Corporate digest

Noble Group

NOBLE chairman Paul Brough has sought to reassure shareholders that the company's board and management remain committed to "open and ongoing dialogue".

Mr Brough met representatives of the Securities Investors Association of Singapore (Sias), including its president David Gerald. "Sias has been assured that Mr Brough and his senior management team are fully committed to completing a restructuring which puts Noble on a firmer financial footing," the investor group said in a statement released on Sunday.

This comes after the battered commodity trader struck a deal with a group of creditors under which existing shareholders' equity would be nearly wiped out, while the restructured firm would have much lower debt.

Under Noble's restructuring plan, the new company that will hold all of its businesses and assets will ultimately be 70 per cent owned by senior creditors, 20 per cent by the management and 10 per cent by existing shareholders.

Sias noted that for the management shares, only a 10 per cent stake is awarded upon restructuring. The next 10 per cent will be sold to management via a shareholder loan and the shares will vest only if performance targets are met.

The in-principle agreement Noble reached with 30 per cent of its creditors proposes to halve its debts of US$3.5 billion by asking them to take on equity and new debt instruments.

The restructuring follows three tumultuous years in which the Hong Kong-based company cut jobs and sold assets, some at losses, taking massive write-downs and raising funds.

Huationg Global

CIVIL engineering company Huationg Global and its unit Huationg Contractor have been served with a writ of summons filed in the High Court by a group of similarly-named but unrelated companies.

The suit - filed by Huationg Holdings, Huationg Inland Transport Services, Huationg (Asia) and Hua Resources - alleges that some trademarks registered under Huationg Global and its unit are invalid.

The plaintiffs are also alleging that Huationg Global and Huationg Contractor made "certain groundless threats of infringement" and defamed them, causing Huationg Holdings and Huationg Inland Transport Services to suffer damages.

Huationg Global and Huationg Contractor are disputing the claims and "intend to strenuously defend the allegations", they said in an exchange filing on Friday night. They are in the process of seeking legal advice.

Sinjia Land

The High Court on Jan 23 served an originating summons to Sinjia RTE Solutions, a unit of Sinjia Land, taken out by a supplier in relation to payables owed.

The supplier, Nutech Automation, has applied for a winding up order to be made against RTE and the appointment of a liquidator for RTE.

The application is scheduled to be heard before the High Court on Feb 23.

In an exchange filing on Friday night, Sinjia Land said it will be "looking into, and pursuing vigorously, the company's rights in relation to the application", and is seeking legal advice.