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Hyflux's Shocking Fall Adds to the Roster of Singapore Business Stumbles

Hyflux's Shocking Fall Adds to the Roster of Singapore Business Stumbles

(Bloomberg) -- Hyflux Ltd. will put its debt restructuring plan to vote this week, leaving its fate in the hands of unsecured creditors. Whatever the outcome, it will mark another entry in the list of fallen Singapore companies.

The Singapore water-treatment and power group is seeking to fix S$2.8 billion ($2.1 billion) of liabilities by asking senior lenders to accept haircuts of some 75 percent and junior retail investors of about 90 percent on their claims. In an April 5 vote on the plan, the creditors will either hand control of Hyflux over to a consortium of Indonesian businessmen, or push the group closer to liquidation.

Elsewhere this week in news on Singapore companies that had previously stumbled, investors were told of the potential for new foreign owners in the city-state’s troubled offshore oilfield services industry. Malaysian group Yinson Holdings Bhd. is planning to take over Ezion Holdings Ltd., while New York-listed Seaspan Corp. is proceeding with a plan to buy Swiber Holdings Ltd.’s core assets.

In recent history, several home-grown regional champions have also found new owners with financial power amid liquidity challenges.

Chinese corporations have bought over semiconductor assembler STATS ChipPac in 2015, while French group CMA CGM SA acquired container liner Neptune Orient Lines Ltd. in the following year. Like Hyflux, both counted state investment company Temasek Holdings Pte. as a former investor.

To contact the reporter on this story: David Yong in Singapore at dyong@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrew Monahan at amonahan@bloomberg.net, Finbarr Flynn

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