KPMG to work with PwC on OW Bunker Far East debts

[SINGAPORE] The liquidators of OW Bunker Far East KPMG has agreed to work with PricewaterhouseCoopers on the collection of monies owed to the marine fuel company, which has an outstanding debt of US$330 million, a press release said on late Monday.

OW Bunker, once the leading supplier of the marine fuel oil with a 7 per cent market share, filed for bankruptcy in Denmark in November after revealing losses of at least US$125 million at one of its Singapore-based subsidiaries.

KPMG, which was officially appointed on Monday as the liquidator of OW Bunker's subsidiary in Singapore, signed a cooperation agreement with PwC on Feb 6 to "facilitate the prompt collection and receipt of all receivables owed" to the company, the press release said.

PwC was appointed by ING Bank as a receiver of OW Bunker Group's pledged assets last November.

Based on the unaudited records of OW Bunker Far East, the company owes US$325.5 million to more than 180 creditors, a list obtained by Reuters showed.

The top creditors OW Bunker Far East (Singapore) include Sino Bunkering at 29.4 million, PetroChina International (S) at 27.6 million, OW Bunker (Netherlands) at 23.7 million, Switzerland's RNG Trading at 21.4 million, and Turkey's OPET Trade Singapore at 17.3 million.

The group of creditors also agreed at the meeting on Monday to set up a group of no more than five as the Committee of Inspection, but details of the composition were not immediately available.

REUTERS