KARACHI: The board of directors of Hascol Petroleum Ltd on Tuesday approved a business model involving debt restructuring.

The oil marketing company told investors that its board approved amendments to the Scheme of Arrangement, which had been agreed with “most of its bankers”.

Hascol has been in trouble since 2018 partly for making inaccurate entries in its financial accounts. It’s now in the middle of seeking approval from creditors for its plan to rehabilitate the company through “restructuring/rescheduling, settlement and repayment” of financial obligations.

The company filed a scheme of arrangement with the Sindh High Court, which ordered it in November 2022 to convene meetings with banks for their approval.

“The company will reconvene the creditors’ meeting planned during April to present the modified scheme to its secured creditors for necessary approvals. Thereafter, it will be submitted to the High Court and… it will bind the company and its bankers into a new financial structure,” the company said.

Hascol has been in negotiation with all its lenders to restructure its entire debt of Rs54 billion and has designed a restructuring scheme that entails the settlement of the full amount to the satisfaction of lenders, it added.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2023