China Aviation parent urges creditors
    to accept bailout plan

 
  Agence France Presse
January 25, 2005
SINGAPORE

THE Beijing-based parent company of China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corp. (CAO) said Tuesday, Jan 25, its crucial role in bailing out the company hinged upon the troubled firm's creditors accepting a restructuring package.

Singapore-listed CAO on Monday offered to pay $220 million out of $530 million owed to creditors under the restructuring scheme to pull the company out of possible bankruptcy following a speculative trading scandal in November.

Under the plan, the parent firm, China Aviation Oil Holding Company (CAOHC), would team up with an unnamed strategic partner to inject $100 million in cash to help CAO repay some of its debt.

As a "gesture of goodwill," CAOHC would also convert $118 million it is directly owed into equity in the restructured CAO, a jet fuel supplier for the China market.

But CAOHC said in a statement Tuesday its $100-million financial lifeline to CAO was dependent on creditors accepting the restructuring plan, which returns 41.5 cents per dollar owed.

"While CAOHC is prepared to support the efforts of CAO to undergo restructuring, a successful outcome can only be achieved if all parties can accept the compromise offered based on the interest of the various parties," CAOHC said in the statement.

A successful outcome was also dependent on whether "CAOHC can itself convince its strategic partner to proceed with the investment," the statement said.

"Accordingly, CAOHC hopes that all interested parties can participate in the process in good faith and work together towards this objective."

CAOHC also referred to a statement it had issued on December 14 saying that the parent company's help would depend on the restructured CAO resuming normal business operations after resolving all legal issues.

CAO plans to convene a meeting on June 10 to get the approval of its creditors.

In the restructuring plan submitted to the Singapore High Court on Monday, CAO said it would pay creditors $100 million in cash upfront and another $120 million over eight years.

CAO said $70 million of the upfront payment would come from money promised by CAOHC and the unidentified new investor.

The remaining $30 million would be sourced from CAO's existing assets, it said.

CAO said on Monday it had been informed that its parent firm had invited Singapore's state investment vehicle Temasek Holdings to inject equity into the embattled firm and that discussions were continuing.

CAO sought the protection of the High Court in late November after reporting massive losses due to speculative oil trades. The court ordered the company to submit a restructuring plan and a list of its creditors.

The company, which supplies almost all of China's jet fuel imports, said it owed $530 million to 98 creditors, plus $118 million to CAOHC.

Among the 98 other creditors, CAO owes $51.73 million to Satya Capital Ltd, $26.15 million to the Singapore branch of Sumitomo Banking Corp. and $34 million to the Standard Bank London Ltd.

The CAO fiasco has been described as the biggest financial scandal in Singapore since rogue trader Nick Leeson bankrupted Britain's Barings Bank in 1995 after losing over $1 billion on bond derivatives.

Leeson was given a jail term of six-and-a-half years and eventually served about half his sentence.

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