Noble Group's future hinges on credit line extension

Hong Kong

NOBLE Group must convince its lenders to give it more time. The struggling Asian commodity trader desperately needs to extend a US$2 billion credit line this month. But credit and equity investors are betting the company's debts are probably unmanageable, and a bankruptcy filing or some similarly painful fix is likely.

Financial institutions have hired lawyers to assess the case for extending the facility to year-end, and consultants to assess collateral values, the Financial Times reported on June 6, citing sources with knowledge of the discussions.