Joint provisional liquidators have been appointed by the Supreme Court of Bermuda to assist in restructuring the indebtedness of Genting Hong Kong Limited.

Puisne Judge Shade Subair Williams yesterday appointed Bermudian-based Alex Whittaker, of R&H Services Limited, Reid Street, Hamilton, as well as Edward Middleton and Tiffany Wong, of Alvarez and Marsal in Hong Kong, as JPLs.

Mrs Justice Subair Williams made the order after hearing from lawyer Lilla Zuill, representing Genting, the petitioners who filed a winding-up order in the court on Tuesday.

The order authorises the JPLs to facilitate and assist the company in developing and proposing a restructuring of the group’s financial indebtedness so that the company can continue as a going concern as well as make a compromise or arrangements with its creditors.

It also seals evidence in an affidavit by Genting CFO Chris Chan that contains financially sensitive and confidential information.

Ms Zuill told the court, on the hearing of the summons to appoint JPLs, that a restructuring would be a “better outcome for creditors than a liquidation”.

She added that an ad-hoc group of creditors, which holds 52 per cent of the group’s outstanding debt, supported the appointment of JPLs.

In early 2020, Ms Zuill said by way of background, the group had steady revenue and expansion plans but since then has been “severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic”.

Genting was incorporated in the Isle of Man in 1993 and continued in Bermuda in 2000.

The holding company has subsidiaries in Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, Isle of Man, Hong Kong, Malta, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The group’s business includes three cruise ship lines, general travel and leisure interests, a shipbuilder and a resort in the Philippines.

Ms Zuill explained that the impact of a recent insolvency filing in Germany was the “trigger for the application made this week” as it resulted in the company’s “inability to access some funds it previously expected to draw down and has created a cash crunch for the company”.