Re Lemarc Agromond: Moratorium Extension Application under IRDA Section 64

The High Court of Singapore dismissed Lemarc Agromond Pte Ltd's application for a second extension of a moratorium under Section 64(1) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018. The court, presided over by Hri Kumar Nair J, found that the company's restructuring plans had stalled, there was a lack of progress, and the company failed to provide a viable plan beneficial to creditors. The judgment was delivered on 25 August 2023.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

General Division of the High Court of the Republic of Singapore

1.2 Outcome

Application dismissed

1.3 Case Type

Insolvency

1.4 Judgment Type

Grounds of Decision

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Lemarc Agromond's application for a second moratorium extension was dismissed due to stalled restructuring plans and lack of progress.

1.7 Decision Date

24 August 2023

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
Lemarc Agromond Pte Ltd	Applicant	Corporation	Application dismissed	Lost	Sim Chong of Sim Chong LLC Chen Sixue of Sim Chong LLC
White Oak Trade Finance LLC	Other	Corporation	Neutral	Neutral	Chara Lam Hui Xin of AsiaLegal LLC
Olam International Ltd	Other	Corporation	Neutral	Neutral	Loong Tse Chuan of Allen & Gledhill LLP Jung Sol of Allen & Gledhill LLP
Engelhart CTP Switzerland SA	Other	Corporation	Neutral	Neutral	Chen Yi-Tseng of Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP
Stenn Assets UK Ltd	Other	Corporation	Neutral	Neutral	Lee Jin Loong of Setia Law LLC
Alma Stone Opportunities Ltd	Other	Corporation	Neutral	Neutral	Juliana Lake of TSMP Law Corporation Lu Zhixuan of TSMP Law Corporation

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Hri Kumar Nair	Judge of the High Court	Yes

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Sim Chong	Sim Chong LLC
Chen Sixue	Sim Chong LLC
Chara Lam Hui Xin	AsiaLegal LLC
Loong Tse Chuan	Allen & Gledhill LLP
Jung Sol	Allen & Gledhill LLP
Chen Yi-Tseng	Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP
Lee Jin Loong	Setia Law LLC
Juliana Lake	TSMP Law Corporation
Lu Zhixuan	TSMP Law Corporation

4. Facts

Lemarc Agromond Pte Ltd applied for a second extension of a moratorium.
The company's restructuring depended on the Founders implementing a New Business.
The Horizon MOU and Varamar MOU detailed the proposed New Business.
The company's financial statements were incomplete and unreliable.
The company failed to demonstrate significant progress in restructuring efforts.
The company could not provide a definitive timeline for a s 210(1) CA application.

5. Formal Citations

Re Lemarc Agromond Pte Ltd, Originating Application No 29 of 2023 (Summons No 2439 of 2023), [2023] SGHC 236

6. Timeline

Date	Event
2018-01-01	Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 enacted
2020-01-01	Commodity trading financiers reduced lending appetite
2022-01-01	Russia-Ukraine war began
2022-06-13	Olam International Limited served a statutory demand on the Company
2022-09-08	Mr Chow Wai San appointed as director
2022-09-13	Olam applied to wind up the Company in HC/CWU 189/2022
2022-12-12	LMA HK was wound up by the Hong Kong courts
2023-01-12	Company filed OA 29/2023 seeking a 6-month moratorium
2023-02-01	Horizon MOU dated
2023-02-10	Moratorium granted for four months
2023-04-10	Company filed Mr Chow Wai San’s 5th affidavit
2023-06-09	Company filed Summons 1728/2023 for an extension of the moratorium
2023-07-27	Draft financial statements made available to creditors
2023-07-31	Moratorium extended to
2023-08-08	SUM 2439 was filed
2023-08-22	Application heard
2023-08-25	Judgment delivered

7. Legal Issues

Extension of Moratorium
- Outcome: The court dismissed the application for a further extension of the moratorium.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
  - Viability of restructuring plan
  - Benefit to creditors
  - Progress of restructuring efforts
- Related Cases:
  - [2023] SGHC 148
  - [2019] 3 SLR 979
  - [2023] SGHC 98

8. Remedies Sought

Extension of Moratorium

9. Cause of Actions

Application for Extension of Moratorium

10. Practice Areas

Commercial Litigation
Insolvency
Restructuring

11. Industries

Commodity Trading
Shipping

12. Cited Cases

Case Name	Court	Affirmed	Citation	Jurisdiction	Significance
Re All Measure Technology (S) Pte Ltd (RHB Bank Bhd, non‑party)	High Court	Yes	[2023] SGHC 148	Singapore	Cited for the principle that cases interpreting s 211B(1) of the Companies Act continue to be applicable to s 64(1) of the IRDA.
Re IM Skaugen SE and other matters	High Court	Yes	[2019] 3 SLR 979	Singapore	Cited for the principle of balancing the applicant's need for breathing space with the interests of creditors when considering a moratorium application.
Re Babel Holding Ltd and other matters	High Court	Yes	[2023] SGHC 98	Singapore	Cited for the principle that the court undertakes a broad-based assessment of the reasonable prospect of the proposed scheme working.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute Name	Jurisdiction
Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018	Singapore
Companies Act 1967	Singapore

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

Moratorium
Scheme of Arrangement
Restructuring
New Business
Horizon MOU
Varamar MOU
Insolvency
Creditors

15.2 Keywords

Insolvency
Moratorium
Restructuring
Singapore
IRDA
Scheme of Arrangement

17. Areas of Law

Area Name	Relevance Score
Insolvency Law	95
Restructuring and Dissolution	90
Extension of moratoria	80
Schemes of Arrangement	70
Company Law	40
Contract Law	30
Arbitration	10

16. Subjects

Insolvency
Restructuring
Schemes of Arrangement
Moratorium