Co-operation Helps Speed Up Restructuring of Thai Construction Firm.

Sep. 6--Debt restructuring of Thailand's largest construction firm, Italian-Thai Development Plc (ITD), is unlikely to be drawn out as at Thai Petrochemical Industry Plc, as most creditors and ITD's management have a common interest in speeding up the process, according to analysts.

An analyst at Capital Nomura Securities Plc said it was essential that ITD ask the court to speed up the rehabilitation process as out-of-court negotiations over the past year had made little headway.

A source at Siam Commercial Bank, one of ITD's major creditors, said the major sticking point was the company's proposal to convert its entire foreign-currency debt totalling about 12.85 billion baht into local currency.

ITD owes an estimated 200 million baht to SCB.

The company, in conjunction with SCB, on Tuesday sought court assistance to speed up the process of restructuring ITD's debts totalling 20 billion baht.

An analyst at JF Thanakom Securities said that a change in the structure of the creditors' group might make the negotiations more difficult.

Two major creditors, Japan's Sanwa Bank and Australia's Westpac, sold their share of the debt to new creditors who have not been identified.