Time for authorities to look into bond defaults by O&M companies?

SINGAPORE (Oct 28): The dearth of contracts and weak cashflows has driven O&M companies to either default on their bonds, or approach their bondholders for permission to loosen their financial covenants.

This year alone, Swiber Holdings, Rickmers Maritime, Perisai Petroleum Teknologi and Swissco have defaulted on $885 million of Singapore dollar bonds, while Ezra is taking steps to avoid default.

On Oct 25, an informal meeting that Ezra Holdings organised with its bondholders went down well, according to one investor who was present. “Ezra’s was a good presentation and both the founder [Lee Kian Soo] and [CEO Lionel Lee] were in attendance. It was well prepared and they were clear about what they were asking,” says the bondholder.

---

Related Stories

• Link REIT appoints Eng-Kwok Seat Moey as independent non-executive director
• Delfi to see continued margin pressure, analysts keep ‘hold’ and ‘add’ calls
• DBS blazes past $100 bil market cap, dominates banking and super big cap categories

---