Swiber to wind up, biggest Singapore casulty of oil slump; banks hit with crushing debts

Swiber Holdings

SINGAPORE - Singapore oil field services firm Swiber Holdings Ltd filed an application to wind up the company and said a Singapore court had appointed provisional liquidators, making it the biggest local name to fall victim to the slump in oil prices.

In a statement to the Singapore Exchange, Swiber said the hearing to wind-up the company has been set for August 19. Swiber, which operates a fleet of 51 vessels, did give any specific reason for the move but said it was facing letters of demand for US$25.9 million (S$34.9 million) and had warned earlier this month of delays in raising US$200 million in preference shares.

Local oilfield services companies have been burdened by weak oil prices, which have strained their liquidity, with charter rates tumbling and clients either delaying or cancelling projects. "If highly leveraged offshore and marine companies are unable to raise capital from equity markets, then they will be left with very little other options other than to file for liquidation or for judicial management," said Joel Ng, an analyst at KGI Fraser Securities.

Over the next year-and-a-half, bonds totalling nearly S$1.2 billion from energy and offshore marine issuers in Singapore will mature, with S$615 million due over the next five months, according to IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication.

Another firm, Technics Oil & Gas Ltd, and its unit were placed under judicial management this month.

Investors had turned more positive on Swiber after it redeemed two bonds in June and July totalling S$205 million.

Swiber said this month a preference share sale agreement for US$200 million had been delayed and that it was seeking legal advice. But a flood of letters of demand, including statutory demands, had flowed in since Monday, claiming a total US$25.9 million, as of July 26, adding more pressure on the company.

Swiber said some of its executive directors, including its chief financial officer, had resigned.

From just 10 vessels in 2006, Swiber has expanded to own and operate a fleet comprising 38 offshore vessels and 13 construction vessels. It has more than 2,700 employees across Southeast Asia and other countries, according to its website.

Swiber's longest dated bond due 2018 started falling sharply in mid-March. The provisional liquidators of the company, which has a market value of S$50 million, have asked for trading in Swiber's shares to be suspended.

The High Court of Singapore appointed KordaMentha Pte Ltd's Cameron Lindsay Duncan and Muk Siew Peng as the joint and several provisional liquidators of the company.

Sources: Reuters

Swiber to wind up, biggest Singapore casualty of oil slump | Reuters

Slump in oil prices affects S’pore lenders

Feeling the heat: OCBC’s total oil and gas exposure was US9.32bil, nearly half of which to the offshore oil services segment. – Reuters

Banks hit by poor demand for loans from oil and gas sector

SINGAPORE: Two of Singapore’s top banks flagged mounting concerns about loans to the oil and gas sector, on the same day that a prominent local oilfield services firm announced it was winding up, under the weight of crushing debt.

The dour outlook from Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp and United Overseas Bank, Singapore’s second- and third-largest lenders by assets, respectively, came as Swiber Holdings said it had filed for liquidation, making it the biggest local name to fall victim to the slump in oil prices.

OCBC and UOB, along with Singapore’s No.1 lender DBS Group Holdings, have long maintained prudent lending standards and adequate capital levels to become some of the safest banks in the world.

But oil’s 60% slump over the past two years is beginning to impact them, as the lenders’ main activity is centred on South-East Asia, a region for which oil and gas is a key industry. Banks are being hit by both poor demand for loans from the sector and by more loans turning sour.

“The loan demand is very weak,” OCBC CEO Samuel Tsien told a quarterly earnings briefing, adding that the oil and gas services sector continues to be under pressure.

“Our distressed indicators for this portfolio continue to deepen, but have not broadened,” Tsien said.

Over the next year-and-a-half, bonds totalling nearly S$1.2bil (US$881mil) from energy and offshore marine issuers in Singapore will mature, with S$615mil due just over the next five months, according to IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication.

OCBC’s total oil and gas exposure was S$12.6bil (US$9.32bil), nearly half of which to the offshore oil services segment.

UOB expected that over the next one to two years the key concern for the bank would be companies in the oil and gas sector, its CEO Wee Ee Cheong told a briefing,

OCBC posted a 15% drop in quarterly profit, hit by lower insurance income, though UOB surprised with a 5.1% jump in earnings on higher trading income.

However, net interest income was weak at both banks, which also saw bad-debt provisions climb.

