A senior manager at the Antrim textiles manufacturer Norfil has rejected speculation that the company is in financial difficulties. Fears for the future of the company were raised following reports that an Asian company linked to Norfil had defaulted on debt repayments. According to a report in last week's Financial Times, the Indonesian firm PT Polysindo Eka Perkasa, which has connections with Norfil, defaulted on a debt of $585 million after failing to meet interest payments of $22.8 million.

But a spokesman for Norfil insisted that the relationship between the two companies was not financial.

"We do receive some technical support from Polysindo," he said, "but their financial problems do not have any bearing on our operations."

Nearly 90 per cent of Norfil's products are sold in mainland Europe, and its spokesman said that like all UK textiles companies, it had been struggling to compete because of the strength of sterling, and cheap imports from the Far East.

"That is our real problem," he said, "and we are heading for some sort of recession if this situation continues."