Summit yet to demand payment on overdue interest: Suntrust

Jan 25, 2023 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck  

---

Manila-listed Suntrust Resort Holdings Inc says a unit of Hong Kong-listed Summit Ascent Holdings Ltd has “not yet demanded” the payment of overdue interest on convertible bonds issued by Suntrust in December 2020. The information was disclosed in a Tuesday filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Last week, Summit Ascent said its profit for financial year ending December 31, 2022, could face a “material adverse” outcome due to Suntrust failing to pay the due interest on the convertible bonds issued in 2020.

The five-year, 6.0-percent convertible bonds in the principal amount of PHP5.6 billion (US$102.7 million) were issued to Summit Ascent Investments Ltd, by Suntrust. They are convertible into shares of Suntrust. Summit Ascent said that the coupon interest amounted to PHP336 million.

In Tuesday’s filing, Suntrust noted it had paid in a “timely” manner, the interest that had been due as of December 30, 2021.

But Suntrust said that prior to the interest payment due date for December 2022, it approached the Summit Ascent group to “negotiate the payment arrangement”, but that “no concrete plan” had been reached up to the date of Tuesday’s announcement.

“Accordingly, Summit Ascent has not yet demanded for the payment of overdue interest,” it added.

Suntrust said additionally that aside from the “running of interest,” the failure to pay the overdue interest “is not expected to have any adverse effect on the business, operations and financial condition of Suntrust”.

Suntrust said in a filing last week it believed that an “agreement on the terms” of the “refinancing or restructuring” of the 2020 convertible bonds “should be forthcoming”.

Suntrust is indirectly owned by LET Group Holdings Ltd, a Hong Kong-listed company, formerly known as Suncity Group Holdings Ltd.

Suntrust is developing the “main hotel casino” at the Westside City Project, located in Manila’s Entertainment City. According to information provided by the group, the project has a price tag of approximately US$1 billion, and should commence operation in 2024.

LET Group is also the controlling shareholder of Summit Ascent, the latter firm an investor in the Tigre de Cristal casino resort, near the Russian Pacific port of Vladivostok.

In June last year, Suntrust issued a separate set of five-year, 6.0-percent convertible bonds in the principal amount of PHP6.4 billion to Summit Ascent Investments, The five-year, 6.0-percent convertible bonds. The bonds were used to repay a US$120-million loan provided in 2021 by Summit Ascent Investments.

---

---