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Brightoil debt restructuring progresses, proceeds from vessel sales hindered by COVID-19

Company has reached settlement agreements with creditors Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Broad Action Limited, and Luso International Banking Ltd in Hong Kong.

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Brightoil exit

Hong Kong-listed Brightoil Petroleum (Holdings) Limited (Brightoil) on Wednesday (29 April) issued an update on its debt restructuring activities and business operations.

Debt restructuring

Among developments was progress being made over debt restructuring operations at both the High Court of Singapore and in Hong Kong.

The High Court of Singapore has extended a claims moratorium for Brightoil and its subsidiary Brightoil Petroleum (S’pore) Pte. Ltd. to 10 July 2020.

“The company has made good progress in reaching legally binding settlements with major trade creditors,” it said.

“We believe that the continuing moratoria would provide the Group with the necessary protection against any effort to frustrate its ongoing debt restructuring efforts.”

In Hong Kong, Brightoil reached settlement agreements with creditors Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Broad Action Limited, and Luso International Banking Ltd; the company further entered into a loan restructuring agreement with Bank of China Limited Shenzhen Branch on 1 April 2020.

Proceeds from sales of vessels

The High Courts of Singapore and Hong Kong, meanwhile, have both received the net proceeds from the sale of 12 vessels. However, due to the coronavirus, the proceeds will be delivered to Brightoil in May through to July this year, it said..

Brightoil is expected to receive a reimbursement in the sum of SGD 469,834.93 being crew wages and USD 114,015.64 being bunker charges incurred by the company in relation to the arrest of the Brightoil 319, Brightoil 326 and Brightoil 329.

Zhoushan Oil Storage and Terminal Facilities

The non-binding “Zhoushan Project Cooperation Framework Agreement” with a potential buyer for Brightoil’s Zhoushan Oil Storage and Terminal Facilities is still in effect and Brightoil is targeting to upgrade the contract to a binding agreement in the near future.

“After the completion of Zhoushan Project, the Company would have held 100% equity of the storage company and 55% equity of the terminal company in which the fair market value would have been around RMB6 billion,” it stated.

“The sale price for the proposed sale of its 90% interest. The Company will remain responsible to complete all the remaining construction and the buyer will pay the sale price by instalments according to the progress of the construction.”

Upstream business

Brightoil, noting production of its oil fields, oil wells and natural fields remaining affected by the coronavirus, expects the oil sector to be facing a challenging period ahead.

“The outbreak of the new coronavirus (Coronavirus) has severely damaged global economic activity and caused great uncertainty in the current business environment,” it said.

“With the suspension of global trade, demand for crude oil and other products has plummeted, global oil prices have fallen, and crude oil futures have experienced negative oil prices.

“The oil industry is facing a difficult period.”

Earlier developments of Brightoil (since late 2017 to date) can be found in the search results here.


Photo credit:
Manifold Times
Published: 30 April, 2020

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Legal

Singapore withdraws remaining 127 charges against Hin Leong founder OK Lim

Lim Oon Kuin, also known as OK Lim, was issued a stern warning and a district court granted him a discharge amounting to an acquittal for these charges on 17 July.

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RESIZED Sora Shimazaki on Pexels

Founder of collapsed oil trader Hin Leong Trading, Lim Oon Kuin, also known as OK Lim, has had the remaining 127 charges against him withdrawn, according to The Straits Times on Monday (20 July). 

OK Lim was issued a stern warning and a district court granted him a discharge amounting to an acquittal for these charges, including those for cheating, on 17 July. The discharge means Lim cannot be prosecuted again for the same offences.

Lim, 84, is currently serving a 13½-year prison sentence after the High Court reduced his original 17½-year jail term in March 2026. He was convicted in 2024 on two cheating charges and one count of abetting forgery in a case prosecutors described as one of Singapore’s most serious trade finance frauds.

