi Motors will probably post a parent pre-tax
operating loss of 24B yen for the half-year to September,
in line with its earlier forecast, the company told
Bloomberg News.

Though domestic vehicle sales were lower than estimated,
the company avoided an earnings decline by cutting costs,
Mitsubishi Motors' director Junji Midorikawa said.  For the
fiscal year to March 2000, Mitsubishi expects to post a
profit of 20B yen, led by its new Pajero sport-utility
vehicle and a recovery in truck sales, he said.  In the
first half, the carmaker sold about 270,000 vehicles -
15,000 units, or 5.3%, less than estimated. Overall sales
came in 3% to 4% below the company's 1B yen estimate.


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

DAEWOO GROUP: Foreign debt problem turning the corner?
------------------------------------------------------
The Daewoo Group's foreign debt problem appears to have
turned the corner as major creditors have reportedly agreed
to refrain from calling in their loans to the embattled
group till the end of the year.

Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) Chairman Lee Hun-jai
told reporters yesterday that key foreign creditors
recently reached a temporary agreement on a loan repayment
freeze for Daewoo.  But hours later, commission spokesman
Kim Young-jae said Lee revoked his remarks, saying that
nothing had been agreed between the eight-member steering
committee of foreign creditors and Daewoo officials during
their recent meeting in New York.

Stressing that nothing resembling an accord was reached in
the New York meeting, Kim said Lee made an erroneous
comment.  But market watchers do not take the spokesman's
denial as a negation of the consensus among the foreign
creditors at the New York meeting but rather as an attempt
to avoid the criticism that Seoul officials have leaked the
outcome of the meeting to influence the general meeting of
foreign creditors scheduled for Oct. 28 in Tokyo.

Analysts said Lee's comment on an accord among the steering
committee members indicates that the tide has turned in
favor of the Seoul government.  According to informed
sources, foreign creditors reached a consensus in their
meeting with Korean creditors and Daewoo officials in New
York to withdraw demands for the Seoul government's payment
guarantees on their loans. They also apparently agreed to
refrain from exercising creditors' rights till the end of
the year, in compliance with the Korean government's debt-
workout plan for Daewoo.  They said the accord represents
the removal of a major stumbling block to implementation of
the workout plan.

"The major foreign creditors made the right decision
because it is in their interest to help the Seoul
government to successfully carry out the workout plan," an
analyst said. "Should Daewoo go bankrupt, they will be left
with nothing."

He said although the consensus among the eight members of
the steering committee has no binding effect, it will
influence the attitude of other creditors who will attend
the Tokyo meeting.

"If the major creditors move toward endorsing the Seoul
government's workout approach, it will be easy for others
to join them," he said.

An FSC official said an important benefit from the New York
meeting was Chase Manhattan's switch of stance from adamant
opposition to the workout approach to endorsement.  At the
Tokyo meeting, the government intends to push through its
debt-workout plan by obtaining approval from most, if not
all, foreign creditors on debt roll-overs and the
withdrawal of demands that it guarantee payments of their
loans to Daewoo.

But the official said small creditors are still sticking to
their demands for government payment guarantees on their
loans. Some of them have already filed suits to force
Daewoo to repay their loans or obtain guarantees.  He said
if the government and domestic creditors manage to win
approval from 75 percent of foreign creditors in terms of
the value of loans, there will be no big difficulty in
implementing the workout plan.

"But if small creditors take legal action collectively, the
problem will not be so simple," he said.  (Korea Herald
21-Oct-1999)

DAEWOO MOTOR CO.: KDB to take charge of GM talks
------------------------------------------------
In a move to accelerate the stalled sale of Daewoo Motor
Co., the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) will take
charge of future talks with U.S. automaker General Motors
(GM) for the sale of the automaker, the top financial
regulator said yesterday.

"KDB, Daewoo Motor's main creditor bank, will take over the
negotiations with GM for the sale of Daewoo Motor because
the current talks between Daewoo and GM are not showing
further progress," said Lee Hun-jai, chairman of the
Financial Supervisory Commission, the government agency
spearheading corporate and financial reforms.  "Talks
between KDB and GM will go smoothly because GM has a strong
intention to take over Daewoo Motor."

But he declined to comment on whether GM will take over
Samsung Motors, simply saying that he was not in a position
to do that.  "GM's management recently planned to visit
Samsung's auto plants. But they just returned to America on
concerns that the visit might give a misleading message to
Korea," he said.

