China Fishery seeks US bankruptcy protection amid regulatory probes
SINGAPORE – Singapore-listed China Fishery Group has sought United States bankruptcy protection, four months after defaulting on US$300 million (S$403.42 million) of bonds amid investigations by market regulators in Singapore and Hong Kong.
SINGAPORE – Singapore-listed China Fishery Group has sought United States bankruptcy protection, four months after defaulting on US$300 million (S$403.42 million) of bonds amid investigations by market regulators in Singapore and Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong-based company filed its Chapter 11 petition in the US Bankruptcy Court in New York on Thursday, listing as much as US$50 million of liabilities and more than US$500 million of assets, according to court documents.
Its Singapore-listed parent company, Pacific Andes Resources Development, filed a separate Chapter 15 petition for companies reorganising outside the US.
“The company, together with (12) non-Peruvian subsidiaries of the company, have filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in order to obtain the protection of the United States Bankruptcy Court while a consensual restructuring of the company’s key Peruvian subsidiaries is being pursued in a transparent and sustainable manner in Peru,” said China Fishery in a stock exchange statement yesterday. “The company will continue to engage and work closely with all stakeholders to achieve the best possible consensual restructuring for all interested parties.”
The filings allow the group to fend off creditors and bondholders from seizing its assets, primarily the fishery business in Peru it acquired from Oslo-based Copeinca ASA in 2013.
China Fishery said efforts this year to sell the Peru fishery assets were not successful amid enforcement threats from some creditors.
It received two undisclosed proposals in December that valued the business at US$1.7 billion.
The companies in the group “have been facing severe financial stress and encountered extreme challenges in their efforts to resuscitate and revive the business” after going in and out of provisional liquidation, it said in the court petition. Recent correspondence from certain creditors suggested the company could face “hostile and aggressive action”, it said.
China Fishery said in August that Singapore’s monetary authority and the commercial crime unit were investigating an offence under the city-state’s securities laws. Market regulators in Hong Kong also obtained documents from the company’s ultimate shareholder, Pacific Andes International Holdings, which has also filed for US bankruptcy protection.
The US$300 million of China Fishery notes due in July 2019 fell 0.2 cents to 63.85 cents on the dollar as of noon in Singapore, according to Bloomberg-compiled prices. While the notes have gained about 15 cents on the dollar this year, they are still 34 cents lower than the level traded a year ago.
The company missed the semi-annual coupon payment on Jan 30 and defaulted on Feb 29 after a one-month grace expired, according to Bloomberg data.
Singapore-listed Pacific Andes Resources, which owns about 69 per cent of China Fishery, defaulted on S$200 million of 2017 notes in January, one of two defaults in Singapore’s debt market since 2009.
The notes are currently at 20 cents on the dollar, according to Bloomberg prices. BLOOMBERG