DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
(Adds comment from chairman, context.)
Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group said Monday afternoon it hadn't yet received approval from creditors led by Credit Suisse to defer the first $60 million principal payment on a $600 million syndicated loan, as the state-run firm tries to work out a debt problem that has hurt investor confidence in the Southeast Asian country.
"We don't have any news on the loan repayment yet," Chief Executive Officer Truong Van Tuyen told Dow Jones Newswires.
Earlier this month, Vinashin asked creditors to defer the repayment--due today--until December 2011.
Vinashin, as the company is better known, came to the brink of bankruptcy this summer after amassing $4.4 billion in debt.
Moody's Investors Service last week downgraded Vietnamese government debt to B1 from Ba3, in part due to Vinashin's travails. The ratings firm warned that a default on Vinashin's foreign obligations could hurt Vietnam's ability to raise funds in foreign markets at affordable rates, which it needs to pay for infrastructure.
Vinashin Chairman Nguyen Ngoc Su was quoted by the Vietnam News Agency on Monday saying the company is currently in a very difficult position and doesn't have the money for the repayment.
Su promised that Vinashin will be able to arrange the repayment in a year, the Vietnam News Agency reported.
"At the moment, Vinashin is trying to negotiate with the creditors for very flexible measures to deal with the debt," Su was quoted as saying.
Su said the shipbuilder is expected to deliver 63 vessels worth $700 million this year, and to retrieve VND23 trillion ($1.18 billion) from selling and transferring 216 of its affiliates over the next year, according to the report.
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