Haitai Wants Court Protection

Haitai Confectionery Co. applied for court protection Wednesday after its creditors refused to extend its loans last week.

"We asked our creditors to roll over some of the payments coming due," a company official said, "but the request was rejected." Total obligations coming due each quarter amount to 25.3 billion won ($19.1 million), according to Haitai. "We wanted to stop the creditors from making claims on our assets so we can continue discussions to sell the company," the official said.

The creditors rejected the company's request last week, saying that a rollover would be too harmful to them because of the size of the loans.

A maker of snacks and other food products, Haitai defaulted on its loans in 1997 and was in a debt restructuring program until late 1999, when creditors converted some of the loans to equity.