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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

            Wednesday, October 27, 1999, Vol. 2, No. 209

                            Headlines


* C H I N A  &  H O N G  K O N G *

GUANGDONG INT'L TRUST & INVEST.: Goldman Sachs seeks money


* I N D O N E S I A *

BANK BALI: StanChart remains focused on acquisition


* J A P A N *

KOKUMIN BANK: Seven suitors step forward
NEC: Posts first-half loss


* K O R E A *

DAISHIN SECURITIES: Suffers losses from faulty report
DAEWOO GROUP: 6 banks won't write down principal
KOREA FIRST BANK: To receive gov't funds by year end
SEOUL BANK: To receive gov't funds by year end
SEOUL GUARANTEE INS.: To receive gov't funds by year end


* S I N G A P O R E *

CHARTERED SEMICONDUCTOR MFG.: Posts lower 3rd quarter loss
OSPREY MARITIME: Acquires loan extension from banks


* T H A I L A N D *

SAHA UNION: To transfer electronic business in rehab


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

GUANGDONG INT'L TRUST & INVEST.: Goldman Sachs seeks money
----------------------------------------------------------
Goldman Sachs is seeking to recover 201 million yuan (about
HK$186.9 million) worth of investment in Ping An Insurance
of China Goldman entrusted with the collapsed Guangdong
International Trust and Investment Corp (Gitic).

The revelation was contained in a Gitic liquidation
progress report compiled by the liquidation committee and
dated last Friday.  According to the report, Gitic invested
in Ping An on behalf of Goldman, and the investment is a
third-party asset and should be returned to Goldman.  
Goldman Sachs (Asia) corporate communications director
Peter Rose said yesterday the company had filed submissions
to the liquidation committee to retrieve its Ping An shares
held through Gitic for custody.

"Since we are not creditors of Gitic. We have every
confidence we will get 100 per cent return. This is not a
Gitic asset," Mr Rose said. The investment was done through
a mainland third party "on the advice of counsel and with
the full disclosure to the regulators", according to Mr
Rose.

He would not say whether the indirect approach was a
condition of the deal struck three years ago to get around
the foreign investment ban on the tightly controlled
insurance industry. In 1996, the People's Bank of China -
predecessor of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission -
gave its blessing to Ping An to sell stakes to foreign
investors, giving Goldman and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter
about a 5 per cent stake each in Ping An.

Because of the sensitive nature of the investment, both
United States investment houses have been tight-lipped on
the amount and stake invested and how they made the
investments.  Morgan Stanley declined to comment whether
its holding in Ping An was also held through a third party.  
Mr Rose said it remained unclear when and how Goldman would
recover the stake, or whether it could own the stake
directly instead of through a middleman.  (South China
Morning Post  26-Oct-1999)


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

BANK BALI: StanChart remains focused on acquisition        
---------------------------------------------------        
Standard Chartered has dismissed claims by Indonesia's
central bank that its bid to buy a stake in Bank Bali is in
jeopardy. Sjaril Sabirin, governor of the Bank Indonesia,
the central bank, yesterday said Standard Chartered's bid
to buy into Bank Bali was not final, and other investors
could come in.

In July, Standard Chartered agreed to pay 860 billion
rupiah (about HK$961.48 million) for a 20 per cent stake in
Bank Bali, which was meant to pave the way for a takeover
of the bank. According to Mr Sabirin, Standard Chartered
had yet to pay for the stake.  "So there's still the
possibility of some other investor coming in," he said.
"No-one else has come forward yet."

But a Standard Chartered spokesman said the bank had an
agreement with the Indonesian Government, via the
Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency, on how Bank Bali
would be managed and recapitalised.  "The rights issue
remains in place and we expect to gain an equity stake in
December," said the Standard Chartered spokesman.

Standard Chartered has been running Bank Bali since July,
when the government awarded it management control after the
London-based bank uncovered a corruption scandal during its
due diligence process.  Bank Bali paid a 546 billion rupiah
fee to a company linked to Golkar, the country's former
ruling party, in return for help recovering loans
supposedly guaranteed by the state.

The International Monetary Fund, which awarded a US$49
billion bailout for Indonesia, has frozen aid over the Bank
Bali scandal. An investigative audit into the case is to be
released to the Indonesian parliament in a few days.  
(South China Morning Post  26-Oct-1999)


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

KOKUMIN BANK: Seven suitors step forward
----------------------------------------
Seven different groups, four foreign-affiliated and three
domestic, are expected to vie for failed Kokumin Bank,
sources said Friday. The Financial Reconstruction
Commission and Kokumin's administrators are expected to
confirm a buyer for the bank by April next year. The FTC
sent in a team of administrators to run Kokumin Bank after
declaring the Tokyo-based secondary regional bank
insolvent in April this year. However, it remains uncertain
whether the final buyer will come from one of the seven
interested groups, the sources said.  (Asia Pulse  25-Oct-
1999)

NEC: Posts first-half loss
--------------------------
NEC, Japan's largest maker of personal computers and
microchips, said first-half losses widened as sales of
computer memory chips slumped and it sold less
telecommunications equipment overseas.  Tokyo-based NEC had
a first-half loss of 48.84B yen, or 30.02 yen a share, from
a loss of 19.732B yen, or 12.35 yen a share in the same
period last year.  