OCBC said its customer loans contracted 2% from a year ago due to lower trade loans and reduced offshore borrowings of Chinese companies due to more favourable onshore borrowing rates in China.

Shares of UOB were down 1.6% in late afternoon trade, while OCBC fell 0.6 percent. Shares of DBS, which will report results on Aug 8, were down 2.6%. – Reuters

Related posts:

Rightways: Oil Prices: What's Behind the Drop? Simple Economics

Apr 6, 2016 ... Some think it will be years before oil returns to $90 or $100 a barrel, a price that was pretty much the norm over the last decade. Credit Michael ...

Rightways: Job cuts: rightsizing the oil and gas industry

Sep 30, 2015 ... Many oil majors have announced job cuts to manage costs that had spiralled upwards during the boom days in the industry. Oil majors now ...

Rightways: Crude oil prices fall: subsidy needless, ringgit weaken ...

Nov 23, 2014 ... Malaysia's economy is very much dependent on the oil and gas sector. ... One notable impact of falling crude oil prices is on the government's ...

rightways-tan1.blogspot.com

Rightways: Oil & Gas lead to wealth crunch, Malaysian Ringgit ...

Dec 2, 2014 ... PETALING JAYA: With the oil and gas (O&G) sector being the hardest hit in the current market rout, tycoons who own significant stakes in these ...

rightways-tan1.blogspot.com

Moneylender, Kandasamy, gunned down in broad daylight in Kuala Lumpur

https://youtu.be/Enj0F4ey1Hs

KUALA LUMPUR: A 43-year-old moneylender was killed after he was shot at some 16 times near Setapak Central here.

The father of three, who was on his way to meet a relative nearby, was driving alone near a mall when four men on two motorcycles approached his car at 3.55pm yesterday.

“They came when the victim’s car was at the traffic lights. One shooter went to the left and another to the right before both opened fire,” City CID chief Senior Asst Comm Rusdi Mohd Isa told a press conference at the Setapak police station yesterday.

SAC Rusdi said that the shooter on the right fired about three to four shots whereas the other fired twelve and the four men fled shortly after.

“Family members of the victim have confirmed his identity,” said SAC Rusdi, adding that the police would withhold his identity from the press for now.

On whether the shooting might have been gang-related, he said that there is a possibility.

“We have early information on his background of being involved in gangs,” said SAC Rusdi.

A post-mortem would be conducted, he said.

Wangsa Maju OCPD Supt Mohamad Roy Suhaimi Sarif asked members of the public who were present at the time of the shooting to come forward to relay any information they might have on the murder.

A video of what appears to be CCTV footage, which depicts the above chain of events, has been circulating on social media. -  The Star/Asia News Network

Moneylender executed at traffic light

Police examine the victim's vehicle with evident bullet holes on the driver's side.

KUALA LUMPUR: A 43-year-old man was killed in a hail of bullets after two gunmen opened fire at a traffic light intersection near the KL Festival City Mall at Setapak Sentral in yet another killing involving firearms in the Klang Valley.

The victim, who was a moneylender and suffered at least 10 gunshots, was driving alone in a heavily-tinted Honda Accord when he was attacked at 3.35pm.

He had stopped at the traffic lights and was on his way to have a drink at the mall nearby when four men on two motorcycles arrived seconds later and pulled over next to his car.

Police said the pillion riders, both who were armed with pistols, got off the motorbikes before each of them went up to the driver's and the front passenger's sides and opened fire, killing the victim on the spot.

The gunmen who are believed to be hired killers fled with their accomplices soon after and investigators believe the attack is linked to a turf war between underworld gangs.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Commissioner Datuk Amar Singh Ishar Singh said based on the spent 9mm bullet casings found at the scene, the gunmen fired 18 gunshots.

He said investigators have a street close-circuit camera recording which showed the attack taking place.

Police are also checking if the case is linked to another murder case in Jinjang in January where a 41-year-old contractor died of three gunshot wounds to his face and chest during a meeting with two men near a factory.

Meanwhile, a family member of the victim who was interviewed by theSun said the man had been in hiding for several months because he knew that he was wanted by underworld members and that his life was in danger.

The family member, who declined to be identified, said he heard about the news of the shooting when the viral picture of the victim was sent to him via WhatsApp from a friend.

"At first I did not believe that the victim was my relative, he had shaved his head, probably because he's been in hiding," he said.

