Singapore court orders embattled Hyflux into judicial management

SINGAPORE, Nov 17 (Reuters) - The Singapore high court has ordered water treatment firm Hyflux to be placed under judicial management, according to a stock exchange filing on Tuesday, after more than two years of the company unsuccessfully trying to restructure its debt.

The court appointed restructuring firm Borrelli Walsh as the judicial manager, which will take over its operations, according to the filing.

Debt-laden Hyflux, once seen as a national champion running a strategically important water resource for Singapore, filed for a court-supervised financial restructuring in 2018 and defaulted on its debt payments.

The company's total liabilities stood at S$2.6 billion ($1.93 billion) at the end of March 2018.

Hyflux's financial distress has battered the holdings of nearly 50,000 retail investors including shareholders and bond holders, according to an investor body.

Over the last two years, the company has attracted the attention of several investors, but has not been able to finalise any deals.

Earlier this year, Singapore authorities launched an investigation into the firm and its current and former directors for suspected false and misleading statements and disclosure breaches.

($1 = 1.3444 Singapore dollars) (Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan in Singapore; editing by Richard Pullin)