Business

NewOcean Energy net profit up 96%

Hong Kong-based bunker supplier records decrease in local volume due to market developments at China.

Published

8 years ago

March 22, 2018

Admin

Hong Kong-listed bunker supplier and oil company NewOcean Energy Holdings Limited posted a 96% increase in profit for the year ended 31 December, 2017.

It recorded net profit of HKD 1.07 billion ($ 140 million) in 2017, compared to profit of HKD 0.54 billion in 2016, according to financial records.

Total revenue in 2017 was HKD 22.06 billion, about 40% higher than revenue of HKD 15.70 billion in the year before.

“In 2017, the group quickened its pace and first established its procurement centre in Singapore, which mainly assisted its marine bunkering business in Hong Kong to diversify the sourcing channels, reduce procurement costs, and explore the Singapore market,” it said.

“When establishing such company in Singapore, we decided to become a joint venture partner with a scaled shipping company. The aim was to accelerate our pace of market development by leveraging on our partner’s business connections in the local region.”

In Hong Kong, NEH acquired 51% of the shares of three auto-gas trading and oil products transportation companies allowing the group to expand its business from marine bunkering to bunkering on land; the oil companies owned 17 oil trucks and were the primary agent of the four major oil companies.

NewOcean recorded sold 783,600 metric tonnes (mt) of bunkers at Hong Kong in 2017, a decrease of 7.6% when compared to sales of 848,300 mt in 2016; both sales of fuel oil and marine diesel oil (MDO) “experienced a modest decline” due to suppliers in Mainland China deliberately lowering the price of marine fuel in 2017.

“We believe that such situation [at Hong Kong] will still last for a period of time, which will bring extra operating burdens for those small-scaled operators,” it says.

“In this regards, ensuring the quality of our oil products and services is the only practical strategy which will help limiting the loss in our business volume. “

The company’s Singapore business which begun in November last year posted total sales volume of 118,700 mt for its 2017 operations.

“With this rate of development, it is possible that the sales volume achieved by our company in Singapore next year may be comparable to the current volume achieved by our company in Hong Kong,” it notes.

“All these have been a solid proof that the establishment of our company in Singapore would pose a significant positive impact to the expansion of our marine bunkering business outside China (including the two markets in Hong Kong and Singapore).”

Moving on, the bunker supplier stated plans on business expansion to the Malaysia market.

“We are currently planning to expand our marine bunkering business to all of the ports in Malaysia; meanwhile, our company in Singapore will provide supply services of oil and technical support for these new markets.”

Published: 22 March, 2018

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.

Published

18 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Admin

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.

Photo credit: Sora Shimazaki
Published: 21 July, 2026

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.

Published

18 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Admin

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.

Photo credit: Drew Beamer
Published: 21 July, 2026

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.

Published

18 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Admin

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