In the SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL COURT OF THE republic of singapore
[2017] SGHC(I) 01
Suit No 4 of 2016
(HC Summons No 2940 of 2016 and SIC Summons No 4 of 2017)
Between
2.
ARRIS SOLUTIONS MALAYSIA SDN BHD
|
|
...Plaintiffs
And
ASIAN BROADCASTING NETWORK (M) SDN BHD
|
...
Defendant
GROUNDS OF DECISION
[Insolvency law] - [Cross-border insolvency] - [Recognition of foreign insolvency proceedings]
Conclusion on the Order 14 proceedings
41 At the hearing on 9 January 2017, Mr Kumar indicated that, if the Court was minded to grant relief in favour of the Third Plaintiff, he would abandon his claim to relief in favour of the First Plaintiff. [25]
42 The First Plaintiff's claim against the Defendant is accordingly dismissed. Costs therefore will be dealt with in the round below.
43 For the reasons given at [14] and [15] above, the Second Plaintiff is the same company as Motorola Malaysia. It follows that judgment for the sum of RM549,574.50 is entered in favour of the Second Plaintiff against the Defendant.
44 For the reasons indicated in [16]-[17] above, we are satisfied that the Third Plaintiff is the same company as GIC. There has been no assignment, transfer or subcontract to which the Assignment Clause would apply. The Third Plaintiff has thus established the necessary
prima facie case that it is entitled tojudgment. As indicated, the Defendant merely put the Plaintiffs to proof of their case and did not raise a separate ground of defence. Accordingly, judgment for the sum of RM48,133,369.76 is entered in favour of the Third Plaintiff against the Defendant.
45 All but one of the Agreements contains a provision for interest at an elevated rate on certain conditions. However in our view, such a claim would not be without its difficulties; these include issues on entitlement, the entity which is entitled to make such a claim and whether the conditions for its exercise were properly made. It is not, however, necessary to consider these provisions as Mr Kumar pragmatically accepted that an award of interest at the statutory rate of 5.33% would be acceptable to his clients. [26]Mr Choy did not oppose this. We accordingly order that the above judgment debts shall carry interest at the rate of 5.33% per annum from the date of the Writ to the date of payment.
46 Finally, it was common ground that the Defendant has no assets within the jurisdiction so the Second and Third Plaintiffs' judgments and interest would have to be executed in Malaysia. In view ofBeluga andRe Taisoo Suk , in all the circumstances of this case, it is appropriate, and we exercise our discretion,to stay execution of these judgments and interest pending the outcome of the Defendant's application under s 176 of the Malaysian Companies Act of 1965 to effect a scheme of arrangement between the Defendant and its creditors. There will be liberty to apply generally, and especially in the event that the scheme of arrangement fails to materialise.
Conclusion
47 For the reasons above, we ordered as follows:
(a) The Defendant's application for a stay of proceedings is refused;
(b) The First Plaintiff's claim against the Defendant is dismissed;
(c) Judgment is entered for the Second Plaintiff in the sum of RM549,574.50 together with interest at 5.33% per annum from the date of the writ to the date of payment.
(d) Judgment is entered for the Third Plaintiff in the sum of RM48,133,369.76 together with interest at 5.33% per annum from the date of the writ to the date of payment.
(e) There will be a stay of execution pending the outcome of the Defendant's application under s 176 of the Malaysia Companies Act of 1965 to effect a scheme of arrangement between the Defendant and its creditors.
(f) There will be liberty to apply, and generally, and especially where the scheme of arrangement fails to materialise.
48 Having heard the parties' submissions on costs, we further ordered that the Defendant is to pay costs to the Plaintiffs fixed at $20,000, with disbursements as claimed.
Quentin Loh Yasuhei Taniguchi Simon Thorley
Judge International Judge International Judge
Ramesh Kumar s/o Ramasamy and Mak Sushan, Melissa (Allen & Gledhill LLP) for the plaintiffs;
Choy Wing Kin Montague (Clifford Law LLP) for the defendants.
Annex
Agreements between GIC and the Defendant
|
Title of Agreementtd>
Date of Entrytd> | |
1td>
Equipment Sale Agreement of Digital Video Headend System (include Deliverables, Hardware & Software Licenses) [27]
- to design a digital video headend system for the Defendant and embed the necessary software in the hardware |
16 December 2011 | |
2td>
Equipment Service & Maintenance of Digital Video Headend System [28]
.- to act as consultant to the Defendant in relation to the digital video headend system and to maintain the system at the premises of the Defendant |
16 December 2011 | |
3td>
Sale and Supply Agreement of Digital High Definition Set-Top Box (including Licenses) with Conditional Access (CA) & Middleware [29]
- to supply set-top boxes to the Defendant and embed the necessary software in the hardware |
16 December 2011 | |
4td>
HFC Equipment Sale Agreement [30]
- to supply hybrid fibre coaxial equipment to the Defendant |
9 January 2012 | |
5td>
Design and Supervision Services Agreement for Roll Out of HFC Plant Network in Malaysia [31]
.- to act as consultant to the Defendant in relation to the hybrid fibre coaxial equipment and to maintain the equipment |
9 January 2012 | |
6td>
Equipment Sale Agreement of DOCSIS based CMTS System Equipment to Deliver High Speed Broadband Services (include Deliverables, Hardware & Software Licenses) [32]
.- to design a cable modem termination system for the Defendant and embed the necessary software in the hardware |
18 February 2013 | |
7td>
Equipment Sale Agreement of DOCSIS based Cable Modems [33]
.- to supply the cable modem termination system and embed the necessary software in the hardware |
3 April 2013 | |
Agreement between Motorola Malaysia and the Defendant
|
Title of Agreementtd>
Date of Entrytd> | |
1td>
Service & Maintenance Agreement for DOCSIS Based CMTS System Equipment [34]
Ibid at MC-9.- to advise the Defendant on and maintain the cable modem termination system |
18 February 2013 | |
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Version No 2: 23 Jul 2021 (12:15 hrs)
Last updated: 24 Dec 2023