<b>Asia Pulp &amp; Paper Looks to Sell Assets</b>

Asia Pulp & Paper aims to sell all its assets in China and unproductive assets at its Indonesian operations as part of efforts to resolve its debt mess, according to Reuters.

Gunawan Taslim, chief financial officer at APP unit PT Tjiwi Kimia , said the asset sale plan was part of a massive debt restructuring at the world's fourth largest paper concern in terms of volume.

APP told creditors in Singapore it expected to take one year to come up with a debt restructuring plan for the group, burdened by consolidated debts of $12.2 billion. Key operations are located mainly in Indonesia but also include plants in China and India.

``In Indonesia, the (APP) plan is to sell all unproductive assets. So, in every Indonesian subsidiary there will be the selling of machinery,'' Taslim said without elaborating on what he meant by unproductive assets.

``In China, we aim to sell all (APP) assets.'' He gave no value for APP's factories in China.

Taslim added that all APP assets in India had been sold for $82 million according to a memorandum of understanding signed recently. He gave no details on that sale.

According to documents given to creditors earlier this week, APP's parent, Indonesia's Sinar Mas Group, said it would consider divestment strategies for Indonesian units involved in tissue making, carbonless paper and packaging over the next year.

It would also consider merging several units. No further details have been given.