Lim was convicted in May 2024 of two charges of cheating the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) and one count of abetting forgery that proceeded to trial out of a total of 130 criminal charges.

He was first charged in court on 14 August 2020, and was subsequently handed further charges in court on 25 September 2020, 30 April 2021 and 24 June 2021 for his role in perpetuating fraud on various financial institutions. 

A total of 130 charges were eventually brought against him for cheating and forgery-related offences.

Related: Singapore: Hin Leong Founder OK Lim gets jail term slashed to 13.5 years

 

Photo credit: Sora Shimazaki
Published: 21 July, 2026

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Winding up

Singapore: Coastal Logistics Pte Ltd to be wound up voluntarily

Coastal Logistics was reportedly affiliated with troubled Singapore bunker player Coastal Oil (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

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RESIZED Drew Beamer

Several resolutions for Coastal Logistics Pte Ltd were made during an extraordinary general meeting held on 14 July, according to a notice in the Government Gazette on Friday (4 July).

The following resolutions were duly passed during the meeting:

As Special Resolution

  • That it has been proved to the satisfaction of the meeting that the Company cannot by reason of its liabilities continue its business and accordingly the Company be wound up voluntarily pursuant to Section 160(1)(b) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (No. 40 of 2018);

As Ordinary Resolutions

  • that Mr. Wong Pheng Cheong Martin and Ms. Koay May Yee, both care of FTI Consulting (Singapore) Pte Ltd, One Raffles Quay, #27-10 South Tower, Singapore 048583 be appointed as the joint and several Liquidators of the Company for the purpose of such winding up; and
  • that the Liquidators be at liberty to open, maintain and operate any bank account(s) or account(s) for monies received by them as Liquidators with such bank(s) as they deem fit; and
  • that a Committee of Inspection will not be formed.

Manifold Times previously reported Nicholas James Gronow, director of Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping and Coastal Logistics, filed statutory declarations for both companies stating the firms cannot continue their businesses due to liabilities.

Both companies were reportedly affiliated with troubled Singapore bunker player Coastal Oil (Singapore) Pte Ltd. 

In 2019, several vessels owned by both firms entered the sale & purchase (S&P) market in Singapore.

Related: Singapore: Director declares Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping’s inability to continue business
Related: Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping in court over DBS Bank bunker tanker loan
Related: Singapore: Bunker tanker “Coastal Neptune” arrested
Related: Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping, Coastal Logistics tankers enter S&P market

 

Photo credit: Drew Beamer
Published: 21 July, 2026

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LNG Bunkering

PIL’s LNG dual-fuel boxship “Kota Elok” arrives in Singapore on maiden call

As the first of 13 new 13,000 TEU vessels joining its fleet, Kota Elok is equipped to operate on LNG and low-sulphur fuel oil that helps reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

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PIL's LNG dual-fuel boxship “Kota Elok” arrives in Singapore on maiden call

Singapore-based Pacific International Lines Pte Ltd on Monday (20 July) said its first 13,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container vessel, Kota Elok, recently made her maiden call to Singapore on 15 July.

As the first of 13 new 13,000 TEU vessels joining its fleet, Kota Elok is equipped to operate on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and low-sulphur fuel oil that helps reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. 

The vessel also incorporated energy-saving features and digital technologies to reduce fuel consumption and enhance operational performance, as well as a bow windshield to improve aerodynamics, contributing to improved fuel efficiency and lower emissions over the course of long-haul voyages.

“Following Singapore, Kota Elok will continue her voyage on our East Coast Service 1 (ES1) route to South America, calling at ports in Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina before returning to Asia,” the company said in a social media post. 

Kota Elok also became PIL’s first vessel to receive Lloyd’s Register certification for compliance with the IACS UR E26 and UR E27 cyber security requirements.

Developed by the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), UR E26 and UR E27 are mandatory cyber resilience requirements for newbuild vessels contracted from 1 July 2024. 

 

Photo credit: Pacific International Lines
Published: 21 July, 2026

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