Insolvency Guardian Media Centre
The main contractor of M+, the West Kowloon Cultural Districts contemporary art museum, was fired by the government-appointed management authority on Friday due to alleged insolvency.
In a press statement, the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) said it has terminated its contract with Hsin Chong Construction Company Limited over the troubled project. Hsin Chong was awarded the HK$5.9 billion contract for multiple buildings in September 2015 after a selective tendering process.
The M+ building under construction. Photo: WKCDA.
The decision to terminate the contract has been forced upon the Authority due to the insolvency of [Hsin Chong] which has been caused by the severe financial troubles facing its parent company, Hs…
Read the full article at: https://www.hongkongfp.com/2018/08/20/west-kowloon-m-museum-main-contractor-fired-due-insolvency/
FILE
PHOTO: Noble Group founder and Chairman Richard Elman poses at
his office in Hong Kong
Thomson
Reuters
SINGAPORE/BENGALURU (Reuters) – Embattled commodity trader Noble
Group Ltd said on Monday that its founder, Richard Elman, will
not take up a previously announced position as an executive
director in the restructured company, citing “personal reasons”.
Once Asia’s largest commodity trader, Noble has shrunk its
business after selling billions of dollars of assets, taking
hefty writedowns and cutting hundreds of jobs. Its restructuring
plan – crucial to its survival – gained ground last month when it
won over a key shareholder with a swee…
Read the full article at: http://uk.businessinsider.com/r-noble-group-founder-declines-executive-director-role-in-restructured-firm-2018-8
DJ Alison Wonderlands touring company has gone into liquidation with an estimated $776,000 owed to Australian and New Zealander creditors, documents show.
Wonderland Touring Pty Ltd., which threw 2017s massive Wonderland Scarehouse Project warehouse tour, was put into liquidation in late June after failing to pay its creditors.
Despite a strong showing in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Auckland, which fielded artists including Wonderland, A$AP Ferg, and Lunice, the tour incurred significant losses.
Vince Foti, general manager of Foti Fireworks, told PEDESTRIAN.TV his company is owed $4,400 for services rendered on the Scarehouse Project tour. His company is one of 110 creditors owed by the company.
Alison Wonderland, a…
Read the full article at: https://www.pedestrian.tv/news/alison-wonderland-touring-company-bankrupt-debts/
Poor performance in its veterinary business and a myriad of exceptional costs have drained Greencross’ (ASX: GXL) profits in FY18.
The pet product retailer and veterinary specialist realised $24.2 million worth of impairments across areas including projects, investments, store assets and provisions.
In the second half alone, Greencross paid $22.6 million in one-off costs including $2.5 million for restructuring the business. Total statutory profit dropped by 51 per cent to hit $20.7 million.
Underlying earnings in the Australian veterinary segment fell 17 per cent at $24.6 million, a result which Greencross managing director and CEO Simon Hickey says is underwhelming.
“The performance of our v…
Read the full article at: https://www.businessnewsaus.com.au/articles/greencross-under-the-weather–vet-business-and-impairments-to-blame.html
- McGraths full year revenue was down 23% to $99.2 million.
- A $63.1 million after tax loss.
- The real estate market is challenging but the company says it has started its turnaround.
McGrath posted a $63.1 million after tax loss, hit by difficult market conditions, lower sales, and the departure of some of the real estate agencys sales agents.
Revenue was down 23% to $99.2 million but underlying EBITDA of $5 million hit guidance.
The results include one-off restructuring costs of $4 million and impairment charges of $59.4 million.
The ASX-listed real estate agency earlier this year cleaned out its board of directors and replaced the CEO, following a slide in earnings, a drop in listings and the departure…
Read the full article at: https://www.businessinsider.com.au/mcgrath-results-loss-2018-8
The New Zealand-based banking groups proposed restructure will see its burgeoning Australian reverse mortgage business freed from the central banks capital requirements and poised for strong growth.
Along with its financial results for the year ending on 30 June 2018, Heartland Bank issued a restructure proposal that would see it becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of a new New Zealand Stock Exchange-listed non-bank, called Heartland Group Holdings, under which its Australian reverse mortgage business would also operate.
By sitting outside Heartlands banking group, its Australian reverse mortgage business will no longer be constrained by the capital requirements of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ).
