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UOB petitions to wind up FibreChem
Straits Times
Date16 March 2011 Yasmine Yahya
UNITED Overseas Bank (UOB) has filed a petition to wind up embattled FibreChem Technologies.
The application was made to the Supreme Court of Bermuda, where FibreChem is incorporated.
FibreChem failed to meet a December deadline to repay loans of US$58.7 million (S$74.2 million) to UOB and S$29.1 million to other local and international banks, including OCBC Bank.
It was reported soon after the deadline lapsed that the group of creditors were considering filing a petition to liquidate FibreChem.
UOB has now taken that step. The petition will be heard before the Supreme Court of Bermuda on April 13.
In a statement filed on the SGX website, FibreChem said that UOB has also made an application to the Supreme Court of Bermuda to appoint experts from PricewaterhouseCoopers as provisional liquidators to wind up the firm.
Documents filed by UOB in its application for the provisional liquidators point out that 'the assets of the company and its subsidiary companies are in jeopardy and at serious risk of being dissipated or misappropriated', FibreChem said.
UOB's application also noted that an independent investigation carried out by financial adviser nTan Corporate Advisory in 2009 had found the management of FibreChem to have been 'seriously lacking and dysfunctional'.
nTan had said in its report that it found several financial and accounting irregularities in the group and some HK$777 million (S$127 million) of missing cash.
UOB believes that 'the appointment of provisional liquidators will facilitate a restructuring which would maximise recovery for creditors and the shareholding public', FibreChem said.
UOB added in its documents that it is aware of a potential investor which is interested in injecting fresh funds into FibreChem as part of a reverse takeover so that its businesses may be listed on the Singapore Exchange.
The hearing of the provisional liquidators application will be heard before the Supreme Court of Bermuda today.
FibreChem, once a favourite of local investors, has been suspended from trading on the SGX since an accounting scandal erupted about three years ago.
A probe was triggered after FibreChem's auditor Ernst & Young said it had encountered difficulties in finalising its audits of the company's trade receivables and cash balances as of Dec 31, 2008.
nTan was called in to investigate and by the end of the probe, nTan said it had uncovered numerous financial and accounting irregularities and an unauthorised change to the group's corporate structure.
Source: Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings
UOB petitions to wind up FibreChem
Straits Times
Date16 March 2011 Yasmine Yahya
UNITED Overseas Bank (UOB) has filed a petition to wind up embattled FibreChem Technologies.
The application was made to the Supreme Court of Bermuda, where FibreChem is incorporated.
FibreChem failed to meet a December deadline to repay loans of US$58.7 million (S$74.2 million) to UOB and S$29.1 million to other local and international banks, including OCBC Bank.
It was reported soon after the deadline lapsed that the group of creditors were considering filing a petition to liquidate FibreChem.
UOB has now taken that step. The petition will be heard before the Supreme Court of Bermuda on April 13.
In a statement filed on the SGX website, FibreChem said that UOB has also made an application to the Supreme Court of Bermuda to appoint experts from PricewaterhouseCoopers as provisional liquidators to wind up the firm.
Documents filed by UOB in its application for the provisional liquidators point out that 'the assets of the company and its subsidiary companies are in jeopardy and at serious risk of being dissipated or misappropriated', FibreChem said.
UOB's application also noted that an independent investigation carried out by financial adviser nTan Corporate Advisory in 2009 had found the management of FibreChem to have been 'seriously lacking and dysfunctional'.
nTan had said in its report that it found several financial and accounting irregularities in the group and some HK$777 million (S$127 million) of missing cash.
UOB believes that 'the appointment of provisional liquidators will facilitate a restructuring which would maximise recovery for creditors and the shareholding public', FibreChem said.
UOB added in its documents that it is aware of a potential investor which is interested in injecting fresh funds into FibreChem as part of a reverse takeover so that its businesses may be listed on the Singapore Exchange.
The hearing of the provisional liquidators application will be heard before the Supreme Court of Bermuda today.
FibreChem, once a favourite of local investors, has been suspended from trading on the SGX since an accounting scandal erupted about three years ago.
A probe was triggered after FibreChem's auditor Ernst & Young said it had encountered difficulties in finalising its audits of the company's trade receivables and cash balances as of Dec 31, 2008.
nTan was called in to investigate and by the end of the probe, nTan said it had uncovered numerous financial and accounting irregularities and an unauthorised change to the group's corporate structure.
Source: Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings
