Koon Holdings gets debt moratorium until February

THE High Court of Singapore has granted a debt moratorium to mainboard-listed Koon Holdings and its subsidiary Koon Construction & Transport (KCT).

It will last from Nov 7 to Feb 28, Koon Holdings said in a bourse filing on Friday.

In October, the two companies applied for court protection as they intend to propose and implement a scheme of arrangement as part of the group's restructuring exercise to restore their financial position.

The court also ordered both companies to file an affidavit by Nov 21 stating the status of KCT's ongoing projects with the Land Transport Authority and JTC Corporation and the source of funds for KCT to complete those projects. The affidavit should also state what plans both companies may have for small creditors who might be more cash-flow vulnerable.

Koon Holdings and KCT are also required to file their scheme applications by Dec 12.

They will then attend a pre-trial conference for the scheme applications on Dec 16, 2019, and a court hearing will be held on Jan 3, 2020.

Over the coming weeks, Koon Holdings and KCT will work closely with their advisers to finalise the details of the schemes they intend to propose to their creditors, the firms said on Friday.

Koon Holdings and KCT have appointed Tan Kok Quan Partnership as legal adviser and RSM Corporate Advisory as financial consultant to advise on their debt restructuring so that the group may continue as a going concern.

Koon Holdings is an infrastructure and civil engineering service provider specialising in reclamation and shore protection works. KCT is the group's main operating company.

On Monday, Koon Holdings said it appointed a new chief operating officer to oversee its construction and precast operations.

Shares of Koon Holdings have been suspended since Aug 30. It requested the voluntary suspension as it was assessing the ability of KCT to continue on a going concern basis.