  We present $\it {ASCA}$ observations of the z=1.98 prototype BALQSO: PHL5200.
The source was detected in both SIS and GIS. A power-law spectrum ($\alpha_E =
0.6^{+0.9}_{-0.6}$) with large intrinsic absorption (N$_H = 1.3^{+2.3}_{-1.1}
\times 10^{23}$ cm$^{-2}$) best describes the spectrum. Excess column density
over the local Galactic value is required at the 99\% confidence level. This
detection suggests that, although BALQSOs are X-ray quiet, it is strong
absorption in the BAL region that makes them appear faint to low energy X-ray
experiments. The required intrinsic absorbing column density is two to three
orders of magnitude larger than earlier estimates of column densities in
BALQSOs. This implies that the BAL systems are much more highly ionized than
previously thought.
