Serrano told to pay S$33.4m within a week; bankruptcy proceedings against director adjourned

INTERIOR-DESIGN contractor Serrano and its wholly owned subsidiary Serrano Holdings have been asked by Maybank to pay about S$33.4 million within seven days from Sept 26, 2016.

Meanwhile, two bankruptcy proceedings against Serrano's directors have been adjourned to Oct 20.

Serrano revealed this in separate filings to Singapore Exchange late on Thursday night.

In one filing, it said it and Serrano Holdings had each received letters of demand, dated Sept 26, from Maybank's lawyers on Sept 28.

These were related to the corporate guarantees from Serrano and its subsidiary to Maybank so that Maybank's banking facilities granted to subsidiaries Serrano Holdings, Artiwood Supervina, Sanzio Space Planner and Serrano Design can be secured.

As such, Maybank's lawyers have demanded that Serrano pay S$29,645,889.09, while Serrano Holdings pay S$3,756,134.32. The two sums are in aggregate as at Aug 22.

If the amounts are not paid within seven days from Sept 26, Maybank reserves its rights to commence legal proceedings against the group, said Serrano.

This latest update follows one made in August, when Maybank notified Artiwood Sanzio and Serrano Design that they have defaulted in paying monies due and owing to Maybank.

Separately, Serrano stated that bankruptcy proceedings against director Chia Wing Keong, initiated by Bank of East Asia, have been adjourned to Oct 20. Similarly, those initiated by RHB against Chia Wing Hock have been pushed back to the same date.