Sales rose a better than expected 7.3% to 2.26trillion yen.  
NEC had an operating loss of 7,993B yen, meaning selling
and administrative expenses exceeded sales by that amount.  
Last year the company had operating profit of 15.294B yen
for the period.


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

DAISHIN SECURITIES: Suffers losses from faulty report
-----------------------------------------------------
South Korea's Daishin Securities (KSE: 03540) has suffered
heavy losses in stock prices and credibility due to an
inaccurate report by a foreign news agency, market sources
said Monday.

Reuters reported around 11:49 am that a construction
company run by the head of the securities firm's son
applied for court protection and that Daishin has
payment guarantees worth 160 billion won (US$ 132.7
million).  Panicky shareholders then poured out orders for
2 million shares in the brokerage house, with 1.7 million
shares demanded to be sold at daily lows.

Reuters sent out a correction at 1:53 pm, saying its report
was incorrect.  Stock prices improved slightly but the
prices were still down 12.56 percent at 17,050 won per
share as of 3:22 pm.  Market experts say Daishin's losses
will reach billions of won due to the speculative selling.

Daishin said it is not thinking of legal action against
Reuters at the moment because it is too busy calming
investors.  (Asia Pulse  25-Oct-1999)

DAEWOO GROUP: 6 banks won't write down principal
------------------------------------------------
Six major creditor banks of Daewoo Group affiliates
targeted for debt workout have decided not to write down
principal when finalizing the debt workout plan this week,
banking sources said Monday.

Daewoo affiliates targeted for the workout can retain a
certain portion of debts that can be sustained through
business operations, but the remaining debts will be
classified as debt for restructuring through conversion
into equity, reduction of interest payments or grace period
for repayment of interest and principal.

The losses the creditor banks are bound to sustain through
debt-for-equity swaps only will range from 20-50 percent;
under the circumstances, it is inconceivable to write down
the principal, accordidng to the sources.

"The losses affecting banks will lead to the injection of
public funds, ultimately leading to the financial burden
for the people. The goal of creditors is thus to reduce
losses as much as possible," a high creditor bank source
said.  (Asia Pulse  25-Oct-1999)

KOREA FIRST BANK: To receive gov't funds by year end
SEOUL BANK: To receive gov't funds by year end
SEOUL GUARANTEE INS.: To receive gov't funds by year end
--------------------------------------------------------
The government plans to inject public funds into financial
institutions including Seoul Guarantee Insurance Corp. and
major creditor banks of Daewoo such as Seoul Bank and Korea
First Bank, before the end of this year.

Top economic ministers including Finance and Economy
minister Kang Bong-kyun convened an emergency meeting
Tuesday morning to decide on urgent measures to subside
panicking due to Daewoo's financial crisis. The ministers
met following the report that 50% of loans to Daewoo are
likely to become non-performing.

Meanwhile, a high-ranking official disclosed that a tally
of the real assets of core Daewoo subsidiaries on the
workout program fell W30 trillion short of their book
value. In the case of Daewoo Corp., the book value of the
company's assets was stated as W28 trillion, while an
evaluation found that real assets amounted to only W8
trillion. For Daewoo Motor, real assets were W9 trillion
short of the W20 trillion recorded in the company's books.

The official continued that discrepancies in asset value at
several other Daewoo subsidiaries including Daewoo Heavy
Industries, Daewoo Telecom, and Daewoo Electronics, are
expected to total more than W30 trillion. The shortages in
asset value indicate the difference between stocks and
sales on credit which were booked in the accounting
documents but were found non-existent in real asset
evaluation.

One official of Daewoo's creditors' group said creditors
will have to cover for the discrepancies in asset value in
the amounts of W10 to W12 trillion for Daewoo Corp., and W4
trillion for Daewoo Motor. Observers noted that the
difference of more than W30 trillion, is certain to compel
the concerned authorities to launch an investigation of
Daewoo's top executives, including its chairman Kim Woo-
choong, for mismanagement.

