Headlines

Singapore bank OCBC is seeking a court-appointed supervisor to manage shipping firm Xihe Holdings Pte Ltd and four of its subsidiaries, four sources with knowledge of the court filing said, Reuters reported. Xihe Holdings is part of the troubled Lim family business empire, which also includes oil trader Hin Leong Trading and fleet manager Ocean Tankers (Pte) Ltd, both of which were placed under court-appointed supervisors earlier this year.

A subsidiary of AIM-listed RBG Holdings plc, a professional services group, LionFish announced this week the launch of ISLERO, which it claimed will be able to offer cheaper and more flexible pricing structures, including some rate-based alternatives, Credit Strategy reported. LionFish said ISLERO will adopt the same principles that underpin LionFish’s overall litigation financing activities.

The debt burden currently faced by TH Plantations Bhd (THP) cannot be resolved via asset sale but rather a restructuring of its debt, said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Ahmad Marzuk Shaary, The Edge reported. Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat today, Ahmad Marzuk raised the suggestion on grounds that the bulk of THP’s debt goes to parent Lembaga Tabung Haji, and that asset sale will negatively impact THP’s cash flow rather than improve it. “About 75% of the loans by THP came from Tabung Haji.

Argentina has lost an attempt to halt a lawsuit in English courts brought by four hedge funds which say the country has manipulated economic data to avert payments in connection with growth-linked sovereign debt instruments, Reuters reported. Asset managers Palladian Partners L.P., HBK Master Fund L.P, Hirsh Group LLC and Virtual Emerald International Limited said they are owed from 525 million-645 million euros in payments linked to the GDP warrants designed to pay out to investors if a number of growth criteria targets are met or exceeded.

The Olympic cauldron will remain unlit and its stadium empty on Friday as the virus-triggered postponement of the Tokyo Games leaves disappointed fans wondering if it’s still worth holding on to tickets and hotel operators fretting over thousands of vacant rooms, Bloomberg News reported. Japan will still mark the day originally scheduled for the opening ceremony with a national holiday.

Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production is in debt restructuring talks with its lenders, group managing director Victor Okoronkwo tells The Africa Report. All parameters of the company’s debt are under consideration as part of the talks, which began shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic, Okoronkwo said, The Africa Report reported.

A growing number of Asian firms are delaying bond repayments or seeking debt swaps amid mounting stress, boosting uncertainty for debtholders, Bloomberg News reported. Flagship carrier PT Garuda Indonesia and Dr. Peng Telecom & Media Group Co. have extended the maturity on their dollar bonds in recent months, while Chinese business-park developer Yida China Holdings Ltd. conducted a debt exchange earlier this year. Indonesian builder PT Modernland Realty’s bondholders last week agreed to lengthen the maturity of its rupiah notes.

Board chairman of New Stream oil and gas company and former co-owner of troubled Antipinsky refinery Dmitry Mazurov charged with a 4 billion-ruble embezzlement (about $60 million) has filed a cassation appeal against a ruling declaring him bankrupt, according to the Moscow Commercial Court’s records, RAPSI reported. In mid-June, the Ninth Commercial Court of Appeals declared Mazurov. The ruling was delivered upon an application filed by Persit Services Inc.  Its 2.08-billion-ruble claim was included in Mazurov’s creditor demands list.

The extent of the coronavirus toll on the UK public finances was exposed on Tuesday with official figures showing a record government cash deficit in the first quarter of the financial year, more than twice the previous highest level of borrowing, the Financial Times reported. Between April and June, the government’s net cash requirement — the deficit of tax receipts over public spending — was £174bn, far higher than both the £20.3bn in the same period of 2019-20 and the previous quarterly record of £76.8bn at the height of the global financial crisis in the fourth quarter of 2009.

London-based Nithia Capital Resources Advisors LLP is seeking to acquire troubled Singapore commodity trader Agritrade International Pte Ltd (AIPL) and its shares in its Hong Kong-listed subsidiary, according to a source familiar with the matter, Reuters reported. AIPL, whose businesses span palm oil and coal, is undergoing a court-appointed restructuring after it collapsed earlier this year amid fraud allegations. It owes $1.55 billion, including $983 billion to at least 20 banks.