Happy new year Grant . Glad to see your still sweating on the aud movements [that was a joke ].
Do u recall the below thread from Nov ? I'd like to retract one comment as it looks like the ozzie is on drugs and will hit my target well in advance of July . I've also included a post from Reuters for those who think things are well in Asia . Yah sure their stockmarkets are up substantially in the last year but all are well below 2000's level [except Indonesia which is doing ok . Maybe a read of Marc Faber will fill you all in on a possible Asian crissis again this year . One doesn't have to dig very far to see that many major corporations throughout Asia are still in the poooooo . cheers ge
Subject re: the ultimate insult to australian manufacturin Posted 14/11/03 09:58 - 50 reads Posted by gse1963 Post #73631 - in reply to msg. #73600 - splitview
Hi Grant might just add to your dollar expectations . Your gunna hate what I say cause incase u haven't noticed the trend in the Ozzie is up . lol Next major monthly target is around 80c in July next year . The present rise to 72 from 63.4 looks a bit quick and there are a few barriers coming up like 72.5-73ish , I think this may cap it for November . But u know how it goes , never short a bull . cheers ge
Reuters LG Card Creditors Want Rescue from Korea Monday January 5, 4:33 am ET By Kim Yeon-hee
SEOUL (Reuters) - Creditors of South Korea's largest credit card company torpedoed a $4.2 billion rescue plan on Monday and urged the government to take a majority stake in LG Card Co, which warned it was running out of cash. ADVERTISEMENT
"We can hang on until Wednesday, but we need about 800 billion won ($669.4 million) in fresh money to repay loans and bonds and meet cash advance services," said Kim In-kwon, a spokesman for LG Card.
Two of the firm's 16 lenders said they opposed a debt-for-equity swap revised only last week to save the company from bankruptcy, even though Finance Minister Kim Jin-pyo had said he expected a deal to be thrashed out during the day. The swap requires the support of all the lenders to proceed.
The government has been striving to keep LG Card's problems from escalating and destabilizing the whole financial system and is now under pressure to effectively nationalize the company through state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB).
Creditors urged KDB to revise the rescue plan again by taking a bigger stake than the 19 percent it had proposed, the financial markets regulator said.
"Creditors are talking about KDB shouldering more costs than suggested by owning a majority stake in LG Card, and KDB is reviewing it," Yun Yong-ro, director general of the regulatory Financial Supervisory Commission, told Reuters.
"If KDB agrees to the proposal, we would like to conclude the rescue plan either by today or tomorrow."
But KDB officials told Reuters they were unhappy about increasing their exposure to LG Card because of the potential for losses.
LG Card is the biggest casualty of a credit boom that has left one in 10 South Koreans above the age of 15 unable to repay debt. The troubles could threaten a recovery in South Korea's economy, which crawled out of recession in the third quarter.
CHOHUNG, KOOKMIN AGAINST DEAL
Analysts said KDB had no choice but to shoulder more costs in bailing out LG Card to head off bankruptcy and a potential domino-effect for the whole financial sector.
"If LG Card files for court protection or is liquidated, it would take a heavy toll on all local banks," said Han Jung-tae, an analyst of Mirae Asset Management. "That's why we cannot kill LG Card. And the key is how important a role KDB will play."
KDB offered on Friday to inject 300 billion won more than planned under a previous $4.2 billion debt-for-equity swap to take a leading role in a joint takeover of the company.
KDB is the third-biggest creditor to LG Card, which narrowly avoided bankruptcy in late November after getting emergency loans from creditors.
An official at creditor Chohung Bank said the bank remained opposed to the joint bailout plan.
"Given that LG Card's prospects are unclear, how can we participate in it?," a Chohung official in charge of corporate loans told Reuters.
A Kookmin Bank executive said the company rejected the joint bailout plan at a meeting on Monday but might revisit it on Tuesday if terms of the rescue package were changed substantially.
"We have not changed our position at all that we oppose the joint takeover plan," Shin Ki-sup, executive vice president of Kookmin Bank, told Reuters.
Yun from the regulatory commission said most creditors remained wary over the proposed joint takeover of LG Card.
Shareholders have also cried foul over a proposed move by creditors to cancel shares without compensation, a common practice before debt-for-equity swaps in South Korea.
"There is no protection for shareholders," said Wong Kok Hoi, chief investment officer at APS Asset Management in Singapore, which holds a substantial stake in LG Card in its $1.7 billion portfolio. "Creditors want to force the value of shares owned by shareholders to become zero."
($1=1,195.0 won)
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