a year earlier, group finance director Chris Cowan predicted.

Jardine Matheson Holdings, a Bermuda-registered company, is the Hong Kong multi-national's parent.

"The outlook for Dairy Farm (the multi-national's supermarket and retail group) was much worse than we anticipated and higher level start-up costs affected both Dairy Farm and Jardine Pacific,'' he said.

Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd., Hongkong Land Holdings Ltd., Mandarin Oriental International Ltd. and Jardine Strategic Holdings Ltd. are also Bermuda registered. The five companies have secondary listings on the Bermuda Stock Exchange.

And in the life assurance business, investment income was as the Thai stock market has "fallen out,'' he said in a Singapore Business Times story on Monday. Jardine Matheson Holdings has a 35 percent joint venture in Thailand.

Mr. Cowan's latest year forecast was more bearish than those made by management and analysts three months ago.

Then, it was thought that this year's profits would be better compared to a drab 1995 when net profits slumped 28 percent.

Dairy Farm stunned the market in early September when it reported a 39 percent and 55 percent slump in trading profits -- profit before interest and tax -- to $53 million and net earnings to $28 million respectively.

"The decline was mainly due to repositioning costs in Australia, weaker performances in Taiwan and the UK and start-up costs in Japan and China,'' Jardine Matheson Holdings chairman Simon Keswick said.

Better performance from JIB Group, Jardine Fleming, Hongkong Land, Mandarin Oriental and Cycle & Carriage offset declines in Jardine Pacific, Jardine International Motors and Dairy Farm.

The result was a 17 percent fall in Jardine Matheson Holdings' net first half profit to $213 million.

The first half was highlighted by the scandal involving Jardine Fleming Group's fund manager Colin Armstrong which will result in $20 million provision, half covered by Jardine Matheson Holdings.

Asia's largest fund manager outside Japan, Jardine Fleming is a 50/50 joint venture between Jardine Matheson Holdings and British investment bank Robert Fleming & Co.

In August, investigators found Mr. Armstrong had cheated three clients out of trading profits and misled others.