ABN Amro Bank has lodged a claim against Hin Leong Trading, the Singaporean oil trading giant that has appointed advisors and filed for protection from creditors.

Hin Leong's precarious position has been precipitated by the double impact of a historic oil price crash prompted by a price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia alongside falling demand as an indirect result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Impact on L/Cs

The Amsterdam-based bank has filed applications for charges related to irrevocable letters of credit (L/Cs) tied to Hin Leong's assets according to filings submitted to Singapore's Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority.

Waning confidence amongst banks for the firm has already caused lenders to refuse L/Cs for Hin Leong (DC World News, 15 April 2020).

Charges so far

The Dutch bank is the second bank after France's Société Générale to file charges related to Hin Leong.

The Paris-based lender has submitted several charges covering goods and receivables it financed.

This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily those of the ICC or Coastline Solutions.