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(Aug 31): Cruise operator Genting Hong Kong Ltd has received indicative letters from private investors interested in investing in one of its cruise brands, the company said in a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with date of August 28.
The company, controlled by Malaysian tycoon Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, said that “there is a reasonable prospect that the group will be able to obtain the financing” by June 2021. The company announced the development by reporting a wider net loss in the first semester of US $ 687.1 million compared to US $ 55.2 million a year ago.
Genting Hong Kong said earlier this month that it had suspended all payments to creditors, blaming its cash crisis on the coronavirus pandemic. The company said it owed a total of $ 3.4 billion as of July 31. Its shares are down 58% this year, hit by lockdown measures and movement restrictions around the world. They rose 1.6% at 1:48 pm in Hong Kong, halting a four-day slide.
The company said it has “aggressively” cut nonessential operating expenses, enacted salary freezes or cuts and reduced staff to conserve cash and minimize the monthly cash burn rate.
The cruise operator is also negotiating a new deferral of the $ 97 million loan with the lenders after it deferred $ 85 million from certain lenders before June 30 this year, according to the document. Some of Genting Hong Kong’s creditors have formed an ad hoc group to discuss a restructuring solution with the company’s advisers.
The company said most of its capital commitments of about $ 1.3 billion as of June 30 will be delayed due to the suspension of shipbuilding activities.
German funding
Genting Hong Kong said it expects its operations at the shipyards to resume in October. The company, which owns the MV Werften shipyards in Germany, said it is seeking long-term funding from the German government’s pandemic-related Economic Stabilization Fund for its operations at the shipyards.
These funds will be used to finance the shipyards’ working capital needs and the ongoing construction of new ships, he said. After the new cruises are completed, the group will be able to obtain project financing from the lenders, he said.
The company said there is “a reasonable prospect” that it will have sufficient working capital and cash flows to meet its financial obligations as they mature in the 12 months to June 30, 2021, if it succeeds in implementing measures and plans that They include controlling capital expenditures and seeking new funds.
Genting Hong Kong suspended nearly all of its cruise operations since February 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak and expects them to resume in January 2021, the company said at the presentation.
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