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Petrolimex Singapore wins USD 30 million bankruptcy order against ex-Brightoil Chairman

Dr Sit Kwong Lam lost an appeal against the bankruptcy order at Hong Kong’s Court of Appeal on 24 October 2019 due to missing Arbitration Clause in Personal Guarantee.
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7 years ago

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An appeal by the former Chairman and Executive Director of Hong Kong-listed Brightoil Petroleum Holdings Dr Sit Kwong Lam against a bankruptcy order presented by Petrolimex Singapore Pte Ltd due to debt of over USD 30 million has been dismissed by the Court of Appeal in the High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on 24 October 2019.

Developments leading up to the case

Brightoil Petroleum (Singapore) Pte Ltd (Brightoil Singapore), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brightoil Petroleum Holdings bought USD 30,253,600 worth of goods from Petrolimex Singapore on 23 April 2018 payable under two invoices, but had difficulty paying, according to the judgement seen by Manifold Times.

A Personal Guarantee (which did not contain any Arbitration Clause) undertaken by Dr Sit Kwong Lam on 23 April 2018 guaranteed the punctual payment performance by Brightoil Singapore for the two invoices on or before 10 July 2018.

However, Brightoil Singapore failed to pay the sum due by 10 July 2018; this resulted in the company and Petrolimex Singapore on 12 July 2018 entering into a contractual arrangement (which included an arbitration clause) for payment via four instalments between 10 August 2018 and 9 November 2018.

Aside from payment of USD 100,000 to Petrolimex Singapore, Brightoil Singapore did not make further payments to the former. Hence, Petrolimex Singapore initiated a winding up petition against Brightoil Singapore on 23 October 2018.

Issue of the contested ‘Arbitration Clause’

In the latest development, lawyers representing Dr Sit said the contractual arrangement between Brightoil Singapore and Petrolimex Singapore on 12 July 2018 included an Arbitration Clause from a Personal Guarantee signed by Dr Sit on 23 April 2018.

However, the court did not find an Arbitration Clause existing in the Personal Guarantee signed by Dr Sit at the earlier date.

“The judge acknowledged that while in construing a contract, all parts of it must be given effect where possible and no part of it should be treated as inoperative or surplus, he took the view that the reference to “arbitration clause” in clause 4 of the PG Addendum was a clerical mistake, which should be ignored as a matter of construction,” stated Susan Kwan, Vice President, Peter Cheung, Justice of Appeal, and Carlye Chu, Justice of Appeal, in a joint statement explaining the judgement on 1 November 2019.

Kwan, Cheung, and Chu believed, “it is more probable than not the parties had mistakenly believed the Personal Guarantee had incorporated an arbitration clause in the same or similar terms as clause 7 of the Settlement Agreement.”

Verdict

The trio concluded: “The debt in the petition is not subject to any arbitration provision. There is no challenge to the holding that there is no bona fide dispute of the debt on substantial grounds.  We have therefore dismissed the Debtor’s appeal with costs.”

A chronologically organised list of articles related to Dr Sit Kwong Lam’s involvement in Brightoil is as follows:

Related: Hong Kong: Dr Sit Kwong Lam returns to Brightoil as Strategic Adviser
Related: Brightoil former Chairman undertook $1.4 billion in personal guarantees
Related: Official: Dr Sit Kwong Lam leaves Brightoil Petroleum Holdings
Related: Hong Kong High Court issues bankruptcy order against Brightoil Chairman
Related: Singapore: Petrolimex owed over USD $30 million by Brightoil
Related: Brightoil to defend against winding up petition at Hong Kong court

Photo credit: Wpcpey [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]
Published: 11 November, 2019
 

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Sanctions

US reinstates Iran oil sanctions, orders wind-down by 17 July

US has revoked a licence permitting the purchase of Iranian crude oil, petrochemical products and petroleum products, with the restrictions taking effect immediately.
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17 hours ago

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July 8, 2026

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The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Tuesday (7 July) revoked a licence that had temporarily authorised transactions involving crude oil, petrochemical products and petroleum products of Iranian origin.

Under the new licence, the purchase of Iranian crude oil, petrochemical products and petroleum products is prohibited with immediate effect.

