Singapore’s oil trading haven defaced by latest Hin Leong bankruptcy
Singapore has long been known as the ideal location for a commodity trading house due to its light regulation, low taxes and a view of one of the busiest shipping routes globally.
(The Online Citizen) – That well-earned reputation is now marred by a slew of financial scandals and failures. The most recent is the bankruptcy of the legendary marine fuel trader, Hin Leong Trading Pte who admitted to hiding around US$800 million (S$1.13115 billion) in losses as well as selling off oil inventories which were backstopping loans.
Only weeks prior to the failure of Hin Leong, the palm oil and coal mining corporation, Agritrade International Pte collapsed as it was mired in fraud allegations. At around the same time, an oil trader connected to a Chinese refiner, Hontop Energy Pte entered receivership even as it blamed plummeting demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Only a few years ago, the Singapore-listed firm, Noble Group Ltd, which used to be Asia’s biggest commodities house, was forced into a court-sanctioned restructuring amidst allegations of aggressive accounting practices.
Speaking to Bloomberg, he pointed out “Our rules, monitoring and enforcement for companies are weak – and we are now paying a heavy price,”