Meanwhile, he said that there are talks between legal
advisors of Daewoo and its foreign creditors about the
rollover of Daewoo's debts.  "Nothing has been agreed yet
about the issue. We'll have to wait until Oct. 28, when all
of Daewoo's foreign creditors will meet in Tokyo, to see
whether they will agree to freeze their loans to Daewoo,"
he said.  "But they did not discuss the government's
payment guarantee of Daewoo's foreign debts," he added.
(Korea Herald  21-Oct-1999)

HYUNDAI MOTOR CO.: Battling on two fronts
-----------------------------------------
Hyundai Motor, Korea's biggest automaker and flagship of
Hyundai Group, appears to be fighting a multi-pronged
battle. At stake is not only the fate of the company but
also that of the Korean auto industry, backbone of the
country's heavy industry.

On one front, Hyundai Motor has to prepare itself for a
battle against the world's top car makers to maintain its
dominance on the domestic market. The battle lines have
already been drawn.  Part of the issue centers around
Daewoo Motor, Hyundai's rival, being put on the block with
the most likely buyer being General Motors of the United
States, the world's largest auto making multinational.

With Daewoo Motor being a financial basket case,
speculation has it that GM is engaged in a waiting game it
is bound to win in order to buy Daewoo Motor at the "right"
price.  GM's buyout of Daewoo, once its strategic alliance,
will enhance its foothold in Asia, one of the fastest
growing auto markets, under a scheme to increase its
regional market share to 10 percent, according to industry
watchers. At the same time GM appears keen to take over
Daewoo's European and Central Asian operations.

Accoring to a media report, a secret Hyundai memo entitled
"GM's advance into Korea and its ramifications," predicted
a major drop in Hyundai Motor's domestic market share from
the present 75 percent (including Kia Motors) to 40 percent
as the result of GM's advance into Korea.  The memo,
according to the report, raises particular concern over
GM's strategy of bringing some of its wide-ranging line of
vehicles to Korea in order to break Hyundai's hold on the
domestic market. GM could afford to wage a price war
because it has redeemed nonrecurring costs such as
development.

In addition, Hyundai's equity ownership structure,
including 28 percent held by foreign hands, may make the
auto maker susceptible to a hostile takeover bid with
Mitsubishi of Japan which holds 8.82 percent, the memo
warned.  Hyundai officials said they have no knowledge of
the reported memo.

Perhaps more problematic is that faced with this doomsday
scenario, Hyundai appears slow in coming up with a
response.  For instance, Hyundai has yet to find a partner
for a strategic alliance with an auto maker of global
status. Lee Kye-ahn, the youngest of three Hyundai Motor
presidents, said in a recent press meeting that it has
received a proposal of strategic alliance from a number of
foreign auto makers.

"I think that president Lee is just about the only person
in Hyundai Motor who is serious about forming a strategic
alliance," said an industry watcher with close connections
to Hyundai Motor. Hyundai's alleged lack of positive
attitude toward a foreign partnership is puzzling because
the company has been synonymous with a foot-in-the door
style of corporate aggressiveness.

One Hyundai Motor official said that at issue is a lack of
understanding not only in the senior echelon of management
but also rank and file members about the importance of an
international alliance.

"A couple years ago, we hired second generation Koreans
from overseas in order to use them as our marketing scouts
but all quit in frustration in a matter of months, not
being able to finish apprenticeship," the official said on
condition of anonymity. "Hyundai's corporate culture
doesn't allow for an outward-looking mentality."

Another challenge facing Hyundai Motor is its financial
status.  Hyundai Motor is planning to conduct a capital
increase of 750 billion won in December, the second this
year following the first, worth 750 billion won, in July.
In September it issued a global depository receipt (GDR) in
London worth $500 million.

Hyundai Motor also issued commercial papers worth $70
million through Hyundai Motor Finance Co. in the U.S. in
October last year, brought in $300 million through the
issuance of asset backed security also through HMFC early
last year and sold $50 million in convertible bonds
purchased by Saudi Arabia. Hyundai officials said that the
issuances of bonds were attached with favorable conditions.

The success of the December capital increase is pivotal to
Hyundai Motor because it will likely provide the company
with a last chance to bring down their debt to equity ratio
to below 200 percent on its own by the end of the year, as
required by the government and creditor banks.  According
to Hyundai officials, Hyundai Motor's debt level stands at
250 percent excluding the result of asset reevaluation late
last year.  A counter argument, with a dose of reason, is
that this 200 percent rule has no grounds whatsoever with
chaebol asking

"Is it that a company with 199 percent debt level is
healthy, while one with 201 percent is not financially
sound."

