Bell examiner appointed

The Irish high court has appointed an examiner to Bell Lines to give the loss-making freight transport company time to restructure its operations, a report says.

David Hughes, of accounting firm Ernst & Young, must tell the court by Monday whether he can put arrangements in place to secure the company's future as a going concern, the Irish Independent reported.

Bell has confirmed that some shareholders have indicated their willingness to invest further in the company, subject to cost cuts and restructuring.

Shipping company Irish Continental Group, which owns a 25 per cent share in Bell, recently wrote off its initial investment of 1.6 million punts (about HK$20.52 million) after the associate lost about six million punts last year.