By Kyunghee Park and K. Oanh Ha (Bloomberg) — Genting Hong Kong Ltd. has filed to wind up the company in one of the biggest stumbles by a cruise operator globally.
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Casino cruise ship operator Genting Hong Kong Ltd said in a Sunday filing that its directors have given “careful consideration” to whether the firm would have “sufficient financial resources” to continue its business as a going concern.
The commentary was in Genting Hong Kong’s audited financial results for the year 2020, lodged with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. During the year, the group recorded a net loss of nearly US$1.72 billion, and had net operating cash outflow of US$629.4 million.
As at December 31, Genting Hong Kong’s current liabilities exceeded its current assets by nearly US$3.3 billion. The firm was also in default in respect of borrowings in a principal amount of nearly US$3.4 billion in aggregate.
Casino cruise ship operator Genting Hong Kong Ltd says it has agreement on a “holistic recapitalisation” of the group, and “amendment and extension” of the group’s “material financial indebtedness of circa US$2.6 billion” after what it termed “intensive negotiations with its stakeholders”.
Genting Hong Kong – part of the Malaysia-based Genting group – controls the Dream Cruises, Crystal Cruises and Star Cruises brands. The firm is also an investor in the Resorts World Manila casino resort in the Philippines.
The announced deal came against the background of the Covid-19 pandemic that “has had, and continues to have, a material impact on the financial position and results of operation of the group”, with many cruise routes around the world suspended as a Covid-19 countermeasure.