China Fishery Trustee Targets HSBC in Bankruptcy Probe
September 25 2017 - 4:14PM
Dow Jones News
By Tom Corrigan
The court-appointed trustee in charge of China Fishery Group
Ltd. isn't backing down in a bankruptcy battle with HSBC Ltd.,
which he is investigating for aggressive collection tactics that
allegedly had a "severely negative impact" on the fishing
enterprise.
In court papers filed Thursday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in
New York, the trustee, William Brandt Jr., asked a bankruptcy judge
to reaffirm his power to investigate HSBC.
A hearing on the matter is set for Thursday.
Mr. Brandt has been largely successful in the long-running row
with HSBC, winning a court order in July from Judge James Garrity
Jr. allowing him to investigate the bank for collection efforts
that Mr. Brandt said may have stunted China Fishery's
operations.
"Some creditors may have overstepped their bounds," Mr. Brandt
said in an interview last month.
China Fishery filed for chapter 11 protection in June 2016.
Mr. Brandt said HSBC is now "trying to delay compliance" with
the judge's order, refusing to accept subpoenas for documents or to
respond to other requests for information related to the probe. A
lawyer for HSBC declined to comment Monday.
In court papers, HSBC, which said it is owed more than $100
million, has asked Judge Garrity for a temporary reprieve from the
investigation while it pursues an appeal. HSBC said it would
otherwise suffer "irreparable harm" from a "costly and invasive"
process that it may be shut down by a higher court.
China Fishery is part of Pacific Andes Group, a collection of
companies that together make up one of the world's largest seafood
businesses.
Last month, Judge Garrity agreed to send China Fishery's
considerable anchovy-harvesting operations off the coast of Peru to
the auction block, where they are expected to fetch around $1.5
billion.
Tours of the Peruvian businesses began last month and will
continue through mid-October, according to court papers. Bids are
due Dec. 8, and an auction is set for Dec. 13.
The assets up for sale, repeatedly described in court hearings
and court papers as China Fishery's "crown jewels," include about
50 vessels and 10 processing plants as well as a "significant
percentage" of the annual anchovy fishing quotas set by the
Peruvian government, according to Mr. Brandt.
Mr. Brandt took over China Fishery late last year after lenders
convinced Judge Garrity to wrest control of the business away from
the Ng family, which founded it in Hong Kong 30 years ago. The
family retains control of other affiliated entities not in chapter
11.
China Fishery filed for chapter 11 protection in June 2016,
blaming financial woes largely tied to El Niño, which has adversely
affected Peruvian anchovy harvests in recent years. Court papers
said those weather patterns have since subsided and the outlook for
Peruvian anchovy fishing has improved.
Write to Tom Corrigan at tom.corrigan@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 25, 2017 15:59 ET (19:59 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
HSBC (NYSE:HSBC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
HSBC (NYSE:HSBC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024