Business

NewOcean posts USD 479 million FY 2020 loss; possible downsize of oil business

Group is short of capital resources to invest in existing projects, thus management decided to discontinue those projects, and make full impairment provision.

Published

5 years ago

June 29, 2021

Admin

Hong Kong-listed NewOcean Energy Holdings Limited (NewOcean), the parent company of bunkering firm NewOcean Fuel, on Monday (28 June) posted net loss for its audited financial year ended 31 December 2020 (FY 2020).

The group posted net loss of USD 478.7 million (exact: HKD 3,715,896,000) for FY 2020, compared to net profit of USD 82.8 million recorded during FY 2021.

Its total revenue, spread across the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), oil/chemicals products, and electronic products businesses, was HKD 19.2 billion in FY 2020, down 31% when compared to HKD 27.8 billion in FY 2019.

Among developments highlighted in the latest financial statement was impairment losses of: (i) HKD 610 million deposits paid for purchase of property, plant and equipment related to the Group’s refinery project in Malaysia, (ii) HKD 178 million deposits paid for investment project of constructing a hydrogen manufacturing plant in the PRC; and (iii) HKD 39 million trade deposits paid to a supplier which was put into liquidation in 2021.

“Given that the Group is under debt restructuring, the Group is short of capital resources to invest in existing projects, thus the management decided to discontinue those projects, and make full impairment provision,” it stated.

Auditors of NewOcean, meanwhile, pointed out of the Group’s current borrowings of HKD 6,620,843,000, HKD 4,202,627,000 were overdue.

“In addition, based on the financial position of the Group as at 31 December 2020, the Group was not in compliance with certain restrictive financial covenants and certain borrowings of the Group contain cross-default terms, causing borrowings of the Group of HK$2,418,216,000 as at 31 December 2020 to become immediately repayable in accordance with the respective loan agreements whereas the Group only had cash and cash equivalents of HK$873,742,000 as at 31 December 2020,” stated auditors.

“These conditions, together with other matters described in Note 1A to the consolidated financial statements, indicate the existence of material uncertainties which may cast significant doubt on the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern.”

Directors of NewOcean are undertaking a series of measures to improve the Group’s liquidity and financial position, to refinance its operations and to restructure its debts, according to the auditors.

Amongst measures determining NewOcean’s ability to continue operating as a going concern is, “whether the Group can successfully take measures to down size the oil products business to reduce operating cost,” they wrote.

Photo credit: NewOcean Energy Holdings
Published: 29 June, 2021

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

17 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

17 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

17 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