Hong Kong

NOBLE Group Ltd's rising debt load is adding to speculation that it will need to restructure its obligations, even after the embattled commodity trader obtained a crucial covenant waiver that buys it more time.

"Noble's current capital structure is not sustainable," said Annisa Lee, head of Asia ex-Japan flow credit analysis at Nomura International (Hong Kong) Ltd. "It is still my base case that it will have to go for restructuring or liquidation eventually."