OW Bunker creditors don’t have secured rights to Singapore receivables: KPMG

There has been confusion in the credit collection process.

The creditors of OW Bunker do not have secured rights over all the receivables of its two Singapore units, according to provisional liquidators KPMG.

OW Bunker, a global marine fuel firm that went belly-up last month, has two Singapore-based units, namely O.W. Bunker Far East (Singapore) and Dynamic Oil Trading (Singapore).

KPMG said that trustees and receivers in Denmark do not have secured rights over all receivables of the two Singapore companies, and that a receivable collection pact signed in Copenhagen last week do not limit their powers to act for the companies’ unsecured creditors.

The provisional liquidators from KPMG were clarifying queries raised by customers and debtors of the two companies, some of whom were unsure who they should be paying to.

The confusion arose from the fact that a global facility extended by a syndicate of banks to O.W. Bunker & Trading A/S and O.W. Supply &Trading A/S  gave the lending syndicate claims over certain assets of various OW Bunker entities around the world including the two Singapore subsidiaries.

The assets that were assigned and charged to ING comprise mainly receivables, and ING is the security agent for the lending syndicate.

Bob Yap, one of the three Provisional Liquidators, said: “ING does not have claims over all the receivables of the failed companies in Singapore, only on those assigned and charged to ING.

“Receivables not assigned and charged to ING remain the assets of the companies and the Provisional Liquidators have not authorised any third party to collect or deal with them.”