Editor: The following article is a summary of the full 14-page judgement from the High Court of the Republic of Singapore. The complete document published on 18 September 2020 is available here.
The High Court of Singapore has on Friday (18 September) granted Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited’s (OCBC) application for KS Energy Limited (KSL) and sister company KS Drilling Pte Ltd (KSD) to be placed under interim judicial management, according to a court document seen by Manifold Times,
According to the document, OCBC has over the past decade, extended several loan facilities to the KSE Group including a “Jumbo Loan” amounting to USD 282 million (exact: USD 282,283,332.20) in July 2010, and a further “bridging loan” of USD 5 million in July 2017.
KSE executed a deed of guarantee dated 27 July 2010 in respect of the Jumbo loan for up to USD 150 million, as well as a further deed of guarantee dated 9 September 2017 in respect of the July 2017 “bridging loan”.
The court acknowledged that between 2016 and 2019, the KSE Group faced financial difficulties where in 2019 the reported loss after tax for the KSE Group nearly doubled to USD 104.4 million from 2018, while KSD recognised a loss before tax of USD 40.7 million in its unaudited financial statements for2019.
Compounding KSE Group’s difficulties, Kris Wiluan, the then Chairman of the KS Companies and CEO of KSE was charged with 112 charges on 5 August 2020 for engaging in false trading and market rigging of KSE shares, noted the Court.
Kris Wiluan has since resigned from the management positions and been replaced by his son Richard James Wiluan, who was the Executive Director of KSE and CEO of KSD at the time.
Given the circumstances outlined, OCBC said it has “lost confidence” in the management of KSE and KSD and applied for the companies to be placed under interim judicial management.
OCBC alleges the KSE Group continues to suffer heavy losses, and has withdrawn support moving forward.
It also alleges KSD is “burning through slightly over USD 1,000,000 per month in manpower and maintenance costs associated with its fleet of rigs”.
The hearing for the companies to be placed under judicial management has been scheduled for Tuesday (13 October), 2.30 pm at the Singapore High Court.
Related: Hearing date set for OCBC application to place KS Energy under judicial management
Related: Singapore: CEO of KS Energy Kris Wiluan facing false trading and market-rigging charges
Photo credit: Manifold Times
Published: 25 September, 2020
The two vessels: an Indonesian flagged bulk carrier and a Malaysian flagged bunker tanker were found by the patrol team to be sailing suspiciously close together, it said.
Malaysia advised to remove vessels from disputed area to ‘avoid misunderstandings and potential issues’.
Prosecutor and defendant lawyers sparred over ‘fraud of agent’ charges of ex-CEO Lars Moller.
Legal instruments for liability and compensation will be critical in respect of the economic consequences, as well as for the reinstatement of the environment, said UNCTAD.
Dr Sit Kwong Lam lost an appeal against the bankruptcy order at Hong Kong’s Court of Appeal on 24 October 2019 due to missing Arbitration Clause in Personal Guarantee.
The 107,525 dwt crude oil tanker was arrested by Credit Suisse on 27 December, 2018 at Singapore.
‘We need to keep in mind the saying “penny wise pound foolish”,’ says Captain Rahul Choudhuri, the Managing Director AMEA at VPS, who stresses on the essential role of the Bunker Surveyor.
Legal representatives met at the High Court on Tuesday to discuss the discharge of KPMG liquidators from all liability in respect of conduct in the course of winding up, show court documents.
Global sentence adjusts to 80 month’s imprisonment term for both Chang and Koh under application of the Masui sentencing framework; fine of SGD 6.2 million against Chang remains unchanged.
Company has been ranked EIGHTH for 2020; ‘we are humbled and proud to be placed amongst the top ten winners of the Enterprise 50 Awards,’ says Satnam Singh, COO, Sing Fuels.
Mads Bjornebye, Manager of Bunker Services at Teekay Tankers Ltd, shares about the company’s perspective of e-BDNs, bunker purchasing & planning tools, while offering his thoughts on future marine fuels.
Maritime sector may find it increasingly challenging to manage bunker prices, Dennis Ho, Managing Director at ElbOil Singapore tells Singapore bunkering publication Manifold Times.
