Asia/Pacific News
Hong Kong Cruise Operator Suspends Payments to Creditors
Cruise operator Genting Hong Kong has suspended payments to its creditors as the company attempts to assess its financial situation and seek a restructuring.
The company has issued profit warnings twice this year, and expects the COVID-19 pandemic to continue to have a material impact on its financial position, it said in a regulatory statement this week.
The cruise industry has been the worst-hit segment of shipping by the pandemic, with high-profile outbreaks on some ships earlier this year leading to a sharp drop-off in demand from the general public. The majority of the global cruise fleet remains offline until demand starts to return.
"The Board wishes to announce that, it has, after careful consultation with its legal and financial advisers, concluded that in order to preserve as much liquidity of the Group as possible and to fulfil the Board's fiduciary duties and to treat all its financial creditors fairly and equitably, the Company should temporarily suspend all payments to the Group's financial creditors (including interest and charter payments)," Genting said in the statement.
"The Company's remaining available cash will be reserved to maintain critical services for the Group's operations, while the Company will endeavor to negotiate a holistic debt restructuring solution for the current financial indebtedness of the Group."
The company owed $3.37 billion to its creditors as of July 31, it said.
