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Discusses how paper-making in Asia bruised wood-products giants in the United States (US) Northwest. Increase in the US imports of Asian paper; Reason for the closure of the International Paper Co. of New York on January 15, 1999; How various paper companies in Northwest react to the decrease in paper prices in the Asian region.

Reports the plan of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to delist Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) Co., a pulp-and-paper manufacturer in Singapore. Decision of NYSE to remove PPC from the list; Suspension of the APP trading on the Big Board; Disclosure of business losses on two derivatives contracts.

Reports that Nicky Tan has left his job as a corporate-finance partner at Arthur Andersen in Singapore. Speculation that Tan might become a consultant or adviser to Asia Pulp and Paper Co.; Possibility that Tan could advise the Sinar Mas Group; Tan's career background.

Reports the plan for a debt-restructuring of the Asia Pulp & Paper Co. (APP) in Singapore. Information on the bond-exchange offer of the company; Details on the rating given by credit-rating agency Moody's Investors Service on APP; Effects of the payment default on the firm.

Reports on the deal between BankBoston NA and Asia Pulp & Paper Co., the Singapore-based holding company of the Indonesian Sinar Mas Group's pulp and paper business. Remarks of BankBoston Singapore Chief Financial Officer Tim Curran, about the deal; Terms of the loan deal; Reaction of bankers on the structure of the deal.

Reports on the increase in waste paper exports in Japan due to an increase in paper recycling. Countries supplied by Japan's waste paper products; Comments from waste paper wholesalers.

Reports on a dispute between the United States and Japan over paper standards. Paper importers to Japan; Companies planning to launch papermaking machines in Japan in 1997; US' intention to improve foreign access to the Japanese paper market.

Reports on the plans of Singapore Power Ltd. to acquire a majority stake in three power plants in China owned and operated by Asia Pulp & Paper Co. (APP). Background on APP; Memorandum of agreement signed by the two companies; Generation capabilities of the power plants.

Comments on the plans of bond investors to restructure the terms of $600 million in floating-rate notes issued by Asia Pulp & Paper Co. (APP). Background information on APP; Views of Robert Appleby, a partner at Asia Debt Recovery Co.; Profitability of the business.

Presents news briefs related to business enterprises in Australia, as of December 22, 1997. Includes Societe Generale SA's launching of a $2.5 billion commercial-paper program; Societe's plans in using proceeds from the offering; Schroders PLC's purchase of an office tower in Sydney; Mineral Commodities' plans to separate its gold and copper interests.

Reports the launching of Project Eyeball, an online-and-print daily newspaper of Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. in Singapore. Goal of the company for creating the online service; Role of Bertha Henson in the management of the online service; Views of the government concerning the role of the press in the dissemination of governmental information.

Focuses on the success of computer peripheral manufacturer ScanSoft in supplying scanners to the international market. Acquisition of Visioneer and MetaCreations; Different types of scanners; Use of scanners in document management.

Comments on China's attempt to create an outline of a capitalist economy without the free association of free speech. Government regulation of Web site contents in China; Stepped-up efforts for the privatization of state industries; Effect of government's efforts at civic control of political dissidents and entrepreneurs.

Discusses Indonesia's problem with its manual systems of stock trading. Details on the trading process; Number of employees that do the work; How long it takes for the work to get done; Implications of delays in share certificate processing.

Reports that U.S.-based Ziff-Davis International Media Group will launch a full-color weekly computer newspaper in China.

Provides information on how computer company Lexmark International Group solved its problem on using Chinese office paper with its laser printers. Description of the paper; Reason for the rough quality of the paper; Background on Lexmark; Difficulties in using Chinese paper for printing.

Reports on the drafting of a consultation paper for the authorization of hedge funds in Hong Kong, China. Schedule of publication of the paper; Guidelines for retail investment in hedge funds; Increase in the demand for hedge-funds.

Reports on the destruction of the natural forests due to the scarcity of plantation timber in Indonesia. Use of timber for paper production; Increase in the demand for pulp and paper; Establishment of tree plantations; Scheme of replanting the forests.

Reports on Asia Pulp & Paper Co.'s recording of losses from its derivatives contract with Deutsche Bank AG. Asia Pulp's total debt and obligations; Asia Paper's admission that it failed to reflect the contracts in its financial statements.

Highlights the absence of any interest in Asia Pulp & Paper in managing its public image, despite its stature as one of the biggest pulp and paper group in Asia outside Japan. Example of Asian companies with poor media relations; Outlook for a change in policy in the light of its debt-restructuring.

Reports the continuous nonpayment of cash dividends to investors of Asia Pulp & Paper Co. Absence of obligation to guarantee payment in respect to dividends; Decline in the prices of pulp and paper; Worry over the ability of the company to shoulder current debts.

Reports on the success of Indonesia's Asia Pulp & Paper Co. Brisk sales of plain copier paper in Japan; Total tonnage of the plain copier paper exports of the company to Japan; Corporate history; Distribution operations.

Reports the opening of a brokerage business of DebtTraders Ltd. of Hong Kong in New York. Aim of DebtTraders for expanding its business; Performance of the company in the Asian business brokerage market; Comparison of the Asian paper with the Mexican and Brazilian papers.

Focuses on several Japanese companies which are planning to merge in 1999. Diamond Lease Co. and Ryoshin Leasing Corp.; Hino Motors Ltd. and Isuzo Motors Ltd.; Takasaki Paper Manufacturing Co. and Sanko Paper Manufacturing Co.; Information on the companies.

Reports that Asia Pulp & Paper Co. confirmed its plans for a Hong Kong listing of its operations in China and the merger of its two Jakarta, Indonesia-listed units into one company. Obstacles to the merger of PT Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper and PT Pabrik Kertas Tjiwi Kimia; Financial status of the company; Performance of its stocks in the United States markets.

