Container manufacturer Singamas, in which Pacific International Lines¡¯ (PIL) holds a 44% stake, has revealed in a Hong Kong stock exchange announcement on 23 March that $147 M of trade receivables from the PIL Group is outstanding, a majority of which is overdue. Singamas said that it is in discussions with PIL on a proposed repayment agreement and it expects to incur a credit loss of some $10 M on the outstanding receivables from PIL.
Singamas also revealed that PIL is in discussions with its other creditors on similar debt repayment arrangements ¡°amid the challenging market conditions and recent global impact by COVID-19¡±. The news is the first public admission by PIL of its cashflow difficulties that have prompted it to rationalise part of its service network and sell off various assets since the start of 2020.
PIL has announced its exit from the Asia-North America trade from the of March and has also confirmed the sale of six out of 12 ships of 11,923 teu as well as its 60% stake in Pacific Direct Line.
PIL has also committed to install scrubbers on 42 of its ships, with just 15 completed so far according to Alphaliner records, with the remaining installations severely delayed due to congestion at Chinese yards. The carrier initially expected scrubber installation works to complete by May 2020.
Since the price spread between compliant low sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) and HFO has fallen to $80/ton in Singapore and just $50/ton in Rotterdam, the immediate bunker savings from scrubber fitted ships have reduced notably - at least for the time being,
