Singapore

Marco Polo Marine’s noteholders have voted to approve a restructuring S50m ($36m) of the Singapore-listed company’s debt, which will give the offshore supply vessel operator breathing space. As a result of the vote, the ordinary maturity date of the notes will be extended by three years. Additional interest will be paid on the notes at a rate of 1.5% per annum, which is payable in two installments.

A Singapore court on Thursday appointed financial advisory firm KPMG as judicial manager for Swiber Holdings Ltd, allowing the troubled oilfield services firm to be kept under a process through which it could be nursed back to health, Reuters reported. Swiber applied in July to place itself under judicial management. It had initially filed for liquidation as it faced hundreds of million of dollars in debt and a decline in orders following a drop in global oil prices.

The oil price rebound has come too late with another firm in the offshore sector joining the debt restructuring frenzy amid the most brutal industry downturn in 30 years, The Straits Times reported. Singapore-listed rig and vessel chartering group Swissco Holdings said yesterday that it is seeking to restructure $100 million worth of bonds, including a $2.85 million coupon payment due on Oct 16.

Hanjin isn’t the only player in the ocean shipping world that has become insolvent, Global Trade reported. Rickmers Maritime Trust (RMT), a Singapore-listed owner of containerships has become the latest casualty in a growing list of containership owners with toxic vessel assets that are unable to generate sufficient funds to pay their outstanding debt obligations.

Minority shareholders of Singapore's main rail operator SMRT Corp Ltd voted overwhelmingly today in favor of Temasek Holdings' S$1.18 billion ($866 million) bid to take full control of the company, Reuters reported. Of the shareholders present at the meeting, 84.8 percent voted in support of the buyout, SMRT said in a statement. State investor Temasek, as majority shareholder, had no voting rights for the buyout of the 46 percent of SMRT shares it does not already own.

Mainboard-listed Marco Polo Marine said on Thursday (Sept 22) there may be a "substantial doubt about the group's ability to continue as a going concern", The Straits Times reported. Its statement to the Singapore Exchange accompanied its launch of an exercise seeking consent from bond holders to delay repayment by three years of notes worth S$50 million that are due next month. Noteholders are asked to vote on the company's debt restructuring proposal at a meeting on Oct 14.

Troubled Singaporean oilfield services firm Swiber Holdings said late on Friday it was unable to make the coupon payment for its 450 million yuan ($67.5 million) fixed rate notes due on Sunday. The company applied in July to place itself under judicial management, after initially filing for liquidation, becoming the largest local company to fall victim to the slump in oil prices. Read more.

A Singapore-based shipping trust that operates container ships is asking creditors for leniency on about $253 million of debt, in the latest sign of debt woes in the industry and in the city-state, the Times of Oman reported. Rickmers Maritime won’t be able to repay $179.7 million of senior debt due in March 2017 and the interest and principal on S$100 million ($73.3 million) of notes due in May 2017, it said in an investor presentation filed to the Singapore Exchange on Thursday.

The number of firms in Singapore being wound up after encountering financial trouble is set to be on a par with last year's number, which was the highest in 11 years, The Straits Times reported. These figures may even understate the levels of distress as such a formal procedure is always the last resort, industry observers note. More companies seem to be going under, and the number of these cases could creep up to higher levels than during the global financial crisis, said Mr Chua Beng Chye, partner in the restructuring and insolvency practice at Rajah & Tann.

Three weeks into the sudden collapse of Swiber Holdings - the first major casualty of a protracted slump in oil prices - concerns are emerging over possible spillover into the local economy as one-fifth of manufacturing employment is linked to the beleaguered offshore and marine (O&M) industry, The Straits Times reported. Economists warn that insolvencies of offshore service companies can potentially affect the country's gross domestic product (GDP) as the sector accounts for up to 11 per cent of manufacturing's contribution to GDP, and 20 per cent of manufacturing employment.