Reports on the plan of Indonesian pulp, paper and food processing firm Asia Pulp & Paper Co. (APP) to list its China operations on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Names of companies owned; Expansion efforts in China; Strong financial performance of APP in spite of the Asian financial crisis.

Focuses on financial troubles of Singapore-based Asia Pulp & Paper Co. Lawsuits from creditors, suppliers and investors; Questions of control revolving around five offshore firms; Disconnected phones by firms in the British Virgin Islands.

Focuses on the bonds of Asia Pulp & Paper Co. (APP) in Singapore. Increase in price and trading volume; Debts restructuring of the company; Value of APP traded bonds; Recovery of the bonds of APP.

Reports the draft restructuring plan of Asia Pulp & Paper Co. in Singapore. Schedule for the availability of the plan; Failure of the company in reporting audited financial statements for the year 2002; Resignation of Arthur Andersen as auditor of the company.

Reports the resignation of global accounting firm Arthur Andersen LLP as auditor of Asia Pulp and Paper Co. in Singapore. Effects of the resignation on the company's audited accounts; Appointment of Credit Suisse First Boston to restruct the debt and obligations of the company; Reasons for the delayed of APP to produce audited accounts.

Reports the resignation of Deloitee Touche Tohmatsu from the contract investigations of the Asia Pulp & Paper Co. (APP) in Singapore. Agreements on the improvements of APP operations; Plans for the establishment of a separate company; Selection of financial accounting experts for the investigations.

Reports on the class-action complaints filed in a New York court against Singapore-based Asia Pulp & Paper Co. (APP), its directors and auditors. Alleged issuance of misleading information that in turn inflated APP share prices; Delisting of the company's from the New York Stock Exchange.

Reports on the scaling back of Asia Pulp & Paper Co.'s plans to sell assets in China. Consolidated debt of the company; Sale of noncore assets.

Reports the suspension of the Asia Pulp & Paper Co.'s American depository receipts by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Failure to meet the NYSE listing criteria; Value of the losses; Decrease of company stock shares.

Reports on the reaction of the bondholders of Asia Pulp & Paper Co. to the payments made to the creditors of the company. Possible delisting of APP from the New York Stock Exchange; Financial status of the company.

Reports the restructuring of Asia Pulp & Paper Co. (APP) in Singapore. Petition filed by CellMark AB against APP for not able to collect $10.8 million owed by APP; Worries over the restructuring process of the company; Necessity of liquidation of the company.

Reports the condition of the export industry of South Korea. Demand for paper industry in the local economy; Decrease in importation of goods and services from the United States; Slowdown in export demand in South Korea.

Lists the asset depreciation ranges of several business enterprises in Asia as of May 14, 2001. Asia Pulp & Paper; Coles Myer; Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.

Reports that Asia Pulp & Paper Co.'s decision to sell pulp through Japanese trading company Itochu Corp. has negatively affected Asian pulp prices.

Reports that Asian bond investors are placing great importance on quality issues. Institutional investors' interest on investment-grade paper; Downgrading of most high-yielding, speculative-grade bonds; Volume of new debt issues in 2001.

Reports the recruitment of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu International by Asia Pulp & Paper Co. in Jakarta, Indonesia to investigate the failure of the company to reflect two derivatives contracts in the financial account.

Reports on the failure of Asia Pulp & Paper Co.'s ventures in China. Reasons for the failure of the business in China; Highlight of the risks of overestimating the huge and often misunderstood Chinese economy; Failure of reforms in China.

Presents updates on four Asian firms as of April 2, 2001. Aiwa Co.'s work force and reduction and factory closures; Decline in stock price of Singapore Telecommunications Ltd.; Debt restructuring by Asia Pulp & Paper Co.; Foster's Brewing Group Ltd.'s takeover offer for Wine Planet Holdings Ltd.

Reports on the decline of the credit rating of Asia Pulp & Paper Co. Decision of the company to halt all payments of interest and debt; Debt restructuring of the company.

Cites the efforts of Asia Pulp & Paper Co. (APP) to establish the restructuring of the company's financial borrowings during a liquidity crises. Appointment of Credit Suisse First Bottom to coordinate the restructuring of debt and other obligations; Termination of the threat of default upon payment of overdue bonds within its grace period; Forecast on the impact of the decline of APP on other companies in the region.

Reports the plan of Asia Pulp & Paper Co. to consider a so-called debt-standstill agreement. Assistance of the agreement to the financial condition of the company; Appointment of an adviser; Potential difficulties and effects of the agreement.

Reports on the lawsuits filed against Asia Pulp & Paper Co. in Singapore by French banking group, Credit Lyonnais SA, and French-Arab bank, Union de Banques Arabes & Francaises. Creditors' loss of faith on APP's capability to make good on interest and short-term debt payments due in 2001; Failure of APP subsidiary Tjiwi Kimia to meet multi-million dollar bond interest payments in February 2001.

Focuses on the debt incurred by Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), one of the largest bond issuer in the Asian region outside Japan. Concerns over the debt payment to bond holders; Possibility of restructuring the company; Optimism of some fund managers holding APP bonds.

Reports on the possible default of Singapore based Asia Pulp & Paper Co. due to increasing debt borrowings. Delay in the payment of bond interest to investors; Failure to meet the New York Stock Exchange listing criteria; Consideration of financial options to reduce the total obligation of the company.

Details the tourist destinations in Kunming, China. Evidences of modernization in the province; Account on the practice of burning paper money for good fortune; Consideration of the sense of isolation as the main attraction of the region.