China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corp. may ask creditors to write off 60 percent of its debts before it presents a payment proposal to Singapore's High Court on January 24th.

The company is China's dominant jet-fuel importer and it owes about 80 creditors more than 500 million US dollars.

China Aviation Oil's survival hinges on approval for this plan by creditors including the Goldman Sachs Group, Societe Generale SA and Mitsui & Co.

A proposed $100 million bailout by Chinese and Singapore government-owned companies won't go ahead unless the proposal is accepted.

China Aviation Oil filed for bankruptcy protection in Singapore in November after losing $550 million in speculative oil trades.

The company's net assets were $137 million at the end of 2003. The sale of those assets may raise about $100 million.