Singapore oil trader Hin Leong owes $3.85 bln to banks - sources

SINGAPORE, April 16 (Reuters) - Singapore oil trader Hin Leong Trading (Pte) Ltd, which has begun talks with lenders to extend its credit facilities, owes $3.85 billion to 23 banks, two industry sources said on Thursday.

The coronavirus pandemic has led to an unprecedented slump in fuel demand and hammered oil prices, making it difficult for trading firms to make a profit. Hin Leong is one of the largest fuel traders in Asia and an operator of a major tanker fleet.

Some of the banks held a call with Hin Leong and its advisers on Tuesday to discuss ways to provide short-term trade finance after some banks failed to provide the firm with a letter of credit to buy at least one cargo of oil products.

"Hin Leong has asked for an extension (to repay creditors)", one of the sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Hin Leong did not respond to Reuters' email and phone calls seeking comment.

The firm's biggest lenders include HSBC Holdings, DBS, Overseas-Chinese Banking Corp, Bank of China, Societe Generale and Standard Chartered, said the second source, who was briefed on the discussions.

HSBC, DBS, OCBC and Standard Chartered declined to comment, while the other banks did not immediately respond to requests for comment. (Reporting by Roslan Khasawneh, Jessica Jaganathan, Chen Aizhu and Anshuman Daga; editing by Richard Pullin)