A Bermuda court has ordered the winding up of indebted casino cruise ship operator Genting Hong Kong Ltd. News of Friday’s move was given in a Monday filing in the name of the company, signed off by its joint provisional liquidators. The order also applies to Dream Cruises Holding Ltd, a unit of Genting Hong Kong.
In January, Genting Hong Kong filed two petitions to the Supreme Court of Bermuda for the winding up of the company and of its unit, Dream Cruises. At the same time, Genting Hong Kong also filed for the appointment of provisional liquidation in Bermuda. On January 18, its shares were suspended on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and have remained so, since.
MV Werften Holdings Ltd, the group’s shipbuilding unit in Germany, filed for insolvency earlier in January. That gave rise to an event of default under an existing facility agreement, which in turn triggered cross-default events under other financing arrangements of the Genting Hong Kong group, comprising an aggregate principal amount of just above US$2.77 billion.
Monday’s filing said the joint provisional liquidators had “been ordered to continue in that role for the company and Dream Cruises, respectively, and their powers shall not be limited”.
Genting Hong Kong – part of the Malaysia-based Genting group – had developed a three-brand cruise portfolio with focus on different market segments: “Star Cruises”, “Crystal Cruises” and “Dream Cruises”. But the business ran into trouble coinciding with the disruption to travel and tourism caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In August, a filing to the Hong Kong bourse said Genting Hong Kong’s joint provisional liquidators were “in the process of considering” what they termed “offers from potential purchasers” for the firm’s stake in the Newport World Resorts casino complex in the Philippine capital, Manila.
In September the joint provisional liquidators said they had approved the disposal of trademarks connected to the group, to Resorts World Inc Pte Ltd, a Singapore-registered casino cruise business recently set up by Genting Hong Kong’s founder, Malaysian entrepreneur Lim Kok Thay.