Financial observers say that with so many corporations
going to such lengths to attain the required level with the
deadline approaching, it is possible the government might
back down and grant some leniency on the debt level rule at
the last moment.  Industry watchers say the financial
challenge facing Hyundai Motor is not the government's
order to lower the debt ratio but its profitability.

According to Hyundai Motor officials, the auto maker is
expected to make 350 billion won in net profit on sales of
13 to 15 trillion won this year, after a dismal record at
the height of the financial crisis begun in November, 1997.
This forecast means Hyundai will earn a maximum 3 percent
profit against sale, far below a minimum 5 percent of
profit against sale set by international auto makers.

Hyundai has its own rationale to sustain this paper thin
margin and stay in the auto business.

"Often we are criticized for lack of research and
development investment but an auto maker may make such
investments only when it produces an entire range of cars
in size and type," one Hyundai official said. "Hyundai has
just reached that stage with the minivan Trajet and small
Atoz joining the lineup. I believe that at this stage,
Hyundai needs support to make the jump to the world's top
level, not unfounded criticism."  (Korea Times  20-Oct-
1999)


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

KELANAMAS INDUSTRIES: Posts quarterly loss
------------------------------------------
Kelanamas Industries Bhd recorded a group turnover and a
pre-tax loss of RM1.95mil and RM1.67mil respectively for
the quarter ended July 31.

Announcing its unaudited results, the company said the
losses were mainly due to high financial charges and
depreciation and amortisation for the quarter under review.
Currently, plans are being formulated in line with the
company's restructuring exercise to either divest or
liquidate in an orderly manner its loss-making
subsidiaries.  (Star Online  20-Oct-1999)


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

UNIWIDE GROUP: Reveals rehab strategy
-------------------------------------
The Uniwide Group of Companies plans to sell majority of
its stake in Uniwide Sales Warehouse Club, Inc. (USWCI) and
implement an aggressive marketing plan to revive its core
retail business.  These are part of the Group's
rehabilitation strategy, which was submitted by Uniwide's
receivership body last Monday to the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC). The plan has yet to be approved
by the SEC.

USWCI shares will be bidded out on October 29, said Monico
V. Jacob, chairman of the receivership committee in the
proposed rehabilitation plan.  The Group's retail business
consists of the eight Warehouse Clubs, two department
stores and family convenience stores. It is primarily
handled by USWCI and First Paragon Corp., which accounts
for a relatively small portion of the retail business.

"Re-focusing on its core business of retail would require
Uniwide to raise new equity infusion of a minimum of one
billion (Philippine) pesos (US$25 million at
PhP40.295:US$1)," the rehabilitation plan stated.

The PhP1 billion will be used to re-stock all Uniwide
stores with a complete line of products in levels
sufficient enough to reach its sales targets.  Within the
first three years of the rehabilitation period, Uniwide
aims to generate sales of PhP12 billion (US$298 million) in
the first year, PhP14 billion (US$347 million) in the
second and PhP16 billion (US$397 million) in the third. By
the tenth year, sales are expected to reach PhP37 to PhP40
billion (US$745 to $993 million).

Under the plan, those interested to buy USWCI shares are
required to submit their corporate profile, audited
financial statements for 1997 and 1998, business permit,
articles of incorporation, and other requirements including
a deposit equivalent to PhP40 million (US$993,000). These
should be submitted to the receivership body by October 29.
The minimum bid amount is PhP1 billion.

As part of the plan, USWCI will also conduct an initial
public offering of its shares. The future investor can
later sell its shares to recoup its investment, the plan
said.  Aside from selling USWCI's shares, First Paragon
Corp.'s convenience stores will also be sold.

"To stop their losing operations, Uniwide's convenience
stores will be closed and its assets shall be sold," the
plan said.

Meanwhile, the focus of Uniwide's rehabilitation strategy
will be centered on its core retail business. This means
rebuilding its image as the original hypermart with a
complete line of quality products sold at low prices.

"The immediate objective of USWCI, the retail operator of
the Group, is to regain its lost market share both in the
retail and wholesale business," the plan said.

As part of its marketing strategy, Uniwide will replenish
its stocks, introduce new product lines, improve store
facilities, open new stores, revive the wholesale business,
improve customer service and intensify advertising and
promotional campaigns.  To fully stock up its 10 operating
stores USWCI needs to raise at least PhP1 billion fresh
equity. It will also put up fresh food sections in each
store since the profit margin on these items is high, the
plan said.  (Business World  21-Oct-1999)


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

ACUMEN CO.: To issue debentures to refinance debt
-------------------------------------------------
Acumen Co, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jasmine
International Plc, says it will issue domestic debentures
worth four billion baht with a maximum maturity of 10 years
to refinance its debt of 3.5 billion baht.