Following news of the mammoth discrepancy in Daewoo's asset
values, government officials have been busy throughout the
day allaying market jitters. Financial Supervisory
Commission chairman Lee Hun-jai told reporters Tuesday that
most of Daewoo's creditor banks, with the exception of
Korea First Bank and Seoul Bank, should be able to
withstand a failure to recover up to 50% of loans to Daewoo
since the banks have been building up their loan loss
provisions and considering the portion of loan loss
provisions to be built up next year.

However, analysts contend that Daewoo's creditor banks are
certain to encounter major difficulties in resolving the
problem of loan losses from Daewoo, and that the entire
workout program could be undermined. The nation's stock
market witnessed a plummet in its price index which dropped
to below the 800 mark following the news that Daewoo's real
asset value amounted to only 30% of book value and that
creditor banks were likely to recover only 50% of loans to
Daewoo.  (Digital ChosunIlbo  26-Oct-1999)


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

CHARTERED SEMICONDUCTOR MFG.: Posts lower 3rd quarter loss
----------------------------------------------------------    
Chip foundry Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing
yesterday announced it had pared group net losses to just
US$6.2 million (S$10.4 million) in the third quarter
compared to US$52.7 million a year ago.

Its results for the three months ended Sept 30 also
improved against its second-quarter performance when the
net loss was US$13.8 million.  The world's third-largest
chip contract manufacturer did not give a reason for the
improvement in its performance but company officials
reportedly told analysts earlier this month that the
company was expected to return to profitability in the
fourth quarter of this year.

Gross profit in the latest quarter was US$48.4 million
versus a gross loss of US$19.3 million in the same period
last year. Operating income was US$7.1 million, overturning
an operating loss of US$600,000 in the June quarter and an
US$48.5 million loss in the previous September quarter.

Chartered, which is headed for a listing in Singapore and
on Nasdaq in the US, said its share in losses of Silicon
Manufacturing Partners and Chartered Silicon Partners
totalled US$10.2 million against US$7.4 million in the same
period last year.  Chartered is a subsidiary of government-
owned Singapore Technologies.  (Straits Times  26-Oct-1999)

OSPREY MARITIME: Acquires loan extension from banks        
---------------------------------------------------                    
Osprey  Maritime, a Singapore-based shipping company whose
dependence on Indonesia hurt business last year, said its
creditor banks agreed to extend US$362 million (S$605
million) in loans until the third quarter of 2002.

Osprey's four creditor banks, Christiana Bank, Den norske
Bank, Credit Agricole and CS First Boston, granted it an
extension on the short-term loan facilities in July, the
company said yesterday.  The agreement signals better
fortunes for the company, which lost money last year and
has been working on getting more orders.

Its fleet includes five liquefied natural gas tankers, four
crude oil tankers and about 15 product tankers, and it
needs to find long-term contracts.  Osprey shares closed
four cents higher at 56.5 cents yesterday.  Osprey lost
US$14.9 million, or 8.83 cents a share, last year from a
US$19 million profit, or 10.65 cents, the year before.  It
was hurt by sluggish demand for oil tankers and high
interest rates that pushed its interest costs up by 67 per
cent to US$66.6 million.

Last month, chairman Tim Cottew said, "Although the outlook
for Asian economies has substantially improved, charter
rate and sales and purchase prices have been weak."

Osprey has had strong ties to Indonesia.  As of the end of
last year, Mr Bambang Trihatmodjo, son of former Indonesian
President Suharto, had a deemed stake of 40.9 per cent in
Osprey. A company he controls, PT Bimantara Citra, had a
deemed stake of 8.6 per cent. Mr Peter Gontha, an associate
of Mr Trihatmodjo, had a deemed stake of 29.2 per cent.

After the Indonesian rupiah collapsed, companies with
dollar-denominated debt found themselves in financial
trouble and also faced soaring interest rates across the
region.  To break away from its traditional reliance on
Indonesian business contacts, Osprey has been working on
securing more contracts, including orders from British Gas
International, which in May agreed to lease one liquefied
natural gas tanker from Osprey from mid-2002.  By end-June
Osprey had US$915 million in contracts.

In the first half of this year, the company's outlook
improved as it reported a profit of US$844,000, though that
was 73 per cent lower than the US$3.09 million it earned in
same period last year.  Interest payments fell 18 per cent
to US$27.7 million from US$34 million.  Sales fell 14 per
cent to US$98.4 million. Still, Osprey's coffers continued
to improve. It had US$72.5 million in cash as of Sept 17.  
(Bloomberg News, Straits Times  26-Oct-1999)  


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

SAHA UNION: To transfer electronic business in rehab
----------------------------------------------------
Saha Union Plc says it will restructure by transferring all
electronic business to a wholly owned subsidiary. The
company's board has named Viroj Phutrakul, Araya
Arunanonchai and Phakinee Phrukthithamrong as the company's
audit committee.  (The Nation  26-Oct-1999)


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