The latest licence replaces an authorisation issued on 22 June, which had been scheduled to remain in force until 21 August. The previous authorisation permitted the bunkering of vessels engaged in the approved transactions.

Parties that entered into contracts for Iranian oil during the period in which the authorisation was in effect have until 17 July to wind down Iran-related transactions.

 

Photo credit: Zbynek Burival on Unsplash
Published: 8 July, 2026

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Legal

Russian court orders marine fuel supplier Transbunker assets transferred to state

A Moscow court has reportedly ordered the transfer of assets belonging to Russian marine fuel supplier Transbunker to state ownership.
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17 hours ago

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July 8, 2026

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A Moscow court has reportedly ordered the transfer of assets belonging to Russian marine fuel supplier Transbunker to state ownership.

This comes following a lawsuit alleging the company was illegally controlled through offshore corporate structures, according to The Moscow Times. 

The ruling grants the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office’s claims in full and takes immediate effect. Prosecutors argued that Transbunker, one of Russia’s largest marine fuel suppliers, was subject to restrictions on foreign ownership because the companies within the group qualify as strategic enterprises. 

The case targets Transbunker founders Iosif Sandler and Sergei Pugachev, both Cypriot citizens, along with Transbunker Management CEO Yelena Zavyalova. 

Prosecutors alleged the founders concealed control of the group through offshore entities in jurisdictions including Cyprus and the British Virgin Islands, while transferring profits abroad. Authorities claim RUB 19.3 billion (USD 247 million) has been moved out of Russia since 2020.

Founded in 1991, Transbunker has developed a nationwide marine fuel supply network serving Russian ports in the Baltic, Black Sea and Far East. The group owns fuel terminals in Novorossiysk, Vanino, Sakhalin and the Leningrad region, among other assets.

 

Photo credit: Egor Filin on Unsplash
Published: 8 July, 2026

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Winding up

Singapore: Annual general meetings scheduled for Xihe Holdings subsidiaries

Annual general meetings of companies/creditors will be held electronically from between 21 July to 5 for 11 subsidiaries of Xihe Holdings.

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Published

2 days ago

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July 7, 2026

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Several notices were published on the Government Gazette on Tuesday (26 May) regarding the annual general meetings of the companies and creditors to be held electronically from between 21 July to 5 August for 11 subsidiaries of Xihe Holdings. 

Annual general meetings for Xin Dun Shipping are to be held on 21 July at the following time:

  • For the company and creditors: 4pm

Annual general meetings for Xin Ya Shipping are to be held on 24 July at the following time:

  • For the company and creditors: 3pm

Annual general meetings for Xin Chun Shipping are to be held on 21 July at the following times:

  • For the company: 2pm
  • For the creditors: 3pm

Annual general meetings for Nan Sia Maritime are to be held on 24 July at the following time:

  • For the company and creditors: 2pm

Annual general meetings for Nan Hai Maritime are to be held on 23 July at the following time:

  • For the company and creditors: 3pm

Annual general meetings for Hua Xin Shipping are to be held on 4 August at the following time:

  • For the company and creditors: 3pm

Annual general meetings for Hua Kang Shipping are to be held on 23 July at the following time:

  • For the company and creditors: 2pm

Annual general meetings for Hua Gang Shipping are to be held on 4 August at the following time:

  • For the company and creditors: 2pm

Annual general meetings for Hua An Shipping are to be held on 22 July at the following time:

  • For the company and creditors: 4pm

Annual general meetings for Dong Fang Shipping are to be held on 22 July at the following times:

  • For the company: 2pm
  • For the creditors: 3pm

Annual general meeting for Nan Ya Maritime is to be held on 5 August at the following time:

  • For the company: 2pm

The agenda for all the meetings are:

  • To receive an update on the liquidation.
  • To receive an account of the Liquidators’ acts and dealings, and of the conduct of the winding up.

The following are the details of the liquidator: 

Ho May Kee
Liquidator
c/o 8 Marina View
#40-04/05 Asia Square Tower 1
Singapore 018960

 

Photo credit: Benjamin Child
Published: 7 July, 2026

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