Hascol defaulted on over Rs16b loan to NBP

Aftab Ahmed

Islamabad: Hascol petroleum’s total loan stands at Rs54b as per its latest filed financial statements to Pakistan stock exchange and becomes a defaulter of over Rs16 billion loan to National Bank of Pakistan–NBP.

Default of Hascol Petroleum is not new to National Bank fo Pakistan as it has also become a defaulter of other several banks as well.

Source told Newztodays that the company has defaulted on its debt obligation as it has restated its accounts in 2019 and booked billions of losses in historical financials.

Secondly, HASCOL is now negotiating with banks for possible debt restructuring and has offered conversion options from debt to equity to banks.

As a result of this, it is currently attempting to resolve the loan situation with banks. In Pakistan, one of the country’s largest banks is in charge of a restructuring agreement with other financial institutions.

According to sources, Hascol Petroleum had made further and offer to banks to purchase its shares and convert them into equity in exchange for the loan it was taking out. If Vitol invests additional equity in Hascol, banks may consider lowering the interest rate on the debt they have provided to the company.

Interest rates are really high right now. As part of its campaign, Hascol has sought a reduction in the interest rate on its bank loans to 5 percent.

Furthermore, HASCOL has also not filed its 2020 annual accounts due to the resignation of its auditor. In 2019 accounts filed to the PSX Hascol has disclosed details of its debt taken from different commercial banks.

Meanhile, Hascol banking wise debt obligation suggests that the company has defaulted on Rs4.1b loan from Habib Bank Limited, Rs825mn loan from Askari Bank Limited, Rs16.1b loan from National bank, Rs1.7b on loan from Bank of Punjab, Rs484mn on loan from Bank of Khyber, Rs1.1b on loan from Samba Bank, Rs2.3b on loan from Sindh Bank, Rs2.1b on loan from Faysal bank and Rs3.1b on loan from Meezan bank.

Meanwhile, a default of HASCOL petroleum has raised questions as it is also a loan defaulter of many other banks as it has also defaulted on loans from BankIslami Pakistan Limited, Al Baraka Bank (Pakistan), Dubai Islamic Bank Pakistan Limited, Bank Alfalah Limited, United Bank Limited, MCB Bank Limited, Habib Metropolitan Bank Limited, Summit Bank Limited, First Women Bank Limited, and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.