The sprawling group, which announced a controversial $3.0billion debt restructuring on Friday, said the reorganisation will not involve any movement in assets or ownership, but will help focus attention on its core business strengths.

"Let me get this clear: This is not a prelude to any paper shuffling or asset shuffling within the group," Renong managing director Zakhir Sidek told a news conference.

"It is purely a management restructuring," he said.

The debt-laden Renong said the four business divisions would each control companies in construction and engineering, expressways, property development and transportation.

Under the plan, the main companies in the construction and engineering division will be EPE Power Bhd, Kinta Kellas Plc, Time Engineering Bhd, Ho Hup Construction Co Bhd and CrestPetroleum Bhd.

Under transportation will be bus operator Park May Bhd, suburban train operator Putra and Merak Unggul, which will manage the state-owned national railway firm, KTM Bhd.

The expressways division will control United Engineers (M)Bhd, Cement Industries of Malaysia Bhd, Propel Bhd, Linkedua (M) Bhd, which manages the second bridge link between Malaysia and Singapore, and toll road operators and builders Projek Lebuhraya Utara Selatan Bhd (PLUS), Elite, Renong India, Manila Cavite Expressway and Kualiti Alam.

The property division will control Cyberview, which has projects in the Multimedia Super Corridor high technology zone near Kuala Lumpur, and Prolink Development, which is planning a large integrated property development in southern Johor state.

The four divisions also include several subsidiaries of the listed companies and other smaller subsidiaries and associates.

"Businesses that are not included within the new corporate structure will continue to report directly to the executivechairman," a Renong statement said.

The divisions will each be headed by a president who will report to executive chairman Halim Saad, a protege of prime minister Mahathir Mohamad's close adviser Daim Zainuddin, the minister charged with rejuvenating the economy.

Renong was the main investment vehicle of Mahathir's United Malays National Organisation party until it was sold off several years ago.

Renong -- which has large stakes in 12 Kuala Lumpur listed companies -- has interests in construction and engineering, financial services, telecommunications, toll road management, hotels and oil.

The group's turnover for the year ended June 30, 1998 was 925 million ringgit ($243 million).

Renong and UEM said on Friday a large part of their own and their key projects' debt would be replaced by government-guaranteed bonds, which would allow the companies to operate without worrying about creditors recalling the loans.

Opposition parties and analysts said the proposal was a bailout for the well connectedgroup, but Mahathir defended the debt plan, saying it was not wrong for governments to help their big companies out in trouble.

Under the plan, a new company set up by the government would issue 10.5 billion ringgit in government-guaranteed bonds to pay for the debts of Renong and UEM.

Bondholders would be paid from future tax receipts and cashflow from toll-road operator PLUS, 100 per cent owned by UEM.

PLUS operates the main 848-km (527-mile) trunk highway that runs the length of Peninsular Malaysia.

A government loan of 824 million ringgit to PLUS would also be waived for a few years, with the money used to pay lenders of Renong's road developer unit, Linkedua.