Genting Hk Stocks Plunge 56 On Fears Of More Defaults

---

 
An artist’s impression of the Global class of mega cruise ships from Genting-owned shipbuilder MV Werften, which has filed for insolvency. (MV Werften pic)HONG KONG: Troubled cruise operator Genting Hong Kong Ltd plunged by a record 56% after shares resumed trading in Hong Kong, as the company said it was unable to guarantee that it could meet its financial obligations.
Legal proceedings involving a US$88 million loan facility related to its German shipbuilding unit are still pending a German court ruling set for Jan 17, Genting said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange today.
The outcome will be crucial to the company’s ability to weather its current debt crisis, it said.
The indirect wholly owned subsidiary, MV Werften, filed for insolvency on Monday to a court in Germany, as salvage talks between the local governments and the firm came to a dead end.
Genting warned investors that cross defaults amounting to US$2.78 billion may follow.
Genting has been embroiled in a dispute with German federal and local governments, as both parties blamed the other for MV Werften’s collapse and the potential loss of 1,900 jobs.
The cruise operator’s financial health rapidly deteriorated after the Covid-19 pandemic prompted a string of restrictions that led to restructurings and insolvencies at travel industry companies around the world.
Genting Hong Kong halted debt payments to creditors totalling US$3.4 billion in August 2020 and was in default of that amount as at Dec 31 that year.
The firm, which has offered “seacations” amid a global cruise-to-nowhere trend, reported a record loss of US$1.7 billion last May.
Genting Hong Kong said that as of the time of its filing, it had not received notice from creditors demanding repayment or commencing action against the company related to their financial arrangements.
It is unclear whether any of the relevant creditors will choose to do so, it added. - FMT

---