Taking steps to protect our interests: ICICI Bank on Hin Leong exposure
Mumbai, April 21 (IANS) Confirming its exposure in the debt-ridden Singaporean company Hin Leong Trading, ICICI Bank on Tuesday said that it is taking the required steps to protect its interests.
In a regulatory filing, the bank also said that it will appropriately reflect the exposure in its financial statements.
According to the oil trading company’s filing, ICICI Bank has an exposure of $100 million, out of its total dues of $3.64 billion, to the secured lenders. The company has recently filed for bankruptcy in Singapore.
“We confirm that the bank, in the normal course of its business, has exposure to the borrower group in question, is taking due steps to protect its interests, and will appropriately reflect the same in its financial statements, as it would do in respect of all its banking exposures,” it said.
Out of its total exposure to Hin Leong Trading, $75 million is secured over inventory, as per the oil trading company’s filing.
The top lenders to the company include HSBC, ABN AMRO Bank N.V. and DBS Bank, with exposure of $598 million, $299 million and $288 million, respectively.
As of the quarter ended December 2019, ICICI Bank’s net non-performing assets (NPA) stood at Rs 10,388.50 crore and the gross NPA was Rs 43,453.86 crore.
The fall of the oil trading major comes at a time when oil prices are at multi-year low due to the fall in demand and high supplies amid the coronavirus crisis. This poses a challenge to the bank even if it decides to recover 75 per cent of its dues through oil inventory.
The concerns have grown for the lenders with reports suggesting that the founder and director of the company had directed the firm not to disclose losses of $800 million over several years. The founder had confessed to this in a court filing, report said.
According to reports, ICICI Bank has issued notices to impound two vessels operated by Ocean Tankers (Pte) Ltd, a unit of the troubled Hin Leong Trading Pte Ltd.
Following the confirmation of its exposure to the cash strapped company, ICICI Bank’s shares plunged on Tuesday. The bank’s shares on the BSE ended at Rs 331.55, lower by Rs 29.95 or 8.28 per cent from its previous close.
–IANS
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