Meet the Singapore millionaire who joins bondholders pushing for protection

He owns more than $8m of notes.

Jerry Tan, a 77-year-old retired Singaporean businessman, was among dozens of bondholders in the city who joined forces last week to submit their demands as more companies seek to restructure debt payments.

“The only way to put ourselves in a position of some strength is to come together as a group,” said Tan, who said he owns more than S$8 million ($5.9 million) of notes. “The whole bond market is really bad and you can expect a lot more defaults. The authorities should step up to protect investors and Singapore’s reputation as a major financial center.”

Tan was among a crowd of housewives, former traders and entrepreneurs who gathered outside a trustee’s office to deliver a demand for immediate payment on S$100 million of notes issued by shipping trust Rickmers Maritime, which is seeking a debt-equity swap. A separate group issued a similar notice of acceleration on S$125 million of bonds sold by Malaysian oil services company Perisai Petroleum Teknologi Bhd., after talks on a reorganization broke down.

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