Creditors of Autobahn Rent A Car, Shariot group claim S$38 million more, contrary to group’s own estimates

[SINGAPORE] A group of 18 related automotive companies – including Autobahn Rent A Car and car-sharing service Shariot – may owe its creditors around S$38 million more than initially projected.

This is according to updated claims by the group’s creditors in court documents dated Dec 12.

According to an affidavit dated Nov 28 by Sanjay Kumar Rai, a director of Autobahn Rent A Car and representing the group, the group owes more than S$300 million to over 40 creditors.

These include Singapore’s major banks DBS, OCBC and UOB; automotive financing companies; and car distributors.

On Nov 28, the Autobahn-Shariot group applied to the High Court for a six-month moratorium to halt creditor actions and repossessions as it seeks a scheme of arrangement.

However, in the Dec 12 court documents seen by BT, some creditors have provided updated claims figures that are larger than those in Rai’s affidavit.

DBS and auto finance companies Teck Wei Credit and Toyota Financial Services are still the group’s biggest creditors.

DBS is claiming S$102.6 million, up from S$94.8 million; Teck Wei Credit is claiming S$74.2 million, up from S$70 million; and Toyota Financial Services is claiming S$43.1 million, up from S$25 million.

The other local banks also reflected higher debts. UOB is claiming S$17 million, up from S$13.4 million; OCBC is claiming S$12.5 million, up from S$8.6 million.

Creditors oppose moratorium

Law firm Rajah and Tann made a written submission on behalf of UOB, seeking to dismiss the moratorium. It said that the list of creditors in Rai’s affidavit contains factual inaccuracies, among other things.

For instance, Rajah and Tann said UOB is owed a total of around S$17,017,000 by Autobahn Rent A Car, Hamilton Autohub, Hamilton Capital and AhTan Car Repairs.

In contrast, Rai’s list states that the bank is owed S$13,379,200 by Autobahn Rent A Car and Hamilton Autohub.

Another written submission from Rajah and Tann, on behalf of DBS, noted that DBS and 10 other creditors – all represented by the firm – are opposing the moratorium application.

It added: “In addition 11 other creditors have filed affidavits on Dec 8 to oppose (the application). Not a single creditor has indicated support for the proposed moratorium.”

In total, 22 creditors have filed submissions to the court and affidavits rejecting the proposed restructuring plan.

Some have also filed for carve-outs in case the moratorium is approved. A carve-out is an exception to a moratorium that allows certain legal actions by creditors such as legal repossession of goods.

Expanding through September

As late as September – less than two months before the Autobahn-Shariot group applied for its moratorium – it was still expanding its fleet.

In written submissions, creditors said that the Autobahn-Shariot group financed at least 140 cars worth S$24.6 million this year.

It acquired the vehicles through hire-purchase from five creditors: authorised car distributors Borneo Motors (Singapore) and Komoco Motors, as well as automotive finance companies Golden Charter, SSL Holdings and Supreme Cars Financial Services.

The sales agreements for some of these deals were signed between April and September, with the latest deliveries to the Autobahn group taking place in November.

The bulk of these cars – 95 units – were Toyota Sienta multi-purpose vehicles purchased from Borneo Motors. There were also 15 cars from SSL Holdings, 13 from Golden Charter, 10 from Komoco, and eight from Supreme Cars Financial Services.

Creditors who claimed various sums in relation to the car purchases are: Golden Charter (S$3.5 million), Komoco (S$2.1 million), SSL (S$2.8 million) and Supreme (S$1.4 million).

In addition, according to Rai’s first affidavit, the group owes Borneo Motors a total of S$14.6 million for hire purchases.

In a media interview in late November, Tan Boon Kee, a director and major shareholder of many of the group’s companies, said the group’s fleet had grown to around 1,700 cars in recent years, from 500 before.

Court documents mentioned that the group has financed some 1,200 cars in recent years, with around S$200 million in related debt. The vehicles were obtained through various financing avenues, including hire purchase and flooring loans.

The documents would not mention cars already owned by the group. While some 40 creditors were named in Rai’s affidavit, not all of them have filed submissions to court.

Rajah and Tann is representing 11 creditors, including DBS, UOB, Teck Wei Credit and Toyota Financial Services.

Parvani Law is representing seven creditors, including Motor Way Credit and Supreme Cars Financial Services, while Fervent Chambers is the solicitor for the Autobahn group.

A High Court hearing is set for Dec 26.