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HSBC has filed a court case in Singapore against ZenRock Commodities. Photo: Reuters

HSBC seeks to place Singaporean oil trader ZenRock Commodities into judicial management

  • HSBC among at least 10 creditors to ZenRock Commodities
  • Request to Singapore’s High Court comes after collapse of Hin Leong Trading, which sought protection from its creditors last month
HSBC

HSBC has asked a Singaporean court to place oil trading firm ZenRock Commodities Trading into so-called judicial management, where it would be managed by a third party, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The request was made in a filing to Singapore’s High Court on Monday, according to the person, who was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly. HSBC is among at least 10 creditors to the firm, but not its largest, the person said.

HSBC has requested that accounting firm KPMG serve as the interim judicial manager, the person said.

HSBC declined to comment, while KPMG did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

Judicial management is a form of debt restructuring, where a third party oversees the firm in favour of its existing management.

ZenRock did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

Oil prices dropped dramatically this year as global energy consumption fell sharply as the coronavirus pandemic forced shutdowns from New York to Singapore and disrupted economic activity worldwide.

A price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia further weakened prices, with futures contracts for a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil, an important US oil benchmark, falling below zero for the first time ever in April.

The crash in oil prices has pressured producers and traders alike this year and hurt retail investors in China following the collapse of some structured finance products tied to oil futures. The Bank of China may cover some losses after retail clients suffered US$1 billion in losses last month, Bloomberg News reported this week.

The court filing over ZenRock comes less than a month after Singapore-based oil trader Hin Leong Trading sought court protection from its creditors. HSBC is the biggest creditor among more than 20 lenders owed nearly US$4 billion by Hin Leong.

The collapse of Hin Leong has shaken up Singapore’s image as a commodities trading hub and caused banks to tighten up commodities financing. The closely held Hin Leong has been one of the biggest players in physical oil trading.

ZenRock was founded in 2014 by a group of traders, including company president Xie Chun and Tony Lin, who formerly headed the China business of Dutch energy and commodities company Vitol.

The company has offices in Singapore, Shanghai, Zhoushan and Geneva and traded more than 15 million metric tonnes of oil and other petroleum products last year, according to its website.

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