JES appoints asset valuer for disposal of shipbuilding business

Singapore-listed JES announced that it has appointed Roma Appraisals Limited to prepare the report, required under the conditions precedent of the sale and purchase agreement in relation to the proposed disposal of the shipbuilding business.

JES has struggled to keep its core shipbuilding business afloat amid the gloomy state of the global shipbuilding industry, shadowed by low newbuilding prices, excess capacity, rising operating costs and high risks of shipbuilding contract defaults by cash-strapped vessel buyers.

In mid-February this year, JES decided to dispose of its debt-ridden shipbuilding business for the then mentioned figure of $500,000 to an asset and equity restructuring investor Hong Kong Victo International Limited.

The sale includes its wholly-owned Jiangsu Eastern Heavy Industry Co (JEHI) and Jiangsu New Eastern Marine Engineering Equipment Co (JNEME), and its 49%-owned Jiangsu Nereus Shipyard (JNS).

Hong Kong Victo was earlier said to be taking on the shipyards’ known debts of approximately RMB1.96bn ($300m), and the trade payables amounting to around RMB558.46m owing to various creditors.