He said the victim had been involved in underworld activities since he was 25.

By Charles Ramendran and Aiezat Fadzell newsdesk@thesundaily.com

IGP: Setapak killers still in the country

By By Justin Zack The Star/Asia News Network



KUALA LUMPUR: The suspects in Wednesday’s fatal shooting at Se­tapak are still in Malaysia, accor­ding to the Inspector-General of Police.

“We believe that they still are here,” said Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar when met by the media after launching KPD Mart Community at Kolej Unikop here yesterday.

On whether the latest shooting pointed to a trend of using hired killers, Khalid said the police did not see it as such.

“We don’t see this as a trend of (using) hired killers but I do not deny that we have these cases.

“These are not random shootings. All these cases had a reason behind the shootings, including the latest shooting,” he said.

Police, Khalid added, would be taking more steps to “minimise” such incidents.

kanna setapak shooting victim While no arrests have been made yet, the police assure the public that the force “will hunt them down” and that the suspects “cannot run”.

Moneylender V. Kandasamy (pic), 43, was shot dead at a traffic light near Setapak Central when four men on two motorcycles fired a total of 16 shots at him while he was still in his car.

City police chief Comm Datuk Amar Singh, when contacted yes­terday, confirmed that the victim was a member of the “Satu Hati” gang.

Related:

•  OUG shooting probe finished

• On Pointe - Gun violence and enforcement
• Contractor with gang links shot dead
• List of shootings in the country as of July
• Two brothers survive gun attack
• Police assure situation is under control, amidst recent spate of shootings (Updated)

Curtain falls on S.China Sea arbitration farce; Tribunal manipulators will be revealed

 

Foreign ministers of ASEAN member states and China at the ASEAN-China Ministerial Meeting in Vientiane, Laos. — VNA/VNS

https://youtu.be/i_J3TQKTXcc

The 49th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Monday issued a joint communiqué, which didn't breathe a word about the South China Sea arbitration, or harbor any overt criticism against China. Although the South China Sea issue was mentioned many times in the communiqué, it only gave a general overview of principles that must be stuck to. Most foreign media view the communiqué as a triumph for China's diplomacy.

On the same day, a joint statement on how to effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea was issued.

The two statements reflect the consistent stand of ASEAN. Attempts at pressuring China through the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting have failed.

As the first foreign ministers' meeting after the so-called South China Sea arbitration award was issued, the US and Japan hoped to use the meeting in Laos to solicit ASEAN's collective support for the arbitration and impose unprecedented diplomatic pressure on China. But such expectations do not correspond with the realities in East Asia.

Hype was running high among American and Japanese media that only Cambodia was standing in the way of a joint statement that incorporates the South China Sea arbitration, and Laos as the host country didn't voice any firm opposition.

From another perspective, only the Philippines wanted a joint statement with reference to the arbitration, and Vietnam was not so persistent in its demands. Most ASEAN countries have maintained a neutral attitude. They neither want to see a division within the bloc, nor to be dragged into a conflict with China over arbitration.

Manila compromised this time, giving consent to a communiqué without mention of the arbitration. It showed flexibility compared with 2012, when the 45th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting ended with no joint statement because the Philippines' propositions over the South China Sea issue were firmly opposed.

It's in the common interests of China and ASEAN to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea. But the US and Japan are willing to see conflicts between China and the Philippines and Vietnam escalate. If the arbitration leads to overall confrontation between ASEAN and China, it will fullfil the desires of the US and Japan.

ASEAN won't be so silly as to head toward a confrontation with China. We have carried out construction activities on islands and reefs in the South China Sea, but with our utmost efforts to avoid confrontation.

The possibility of a military solution to the South China Sea dispute has become smaller and smaller. The arbitration has brought about new risks. Instead of a clash between China and the Philippines, or China and Vietnam, there are more worries about conflicts being sparked between China and the US.

Under such conditions, it could never be ASEAN's desire to amplify the negative influences of the arbitration case. Two weeks after the arbitration result was announced, no other countries outside the region but the US, Japan and Australia have voiced support for it. The farce is coming to an end.- Global Times.

Political manipulation behind arbitral tribunal will be revealed

https://youtu.be/tUR7WVsmC7k

Spotlight: Chinese FM calls for end to politicization of South China Sea issue, urges parties to return to negotiations

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday that the political manipulation behind the arbitral tribunal will be revealed, in response to the comments made by some foreign ministers on the South China Sea arbitration case.

