Pacific Andes flags Singapore debt restructuring hurdle

Hong Kong

THE decision by a fish distributor listed in Singapore to abandon local court proceedings and seek US bankruptcy protection shows the hurdles the city faces in its bid to become a global debt restructuring hub.

Pacific Andes Resources Development Ltd, which defaulted on a S$200 million note in January, filed last month in the US for protection against action by creditors. It did so after certain lenders filed to wind up the firm and its subsidiaries in Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands.

That followed a Singapore court's decision to only offer a moratorium preventing creditors from enforcing claims on assets in the city, but not elsewhere.

Singapore is positioning itself as a fund-raising hub for Asia and its ambitions include grabbing a share of debt workouts as defaults rise globally. Indranee Rajah, senior minister of state for law, said in July that Singapore should be a global restructuring centre similar to New York and London, not just a venue for local reorganisations. But as slowing economic growth leads to more delinquencies, use…