Singapore's Hyflux heads for liquidation

Court hearing due on Monday to decide on the company's future

The Singapore skyline. Hyflux, a company that provides desalination and water treatment services in the country, is heading for liquidation. Getty

Singaporean water treatment company Hyflux’s judicial manager will bring a plan to liquidate the company before a court on Monday, following a years-long saga in one of the city-state’s most high-profile distressed cases.

The hearing comes after the court-appointed manager in charge of the water treatment company since November applied last month to wind it up. Judicial manager Borrelli Walsh said in June that “the remaining value” of the Hyflux Group is best realised in a liquidation.

The decision may cap a drawn-out saga around the company, which has left retail investors and creditors holding losses. Hyflux began a court-supervised debt restructuring process in May 2018 and faced about 2.8 billion Singaporean dollars ($2.1 billion) worth of investor claims.

It received several offers from several bidders along the way, none of which concluded.

One of its suitors, UAE-based Utico, which has been pursuing the company since 2019, said it will argue against the winding-up plan in the hearing on Monday.

Hyflux said last month the judicial manager terminated discussions with Utico as it was unable to meet the conditions required.

Bloomberg