Genting Group patriarch Lim Kok Thay is said to be among several investors to have expressed interest in purchasing Global Dream – the unfinished cruise ship currently sitting dormant at Genting Hong Kong’s bankrupt shipbuilding yard in Germany.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Lim’s interest in privately acquiring the ship was confirmed by German court-appointed provisional insolvency administrator, Christoph Morgen, during a press briefing at the MV Werften shipyards this week.
Measuring 342 meters in length, Global Dream had promised to be the world’s largest cruise liner by passenger capacity before construction ground to a halt in January when the shipyards filed for insolvency. Genting Hong Kong has since seen provisional liquidators appointed over debts totalling almost US$2.8 billion – a process that began when the company was unable to access US$88 million in funding form the German government that it needed to avoid triggering loan defaults.
According to Morgen, the government remains hopeful of finding an investor to purchase and help fund completion of Global Dream but said he would prefer to “find a better solution for the ship” than Lim.
“My impression is that he would only like to buy it if nobody else would be interested in order to get it cheap and possibly to finish the ship somewhere else,” Bloomberg quoted Morgen as saying. “I hope that we won’t depend on this, because we now have strong interest from many other possible investors.”
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said the government remains willing to provide financial assistance to a “new reliable investor” to finish building Global Dream, which is currently about 72% complete and requires between €500 million and €600 million (US$568 million and US$681 million) for completion.
“If there’s a reliable finance plan, we could make the same offer like over Christmas,” Habeck said, noting that any such deal with Genting Hong Kong had collapsed because the company was unwilling to chip in.
“We don’t want to throw money out of the window.”
Lim, who personally owns 75% of Genting Hong Kong, stepped down as the company’s Chairman and CEO last month.
