Potential buyers emerge for Genting Hong Kong Global Dream cruise ship
The sale of Genting Hong Kong’s vessel under construction in Germany is one of the priorities in administration proceedings.
Hong Kong.- Malaysian tycoon Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, who resigned from Genting Hong Kong on January 21, is reportedly among several investors interested in acquiring Genting’s partially complete Global Dream cruise ship in ongoing administrative proceedings. The ship is 72 per cent built.
Christoph Morgen, the provisional insolvency administrator appointed to wind up Genting Hong Kong’s German shipyard MV Werften, has said that the sale of the 204,000 gross ton Global Dream cruise ship is one of his priorities.
He told Bloomberg that Lim who is still CEO of Genting Berhad is a potential buyer but that other parties were also in talks to buy the partially constructed cruise liner. However, the likelihood of the ship being sold within the month is slim due to the complexity of the case.
Genting Hong Kong filed for liquidation after a German court rejected a request to release US$88m in funds for its German shipyard unit MV Werften. Executive director Chan Kam Hing Chris and company secretary Yung Mei Yee have since left the group’s board and Genting Hong Kong’s Crystal Cruises is reported to have laid off staff as it proceeds with shutting down its office in Miami.
Genting Hong Kong had secured a loan of €2.6bn from a consortium headed by KfW IPEX Bank for the construction and financing of Dream Cruises’ two new Global Class vessels. Liquidating the assets is problematic because of how many entities are involved.
The financing package was supported by export credit guarantees from Germany and Finnish export credit agency Finnvera, as well as a guarantee from Germany’s Mecklenburg West Pomerania. BNP Paribas and Citibank were also part of the banking consortium, as was Credit Agricole and Credit Suisse.
Robert Habeck, Germany’s federal economy minister, has said that the government would finance the estimated €600m needed to complete the construction if Morgen succeeds in attracting a buyer for the ship. He warned, however, that the buyer must be willing to fulfil Germany’s participation requirements.
