APRIL may alter debt repayment

APRIL may alter debt repayment

SINGAPORE (Reuters): Pulp and paper company Asia Pacific
Resources International Ltd (APRIL) said on Thursday it was in
talks with its creditors to modify its US$1.3 billion debt
repayment because of price declines of its products.

APRIL said in response to Reuters query that its subsidiaries
were negotiating with lenders to modify cash flow assumptions and
intended repayment obligation due to product price falls.

The Singapore-based, New York-listed company declined to give
details on the progress of its talks with creditors, but said
they were "constructive".

APRIL's main assets include PT Riau Andalan Pulp & Paper in
Indonesia, operating a pulp mill with annual capacity of 1.3
million tons.

The group, which also has a stationery plant in Suzhou, China,
had stopped servicing its principal repayment since March.

It was seeking a modification of principal repayment and
interest rates in line with forecast cash flows as its previously
agreed debt restructuring agreements failed to anticipate sharp
declines in its product pricing.

In the quarter ended March 31, 2001, APRIL recorded a net loss
of US$25.5 million on revenues of US$160.7 million, compared with
a profit of US$21.7 million on US$141.3 million revenues in the
same period last year.

Its profit was hit by falls in the average realized prices for
its pulp and uncoated woodfree paper.

APRIL had also been warned by the New York Stock Exchange that
its shares have fallen below the continued listing criteria
requiring an average price of at least one dollar.

The NYSE has the right to suspend from trading and delist
shares that do not meet continued listing criterion.

Its shares dropped 7.35 percent at US$0.63 on Wednesday.

Another troubled Indonesian-linked group with $12 billion debt
is Asia Pulp & Paper, which is in the process of restructuring
its massive debt burden.