Hyflux clarifies report in Middle Eastern media on Utico

Published Thu, May 21, 2020 · 09:26 AM

EMBATTLED water-treatment company Hyflux on Thursday clarified a report in Middle Eastern news service The National, which said that white knight Utico was planning a US$500 million sukuk issuance to pay down debt, and that Utico had taken a 95 per cent stake in Hyflux last November with a total investment of S$400 million.

"That is incorrect," Hyflux said in a filing to the Singapore Exchange on Thursday.

"The company wishes to clarify that, while the restructuring agreement was signed with Utico on Nov 26, 2019 ... as at November 2019 (being the time referred to in the article) as well as the date of this announcement, completion has yet to occur and Utico has neither taken a 95 per cent stake in the company nor made a total investment of S$400 million (or any investment) in the company."

Meetings for the reorganisation should have taken place in the months of April and May this year, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Hyflux last month filed urgent applications to the High Court to change the timelines to convene the scheme meetings, at which creditors will vote on Utico's rescue deal.

The court has since ordered that the scheme meetings on April 22 and 23 be postponed to a later date to be decided. The moratorium was also extended to July 30.