SOVIET FIRM SAYS TALKS ON FOR PHILIPPINE MINE

  Preliminary talks are on between two
  state-owned Philippine banks and Soviet metal trading and
  equipment sales company Tsvetmetpromexport on rescuing Nonoc
  Mining and Industrial Corp (NMIC) which operates the
  Philippines' only nickel refinery, a Soviet official said.
      G.I. Valentchits, Deputy Trade Minister at the Soviet
  embassy, told Reuters a report earlier this week that
  Tsvetmetpromexport had asked the Philippine government whether
  it could help rehabilitate or operate NMIC was incorrect.
      "It is the other way round," Valentchits said.
      He said the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and
  the Philippine National Bank (PNB), which own NMIC, had
  approached the Soviet state-owned firm in August last year.
      "We studied the question and asked the banks in which field
  and what area they can help in the project," Valentchits said.
      He said there had been no reply yet from NMIC and the talks
  were "only just initial."
      NMIC President Arthur Aguilar and other company officials
  were not available for comment.
      Manila banking sources said the situation was serious at
  NMIC, set up by DBP and PNB in August 1984 after the two banks
  foreclosed on the assets of Marinduque Mining and Industrial
  Corp over a 17 billion peso obligation.
      The bankers said NMIC itself has recently filed with the
  Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for placing the
  company under receivership and the suspension of its debt
  payments in order to protect it from threats of foreclosure.
      Business Day newspaper said the latest credits extended to
  NMIC include a 127 mln dlr loan, with Chemical Bank as the lead
  agent.
      The newspaper said another 33 mln dlr loan was lead managed
  by Citicorp.
      It said the government's privatisation program has listed
  NMIC at a price of at least 700 mln dlrs, adding that foreign
  investors were wary of taking over the ailing nickel firm.
      The bankers said NMIC was currently burdened with debts of
  at least 15.8 billion pesos and is facing 10 civil lawsuits for
  foreclosures from major creditors.
      The Business Bulletin newspaper said the firm had assets
  totalling 12.2 billion pesos, while DBP and PNB exposures with
  the firm were estimated at 14.9 billion pesos.
      NMIC has not operated its plant in the southern Philippines
  since March 1986 after workers struck demanding payment of
  salaries delayed because of the firm's financial difficulties.
      The firm produced 1,863 tonnes of nickel in the first two
  months of 1986, compared with 2,364 tonnes in the same period
  in 1985. The mine's capacity is 2,000 tonnes a month.
  