Rittichai Pituckrachai, assistant vice-president of
Jasmine, said that next month the company will issue four
million secured or unsecured debentures worth 1,000 baht
each, with a maturity of five years.  An Acumen board
meeting has approved a resolution to issue the domestic
debentures, the company told the Stock Exchange of Thailand
yesterday. Mr Rittichai said the domestic debentures will
be available for public and private placement, local and
overseas.

The debenture can be totally or partly offered at one time
or several times, depending on the market situation. The
life of the debenture will not exceed 10 years.  However,
he said the exact amount, price and maturities of the
debentures issue will be discussed further. The company
board is scheduled to formalise a conclusion on the issue
in early November.  "We expect to issue the debentures in
late November," he said.

He said Acumen is actually now ready to issue the domestic
debentures, but the company is waiting for an evaluation of
its rating in order to issue the debentures at a good
price.  The company has hired Thai Rating and Information
Services (Tris) for one million baht to evaluate its
ratings for the issue of the debentures worth four billion
baht.

A rating evaluation is expected to be issued in late
November, Mr Rittichai added. He said the company is
optimistic it will receive at least an "A" or "A-" rating
for the domestic debentures because Acumen has 1.8-billion-
baht annual fixed income from the Telephone Organisation of
Thailand (TOT). He mentioned a recent debenture issue by
Kanom Electricity Generating Co-a subsidiary of Electricity
Generating Plc-which received an "A" rating for 7.5 billion
baht in secured debentures, which is similar to Acumen
because Egat and TOT are considered as having the same
rating.

Acumen has earned revenue of around two billion baht per
year, of which 1.8 billion baht was generated from its
rural public telephone and TDMA projects and the balance
from its integrated satellite business network (ISDN)
operations.  For the first six months of 1999, Acumen
reported a net profit of 200 million baht, compared with
350 million baht in profit in the last full year.

Mr Rittichai said the money from the debenture sales will
be used to retire its existing 3.5 billion baht in debts
with an annual fixed interest of 10%.  He said if Acumen
received an "A" or "A-" rating, the company would pay 8%
annual interest to debenture holders. If TRIS evaluated the
rating as "B", the company would have to pay interest of 9%
and 10%.

He said the company expects a good response from the public
for the debenture issue as the company has strong
fundamentals.  However, Mr Rittichai said Acumen might
issue only 3.5 billion baht in domestic debentures in a bid
to repay its debt as the company has no need to use the
money in the near future.  (Bangkok Post  20-Oct-1999)

BANK OF ASIA: Posts three-quarter loss
DBS THAI DANU BANK: Posts three-quarter loss
--------------------------------------------
DBS Thai Danu Bank and the Bank of Asia have reported
losses of Bt11.3 billion and Bt2.59 billion respectively in
their nine-month unaudited financial statements.  In the
same period a year earlier, DBS Thai Danu reported a net
loss of Bt5.8 billion, while Bank of Asia had a net loss of
Bt7.5 billion.

"The main factors contributing to losses of DBS Thai Danu
Bank were the non-accrual of interest on non-performing
loans, the negative margin on the deployment of excess
liquidity, the loss of sales and the revaluation loss of
foreclosed properties," said the bank's president
Pornsanong Tuchinda.

However, he said the bank had been actively seeking non-
performing loan recovery, and good progress being made.
Third quarter results for Thai banks would show slightly
improved operating profits, but net income would remain in
the red because of the burden of non-performing loans,
analysts said.  Most banks set heavy provisions in the
third quarter against future losses from problem loans,
which are just under half of total lending. Bangkok Bank
still needs between Bt15 billion and Bt20 billion to meet
full provisioning requirements.

Although Bangkok Bank will probably wait until after it
raises capital before setting full provisions, analysts
said they expected a big loss in the quarter ending
September.  Thai Farmers Bank said last week it had a net
loss of Bt9.42 billion in the third quarter, mainly the
result of provisions worth Bt7.8 billion.  Siam Commercial
Bank is the only institution that would post a net profit
in the quarter, analysts said. The bank finished setting
full provisions in the second quarter, after raising
capital with the help of the government.  (The Nation, Dow
Jones, The Nation  21-Oct-1999)

BANPU PLC: To issue debentures for investment, debts
----------------------------------------------------
Banpu Plc will soon issue Bt1.8-Bt2.4 billion worth of
debentures on private placement. Of the new capital, Bt800
million will be invested in the company's power-generating
project, with the balance going towards its foreign debt
payments.

