Chinese developer Sino-Ocean gets 12-day reprieve on liquidation in Hong Kong
Case adjourned until September 23 as developer says 75 per cent of loan creditors have agreed to its restructuring plan
Defaulted Chinese developer Sino-Ocean Group will have more time to build support for a restructuring proposal after the Hong Kong High Court on Wednesday adjourned a winding-up hearing against the company for 12 days.
Justice Jack Wong on Wednesday morning adjourned the case to September 23, as the developer works to get creditors on board with the restructuring proposal for US$5.6 billion in debt that it presented in July.
The 75 per cent assent could clear the way for a UK court to become the next battleground for mounting tension between the company and a group of its major creditors. Wednesday’s hearing in Hong Kong was the first since the Bank of New York Mellon’s London branch, a trustee for bondholders, filed a liquidation petition in June for US$400 million in debt and accrued interest.
Beijing-based Sino-Ocean in July unveiled its overdue workout after it defaulted nearly a year ago. Under the proposal, creditors are grouped into four classes, with loan creditors in one class and bondholders classified into three classes.
The proposal provides creditors with options such as US$2.2 billion of new debt linked to offshore assets, or exchanging debt for mandatory convertible bonds or new perpetual securities, according to an exchange filing.