Shinsung Engineering files for debt rescheduling

SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Yonhap) -- Shinsung Engineering & Construction Co., a South Korean construction firm, said Wednesday it has requested help from a Seoul court in rescheduling its debts with creditors.

Share trading for Shinsung Engineering was halted on the Korea Exchange after
12:27 p.m. due to the application, the company said in a regulatory filing.
The builders' combined debts from financial companies, including Woori Bank,
reached 245.6 billion won (US$181.1 million) as of Oct. 22, according to the
Financial Services Commission (FSC), the nation's financial regulator.
"Shinsung Engineering may revive without significant difficulty as creditors have
held on to the builder's properties, valued at 121.4 billion won, as collateral
and the company is determined to repay its debts," said an official for Woori
Bank, the main creditor of the ailing builder.
Later in the day, the FSC announced its decision to extend financial support to
Shinsung Engineering's subcontractors to prevent them from triggering a chain of
bankruptcies.
Shinsung Engineering failed to repay its debts worth 173.9 billion won to its 159
subcontractors, according to the financial regulator.
Subscribers of homes supplied by the builder will be protected by the government
and the builder will continue with its lucrative construction projects, the FSC
said.
The mid-sized builder came close to bankruptcy on Oct. 31.
ksnam@yna.co.kr
(END)