On Thursday (9 Jan), for the upcoming scheme meeting with the UAE utility company Utico, the debt-laden water treatment company Hyflux called for its creditors to file proofs to stake their claims to vote at the meeting.
The filing should be done by Wednesday (5 Feb) by 5pm by the concerned parties who have claims against Hydrochem (S), Hyflux Ltd, Hyflux Membrane Manufacturing (S) and Hyflux Engineering.
The proofs will allow the creditors such as trade creditors and bank lenders to receive payments as well as vote on the scheme proposals.
However, no filing of proof is required for holders of Hyflux’s perferences shares (PnP), notes and perpetual securities. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, Hyflux will file the proof on the behalf of its holders through the Singapore High Court. Secondly, Central Depository Pte Ltd (CDP) already has the record of PnP holdings and notes of the holders.
The court will decide the actual date of the scheme meetings in March. The management consultancy services firm Ernst & Young Solutions’ partners, either Glenn Peter or Angela Ee Meng Yen will chair the meetings. At the scheme meetings, all creditors, including noteholders and PnP investors will have the choice to reject or approve Utico’s proposed rescue deal.
Amidst all of this, last month, the Singapore-registered water filtration systems firm, Aqua Munda seeks to make a deal with Hyflux’s unsecured creditors and noteholders to buy their debts at a minimum discount of 85 per cent. This invitation deal is set to expire on 23 January.
Hyflux currently owes about 34,000 mom-and-pop investors the amount S$900 million in PnP principal value. In addition to this, outstanding notes are also due, the amounts S$100 million (4.25 per cent) in 2018, and S$65 million (4.6 per cent) and S$100 million (4.2 per cent) in 2019.
In March 2019, 73 parties had filed proofs of claim totalling S$3.51 billion as a preliminary before the scheme meetings in April 2019. This had taken place while the Indonesian investment firm, Salim-Medco’s was still offering the rescue package deal. During this time, some of the biggest claim amounts were filed by retail PnP investors. Medium-term noteholders were claiming S$277.7 million, holders of S$400 million (8 per cent preference shares) were claiming S$429.3 million, and holders of S$500 million (6 per cent perps) were claiming S$540.7 million.
Among other claiming creditors also include the Singaporean banking corporation, DBS Bank, Tahlyat Myah Magtaa SpA, Ascendas Reit, Singapore branch of Mizuho Bank, KfW Ipex-Bank and ESR-Reit.
