FRANKFURT – Asian tourism and casino group Genting accused a German state of failing to pay out money promised as part of a rescue plan for its now-insolvent shipbuilding subsidiary MV Werften.
Negotiators for Mecklenburg-West Pomerania “presented a mechanism that hid the political motivation”, lawyers representing the group’s Genting Hong Kong unit told a state court in Schwerin, Germany, a day after MV Werften filed for bankruptcy.
The company took Mecklenburg-West Pomerania to court in December for the payment of US$88 million (RM368 million).
The money Genting HK claimed dates back to an agreement with the government in June to provide a bridging loan for the struggling dockyard operation on the Baltic coast. A ruling in the case is expected shortly.
According to Genting, the state linked the payment to conditions that were not in the original contract, including increasing Genting’s own contribution to the rescue package from €30 million to €60 million.
Lawyers representing Mecklenburg-West Pomerania rejected the suggestion that the state had a political motivation, saying it was required under its budget law to closely examine the loans it made.
The state also said that the June agreement extended a credit line of up to €148 million, while the shipbuilder’s funding gap had risen to €600 million.
The shipbuilder MV Werften, which employs around 2,000 people across three dockyards, filed for bankruptcy on Monday after failing to secure funding for the completion of the “Global One” cruise ship.
Until recently the company was engaged in negotiations with the state and federal governments to try and reach an agreement on a financial support package to finish the mega-liner, 80% built up to now.
Economy and Climate Minister Robert Habeck said on Monday that the government had “pulled out all the stops” to avoid MV Werften filing for bankruptcy.
The region was looking at options to support the “continued operation” of the site and “the future of the employees”, local economy minister Reinhard Meyer said in a statement on Monday. – AFP, January 12, 2022
