| (Adds
details of debt plan)
BANGKOK,
March 6 (Reuters) - Creditors of loss-making Jasmine International
Plc on Thursday approved a plan to restructure the Thai
telecoms group's total debt of 11.8 billion baht ($275.8
million), a creditor source said.
But
the plan is still opposed by some creditors who intend to
file a petition against it before the Central Bankruptcy
Court because the lenders would be repaid at different levels
ranging from 19.58 percent to 100 percent of their exposures.
Jasmine,
founded by Commerce Minister Adisai Bodharamik, filed a
petition late last year to restructure its debts under the
supervision of the Central Bankruptcy Court.
"About
59 percent of creditors voted in favour of the plan,"
the creditor, who declined to be indentified, told reporters.
The plan needed over 50 percent support to pass.
The
creditor said more than 70 percent of the total debt would
be written off, leaving Jasmine with 3.2 billion baht debt
to be repaid over the next nine years.
He
said creditors would convert some debts into 18 million
shares, and Jasmine would also issue 30 million new shares
to a group of investors to raise funds for debt repayment.
A
jasmine official, who declined to be identified, said about
30 lenders, representing 40 percent of the firm's debt,
would submit a petition to dispute the plan.
The
firm has a total of 44 creditors, which include Bangkok
Bank Plc , Thailand's biggest commercial bank, and HSBC
Bank Plc .
Jasmine
operates a wide range of telecoms-related businesses, from
a submarine cable network to satellite and Internet. It
also has an interest in provincial fixed-line operator TT&T
Plc .
Jasmine
shares hit a seven-month high last month on hopes the company
would succeed in restructuring its debt.
The
stock gave up an early seven-percent gain on Thursday and
closed down 2.7 percent at 4.34 baht. The overall Thai stock
market was down 0.26 percent.
Jasmine
has registered capital of four billion bath, consisting
of 400 million shares with a 10-baht par value. It posted
a net loss of 1.26 billion baht in 2002 versus a profit
of 677 million baht in 2001. ($1=42.78 baht)
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