Stung by oil slump, Singapore oil field firm Swiber files for shutting operations

Founder and non-executive chairman Raymond Kim Goh and three other directors resign.

Singapore oil field services firm Swiber Holdings Ltd announced on Thursday that it has filed an application to wind up the company and place it under provisional liquidation.

"The company's winding-up application has been fixed for hearing on 19 August 2016. Additionally, the company had also today filed an application to place the Company in provisional liquidation," Swiber said in a statement to the Singapore Exchange.

The Singapore High Court has appointed Cameron Lindsay Duncan and Muk Siew Peng as the joint liquidators of the company.

The decision was taken soon after the company received several letters of demand for about US$25.9 million in total and the founder and non-executive chairman Raymond Kim Goh resigned from his position overnight due to "health reasons".

Apart from Goh, three other directors of the company, vice chairman Francis Wong, chief financial officer Leonard Tay and executive director Nitish Gupta have also quit.

Since Wednesday afternoon, the company having a market value of S$50 million ($37 million), had asked to stop the trade in its shares.

On the company website, Swiber said that it owns 13 construction vessels and has more than 2,700 employees.

Local oil field services companies have been affected by weak oil prices, leading to poor liquidity and order cancellations in the industry. Swiber reported a quarterly net loss of US$200,000 in the month of May.

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