The trustee of Rickmers Maritime said Wednesday that the container ship operator would be winding down its business after failing to reach an agreement with creditors that would allow it to continue operating, The Wall Street Journal reported. Rickmers Trust Management Pte. Ltd.

Default fears are resurfacing in Singapore ahead of a wall of maturing corporate debt, as a U.S. bankruptcy filing by a firm from the city flags lingering pain despite economic recovery, Bloomberg News reported. Pressure to pay down obligations has been unrelenting. Companies excluding banks must repay S$38 billion ($27 billion) of local bonds over the next four years.

Singapore owes its existence, and its prosperity, to its place at the heart of intra-Asian trade, The Economist reported. In more than 50 years of independence, the city-state has striven mightily to attract investment from all over the world. Such has been its success, indeed, that others hope to imitate its open, low-tax model. In Britain, for example, there has been talk of the country turning into a “European Singapore” once withdrawal from the EU is complete.

The woes of Singaporean energy-services provider Ezra Holdings Ltd. are a stark reminder to the city’s biggest banks of the threat souring oil and gas loans pose to their earnings. A writedown flagged by Ezra recently has refocused attention on the debt-repayment problems marine-services firms are facing, fueling concerns that lenders may have to set aside more money to cover loan losses, Bloomberg News reported. Fourth-quarter results due this week from DBS Group Holdings Ltd.

Homegrown premium seafood supply chain manager Oceanus Group has entered into a binding term sheet with its key creditors in relation to a proposed debt restructuring, The Business Times reported. This is done by converting 76.4 per cent of its total outstanding debt to equity, substantially improving its balance sheet, it announced on Wednesday before the market opens.

A Singapore court Wednesday sentenced a former branch manager of Switzerland’s Falcon Private Bank AG to prison for crimes connected to the alleged multibillion-dollar misappropriation at Malaysian state investment fund 1MDB, The Wall Street Journal reported. Jens Sturzenegger, 42, a Swiss national who managed Falcon’s Singapore unit, was charged last week with 16 offenses under various laws, including one that requires banks and their officers to enact due-diligence checks on clients to prevent money laundering.

A private banker who helped manage the accounts of Malaysian state investment fund 1MDB went on trial Monday in Singapore. The proceedings against Yeo Jiawei, 33 years old, formerly a wealth manager at the local branch of Swiss bank BSI SA, marks a step forward in legal investigations in several countries related to 1Malaysia Development Bhd. and the first time a defendant has faced trial. In his opening statement, the case’s prosecutor told the court that Mr.

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.