According to a company statement, the new issuance will be
non-guarantee debentures.  The issuance will be separated
into two types -- Bt900 million to Bt1.2 billion with a
maturity period of three years and Bt900 million to Bt1.2
billion carrying a five-year maturity period.  Interest
payment will be made semi-annually.  The new issue is part
of the company's three-year fund-raising plan.  (The Nation
21-Oct-1999)

FINANCE ONE PLC: Court asked to postpone fraud hearing
------------------------------------------------------
The state attorney yesterday asked the Criminal Court to
postpone the hearing of fraud charges against Finance One
Plc executives as more suspects may be questioned.

More than two years after the company was closed by the
Finance Ministry, Finance One Plc's former top executives,
Termchai Pinyawat and Samran Kanokwattanawan, were
yesterday taken to testify in the Criminal Court for the
first time.  They were charged with misappropriating more
than 2.1 billion baht from the company.  But the state
attorney told the court the authorities were investigating
more suspects and the fraud inquiries could widen.

The court approved the request and ordered the postponement
of the first hearing to January 29, next year.  Although
the state attorney did not mention specific details about
the suspects under investigation, it was believed they were
connected with a case in which transactions involving three
banks were linked with Finance One.  The banks are Siam
City Bank, Standard Chartered Nakornthon Bank and Credit
Agricole Indosuez.

In August, Suphol Yuthithada, the then director-general of
the Economic and Resource Crime Department of the Attorney-
General's Office, said evidence in the Finance One case
showed that deals between the company and the three banks
could be defined as fraud.  He ordered the Economic Crime
Investigation Division to conduct further investigations.

According to Mr Suphol, two of Finance One's subsidiaries,
Ekapak Co and Joint Business Management Co, had issued
promissory notes on several occasions worth several billion
baht.  They discounted the notes to the three banks, which
rediscounted the notes to Finance One on the same day they
had obtained them.  The three banks, however, argued that
the deals were normal banking practice and they had just
acted as brokers for transacting the notes between Finance
One and its subsidiaries.

Commenting on the postponement of the hearing yesterday, Mr
Termchai said that as he was a defendant in the case, he
preferred the hearings to be resolved quickly.  "As long as
the case is pending, I can do nothing," he said.  (Bangkok
Post  20-Oct-1999)

STANCHART NAKORNTHON BANK: Reports Bt1.08 bn loss
-------------------------------------------------
Standard Chartered Nakornthon Bank reported an unaudited
net loss for the first nine months of Bt1.08 billion,
compared with a net loss of Bt3.49 billion in the same
period last year.

The bank said it swung to a net profit in the third quarter
to Sept 30 of Bt4.86 billion, from a net loss of Bt371.7
million in the same period last year.  The extraordinary
profit was due to a reversal under bad debt and doubtful
accounts, which added Bt5.08 billion to third-quarter
profit.

An analyst said this was apparently a reversal of previous
provisions or accounting losses made possible either by the
recapitalisation of the former Nakornthon Bank by the Bank
of Thailand's rescue fund for financial institutions, or by
the subsequent purchase of a 75 per cent stake in the Thai
commercial bank by the UK's Standard Chartered.  Standard
Chartered paid Bt12.37 billion for its stake.

In a summary statement of assets and liabilities, the Thai
bank reported shareholders' equity as of Sept 30 at Bt6.98
billion, up from Bt2.20 billion reported in a filing to the
Stock Exchange of Thailand following an injection of Bt7
billion by the central bank in August.  (The Nation  21-
Oct-1999)

THAI PETROLEUM PIPELINE CO.: Debt-restructuring pact ahead
----------------------------------------------------------
THAI Petroleum Pipeline Co (Thappline) will shortly sign an
agreement to restructure Bt9.5 billion debts with the
creditors, said its acting managing director Komol
Pitakpong.

According to the debt reform package which has already won
approval from the lenders and the company's board of
directors, shareholders will inject about Bt400 million
worth of new capital to lower the debt level. Long-term
debts, equivalent to about 39 per cent of the total
outstanding liabilities, will be converted into zero-coupon
bonds which will have a 10 to 16 year repayment term. Other
debts will have a new three-year grace period until 2003,
plus an extended repayment period.  (The Nation  21-Oct-
1999)


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