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PR Newswire
06-03-2020, 12:54 PM
Seems theres a big legal case going on.
After being in negative spotlight for months now over its huge debt overhang, the property firm’s possible path towards financial stability seems to have dimmed again following recent developments in Cambodia and the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.
Following a brief uptick in early 2019 with the sale of Chevron’s House in Singapore, the firm’s poor cashflow continued to be in investors’ spotlight – until its ongoing project in Cambodia managed to woo China Railway Urban Construction Group Co Ltd (CRUCG) as a new contractor, together with the promise of financial support – announced late last year.
But recent events have cast serious doubt over the CRUCG partnership – which having to cope with the economic fallout from the Covid-19 virus spread in its mainland China home market, other legal troubles stand in the way of CRUCG’s pairing with Oxley.
Trouble apparently began with Oxley hiring CRUCG to replace previous contractor Sino Great Wall International Engineering Co Ltd (SGW) for its Cambodia project – as SGW said in a statement today the termination process was faulty.
SGW said Oxley terminated the four-year contract barely three months before SGW was due to complete Oxley’s flagship The Peak project in Cambodia’s capital city Phnom Penh.
The termination seemed to have stemmed from Oxley’s consultant advising work on The Peak project was about nine months behind schedule; an assertion denied by SGW’s Cambodia branch office legal representative Zhu Gen Sheng.
“Due to the usual variations, because of challenges found only once work starts on-site and also delays by the consultant to certify milestones, we estimated the possible delay being around three months.
“Having begun work on The Peak project in February 2016 and eventually expected to finish in April 2020, or three months behind schedule, we were very surprised when the termination took effect on 14 October 2019.”
Zhu said the flimsy excuse given by Oxley for the termination was linked to financial issues being faced back in China by SGW’s parent company Sino Great Wall Co Ltd.
“We had already reached 70% certified completion by early October 2019, with over 1,000 workers on-site doing extra shifts. Most necessary construction materials and fittings had already arrived and ready to be installed. So how does our parent company’s financial situation in China have any impact on this project in Cambodia?”
Zhu also said Oxley further delayed due payments and then tried to rush SGW off the construction site.
“We continued to be professional and attended to defect issues, raised even after the termination notice, because we take pride in always delivering our best to our clients.
“But Oxley then filed for a court injunction, which was forcibly enforced last week on Feb 25. This resulted in several of our workers being injured and some lost their valuables too.”
With due payments still owing and having been forcibly evicted, SGW is now taking necessary legal action to protect its interests at The Peak project site. All these developments are being watched closely by CRUCG, said Zhu.
“If this is how Oxley treats its partner from China, the same could happen to them too.”
Zhu added that SGW had also given its full support to Oxley for years, especially when the Singapore developer came under heavy scrutiny last year for its huge debt burden of almost S$3 billion while its income was far less.
“We were originally contracted to do construction on three key projects, namely The Bridge, The Palms and The Peak.
“We started work on The Bridge in August 2014 and completed the project in March 2018, about four (4) months behind schedule, even though Oxley originally claimed we were delayed by over seven months.
“For The Palms, construction work started in March 2018. But Oxley later renegotiated with us due to financial constraints. So we stopped work there in January 2019 to focus on The Peak, as requested by Oxley.
“Construction at The Peak started in February 2016 and due for completion by end-January 2020. We stayed on because we believed it was only right to continue supporting our client despite reports of their debt problems and even though payments got delayed.
“We’re still not sure why Oxley has treated us so badly after all our support for them. We got our final payments for The Bridge and The Palms only 18 months and 10 months later and now, we have to take necessary legal action to make sure we get paid for what we’re still owed for work on the Peak.”
Source: https://www.cyber-rt.info/business/singa...g-lawsuit/
After being in negative spotlight for months now over its huge debt overhang, the property firm’s possible path towards financial stability seems to have dimmed again following recent developments in Cambodia and the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.
Following a brief uptick in early 2019 with the sale of Chevron’s House in Singapore, the firm’s poor cashflow continued to be in investors’ spotlight – until its ongoing project in Cambodia managed to woo China Railway Urban Construction Group Co Ltd (CRUCG) as a new contractor, together with the promise of financial support – announced late last year.
But recent events have cast serious doubt over the CRUCG partnership – which having to cope with the economic fallout from the Covid-19 virus spread in its mainland China home market, other legal troubles stand in the way of CRUCG’s pairing with Oxley.
Trouble apparently began with Oxley hiring CRUCG to replace previous contractor Sino Great Wall International Engineering Co Ltd (SGW) for its Cambodia project – as SGW said in a statement today the termination process was faulty.
SGW said Oxley terminated the four-year contract barely three months before SGW was due to complete Oxley’s flagship The Peak project in Cambodia’s capital city Phnom Penh.
The termination seemed to have stemmed from Oxley’s consultant advising work on The Peak project was about nine months behind schedule; an assertion denied by SGW’s Cambodia branch office legal representative Zhu Gen Sheng.
“Due to the usual variations, because of challenges found only once work starts on-site and also delays by the consultant to certify milestones, we estimated the possible delay being around three months.
“Having begun work on The Peak project in February 2016 and eventually expected to finish in April 2020, or three months behind schedule, we were very surprised when the termination took effect on 14 October 2019.”
Zhu said the flimsy excuse given by Oxley for the termination was linked to financial issues being faced back in China by SGW’s parent company Sino Great Wall Co Ltd.
“We had already reached 70% certified completion by early October 2019, with over 1,000 workers on-site doing extra shifts. Most necessary construction materials and fittings had already arrived and ready to be installed. So how does our parent company’s financial situation in China have any impact on this project in Cambodia?”
Zhu also said Oxley further delayed due payments and then tried to rush SGW off the construction site.
“We continued to be professional and attended to defect issues, raised even after the termination notice, because we take pride in always delivering our best to our clients.
“But Oxley then filed for a court injunction, which was forcibly enforced last week on Feb 25. This resulted in several of our workers being injured and some lost their valuables too.”
With due payments still owing and having been forcibly evicted, SGW is now taking necessary legal action to protect its interests at The Peak project site. All these developments are being watched closely by CRUCG, said Zhu.
“If this is how Oxley treats its partner from China, the same could happen to them too.”
Zhu added that SGW had also given its full support to Oxley for years, especially when the Singapore developer came under heavy scrutiny last year for its huge debt burden of almost S$3 billion while its income was far less.
“We were originally contracted to do construction on three key projects, namely The Bridge, The Palms and The Peak.
“We started work on The Bridge in August 2014 and completed the project in March 2018, about four (4) months behind schedule, even though Oxley originally claimed we were delayed by over seven months.
“For The Palms, construction work started in March 2018. But Oxley later renegotiated with us due to financial constraints. So we stopped work there in January 2019 to focus on The Peak, as requested by Oxley.
“Construction at The Peak started in February 2016 and due for completion by end-January 2020. We stayed on because we believed it was only right to continue supporting our client despite reports of their debt problems and even though payments got delayed.
“We’re still not sure why Oxley has treated us so badly after all our support for them. We got our final payments for The Bridge and The Palms only 18 months and 10 months later and now, we have to take necessary legal action to make sure we get paid for what we’re still owed for work on the Peak.”
Source: https://www.cyber-rt.info/business/singa...g-lawsuit/