Speaking with Mortgage Business, Hear…
Read the full article at: https://www.mortgagebusiness.com.au/breaking-news/12563-heartland-restructure-to-drive-growth-of-aussie-reverse-mortgage-business
The government is facing pressure to bolster the rules around pre-pack administrations after figures showed that a voluntary scheme was being shunned.
Only 11 per cent of eligible cases were referred to the Pre Pack Pool last year, its annual report shows, with its directors acknowledging that there are no penalties to compel purchasers to make referrals.
The pool was set up in 2015 to review pre-pack administrations where companies are sold to a connected party, in an attempt to bring transparency to an insolvency process in which creditors are kept in the dark. Directors and insolvency practitioners can u…
Read the full article at: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/company-purchasers-ignore-voluntary-safety-net-for-pre-pack-administrations-hx7bm2bcp
While the size of the debts is unclear, the Commonwealth Actuary has already written down more than $1 billion dollars’ worth of taxpayer-funded loans that will never be repaid.
Established by the Coalition and expanded by Labor, VET FEE HELP granted virtually unregulated access to government subsidies for every person who took out a loan to study.
This created a perverse incentive for some colleges to enrol as many students as they could, often by providing free laptops for substandard online courses, or by signing up vulnerable people without telling them they would have to eventually pay back the government tens of thousands of dollars.
Assistant Minister for VET Karen Andrews has vowed to “pursue every opportunity” to help students w…
Read the full article at: https://www.smh.com.au/education/students-caught-up-in-education-rort-may-have-course-debts-wiped-20180818-p4zya1.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed
We’ve previously covered the messy demise of Cafe Brass, the swanky restaurant in Melbourne’s inner-city that failed after only a few months, after its wealthy backers including billionaire investor Alex Waislitz, real estate classifieds wizard Antony Catalano, high street jeweller Marcus Rose and KPMG wheeler-and-dealer Jon Adgemis pulled the pin on the venture, which had yet to make a profit.
The company’s only legal director is 27-year-old hospitality worker Stephen Frantzeskos, whose restauranteur father Sam Frantzeskos was the instigator of the whole thing. Frantzeskos the younger was the restaurant’s general manager, which has made him first point-of-call for all the unpaid creditors to the company. These include…
Read the full article at: https://www.afr.com/brand/rear-window/cafe-brass-debacle-could-bankrupt-general-manager-20180816-h141iw
While the size of the debts is unclear, the Commonwealth Actuary has already written down more than $1 billion dollars’ worth of taxpayer-funded loans that will never be repaid.
Established by the Coalition and expanded by Labor, VET FEE HELP granted virtually unregulated access to government subsidies for every person who took out a loan to study.
This created a perverse incentive for some colleges to enrol as many students as they could, often by providing free laptops for substandard online courses, or by signing up vulnerable people without telling them they would have to eventually pay back the government tens of thousands of dollars.
Assistant Minister for VET Karen Andrews has vowed to “pursue every opportunity” to help students w…
Read the full article at: https://www.smh.com.au/education/students-caught-up-in-education-rort-may-have-course-debts-wiped-20180818-p4zya1.html
Liquidator Steven Kugel of Insolvency Experts confirmed he was dealing with more than 1300 creditors, including one secured creditor and 15 employees, and around 500 debtors.
The role of the liquidator was to act for the benefit of all creditors including employees, secured and unsecured creditors, he said.
“In that regard, as liquidator, I will firstly deal with any assets of the company as well as obtaining books and records. Following that, I will undertake an investigation into the affairs of the company to determine the reasons for its failure … At this point, it will be decided if any dividend can be paid to creditors.”
Publishers that had placed books with the company for distribution were free to collect their stock, he said, as…
Read the full article at: https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/collapse-of-book-distributor-strands-hundreds-20180819-p4zydw.html
The Federal Government has doubled the amount of money available for low-interest loans to help drought-stricken farmers.
The move increases the loan allocation to $2 million and is among a raft of changes announced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in the New South Wales town of Forbes on Sunday.
Mr Turnbull said farmers were good businesspeople and would consider loans carefully.
“Farmers take on debt very prudently and of course the assessment of the loan takes into account their situation, so don’t underestimate the business sense and savviness of o…
Read the full article at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2018-08-19/turnbull-drought-assistance-follow/10137866