United States

A new wave of scandals involving Chinese companies listed overseas could hit New York and Hong Kong in the coming weeks as the annual results season get under way with auditors on high alert for fraud, the Financial Times reported. Auditors are under great pressure this year to detect discrepancies in their clients’ results, having faced embarrassment and legal action in 2011 following dozens of accounting scandals at Chinese companies listed in North America.
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Bahraini investment house Arcapita's move to file for bankruptcy protection in the United States, while a milestone for debt restructuring in the Gulf, is unlikely to prompt other regional firms to follow suit, Reuters reported. Arcapita became the first Gulf Arab firm to file for Chapter 11 in the U.S. on Monday, under pressure from hedge funds which demanded full repayment ahead of the maturity of a $1.1 billion Islamic finance facility on March 28.
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Humpuss Sea Transport Pte Ltd., a Singapore-based unit of an Indonesian shipping company, filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in the U.S., Bloomberg reported. The unit of Jakarta-based PT Humpuss Intermoda Transportasi is already under the control of liquidators in Singapore, where it was incorporated in 1996, according to Monday’s filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. Debt and assets were listed at more than $100 million.
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A judge affirmed packaged ice company Arctic Glacier International Inc.'s right to receive the benefits of Chapter 15 protection in the U.S. as its restructuring plays out in Canada, Dow Jones DBR Small Cap reported. Judge Kevin Gross of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., Friday signed off on the company's petition for protection under Chapter 15, which allows companies to seek the U.S. court's recognition of a foreign bankruptcy case.
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Arcapita Bank, a Bahraini investment firm heavily invested in the United States and Europe, said Monday it has filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection in a bid to reorganize the company, the Associated Press reported. The firm, whose investments include U.S. women's apparel retailer J. Jill and British rail company Freightliner, sought Chapter 11 protection after failing to refinance a $1.1 billion loan due on March 28. It said it is using the filing as a way to protect its assets while it works out a turnaround plan. None of the companies Arcapita owns is included in the filing.
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Elpida Memory Inc., the last Japanese maker of computer-memory chips, sought protection from creditors in the U.S. as it pursues a bankruptcy case in Japan. The Tokyo-based chipmaker filed court papers today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware, listing more than $1 billion in assets and debt. It asked the court to recognize the Japanese case as the main bankruptcy proceeding. Chapter 15 of the bankruptcy code allows foreign companies reorganizing abroad to protect their assets from creditors and lawsuits in the U.S.
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Units of Berlian Laju Tanker, Indonesia’s largest oil and gas shipping group, filed for Chapter 15 creditor protection in a US bankruptcy court early Wednesday morning, The Jakarta Globe reported on a Reuters story. The company’s units have listed assets and liabilities in the $50 million to $100 million range, according to a filing with the US bankruptcy court in the Southern District of New York. Under US bankruptcy laws, Chapter 15 grants a foreign company protection from creditors looking to seize its assets in the country.
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A major creditor of Proview Electronics, which is challenging Apple Inc.'s use of the iPad trademark, has moved to have the ailing computer monitor maker liquidated, reports said Monday, the Associated Press reported. Taiwan-based Fubon Insurance is seeking $8.68 million in debts and has filed an application to have Proview declared bankrupt, the reports by the Xinhua News Agency and other mainland media said.
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Arctic Glacier To Restructure Under CCAA

Arctic Glacier Income Fund said Wednesday it will file for a court supervised restructuring under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act that the ice maker said could result in a sale or recapitalization of the business, The Globe and Mail reported on a Canadian Press story. The process has the support both of Arctic Glacier's secured lenders and two of its unitholders, Coliseum Capital Management and Talamod Asset Management, the fund said.
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Hellas Telecommunications Luxembourg II SCA filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy to put on hold certain lawsuits pending against the company in New York State Supreme Court, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. The company, based in London, listed both debt and assets of more than $100 million in documents filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. Chapter 15 protects foreign companies from U.S. lawsuits and creditor claims while a company reorganizes abroad. Hellas Telecommunications Luxembourg is asking the U.S.
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