Wang expounded on China's position when attending the 6th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in the Lao capital Vientiane.

Wang said China has not participated in the arbitration case and will not accept the so-called ruling, a position that China has made clear since day one and is supported by strong legal basis.

By adopting this position, China is safeguarding the sanctity and impartiality of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), said the Chinese foreign minister.

First, the arbitration unilaterally initiated by the former Philippine government violated the principle of having the consent of concerned parties as the basis of arbitration and failed to meet the prerequisite of conducting full exchange of views beforehand, thus lacking the legal conditions to be initiated.

What the former Philippine government had done also abandoned bilateral agreements between China and the Philippines and violated Article 4 of the Declaration on Conducts of the Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) as well as the principle of estoppel prescribed in international law, according to Wang.

Second, he said, the subject matters of the arbitration, however packaged, in fact directly concern territorial sovereignty and maritime delimitation which are beyond the scope of the UNCLOS and the jurisdiction of the ad hoc tribunal. It is a typical act of overstepping the power and ultra vires as well as the abuse of dispute arbitration mechanism.

Wang said by citing a prominent legal expert from Europe that the arbitration case undoubtedly touches upon territorial sovereignty which is not governed by the UNCLOS. The tribunal's practice of separating territorial sovereignty dispute with the status of islands and reefs is unseen in international law, which is like "putting the cart before the horse."

Third, the ruling of the ad hoc tribunal is full of obvious mistakes, Wang said. It blatantly uses its self-invented rules to negate and deprive the lawful and legitimate territorial sovereignty, maritime rights and interests of parties concerned. In particular, it says that Taiping Dao, the largest island in the Nansha Islands with an area of 500,000 square meters, is a rock and has no relevant maritime rights.

If such a judgment can legally stand, the sea map of the world will need to be redrawn, Wang said.

Wang stressed that this ruling runs counter to the spirit of international rule of law as well as the principle and spirit of the UNCLOS.

"This arbitration is imbued with question marks and fallacies in terms of procedure, legal application, fact finding and evidence gathering," he said.

The so-called ruling is illegal in three aspects: the initiation of the arbitration is illegal, the set-up of the tribunal is illegal, and the result of the arbitration is illegal. Therefore, China's stance is fully legitimate which serves the purpose of upholding international equity and justice and regional peace and stability, Wang said.

The Chinese foreign minister said more and more countries have come to see the nature and danger of the arbitration case, and understand and acknowledge China's stance to resolve disputes through direct negotiation and consultation, calling for respect to the rights of sovereign states to independently choose dispute settlement means including respecting the declaration on optional exceptions made under Article 298 of the UNCLOS.

There are also more and more legal experts around the world questioning the legality of the arbitration case and the fairness of the ruling, Wang said, noting that the illegal nature of the so-called South China Sea arbitration case and the political manipulation hidden behind the ad hoc arbitral tribunal will be further revealed. - Global Times

Related: 

JOINT COMMUNIQUÉ OF THE 49th ASEAN FOREIGN MINISTERS' MEETING VIENTIANE, 24 JULY 2016 “TURNING ...

China, US vow to boost trust

https://youtu.be/QWWBD8osZKQ

US agrees it's time to 'turn the page' on South China Sea

US Secretary of State John Kerry says in Laos that he will encourage Manila to pursue dialogue and negotiation with Beijing on the issue.

China-ASEAN exchanges go beyond the arbitration

The communiqué issued after the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Laos, shows the two sides want to work together for regional stability and prosperity.



 South China Sea arbitration turned a blind eye to UNCLOS, exceeded own competence and exposed tribunal’s ignorance

By now it’s a well-known fact that the South China Sea arbitration was unilaterally initiated by the[Read it]

Related posts

Dao inhabits people's hearts: Tribunal's dangerous precedent in international law !

Political manipulation violates combined concept of fairness, justice, rule, trend and direction. Congenial approach: China believes i... 

China hardens after illegal tribunal ruling on South China Sea

In ignoring the verdict on the South China Sea, Beijing is following precedents by great powers as no permanent member of the UN Securit...
 

Asean Foreign Ministers Meeting July 23~26, last ...

Jul 16, 2016 ... The Asean Foreign Minsters Meeting and the Post Ministerial Conference ... Laos should be given full support in preparing for the meetings.