Cathay Cineplexes gets fresh demands to pay up S$3.3 million debt for Century Square, Causeway Point outlets

[SINGAPORE] Embattled cinema chain Cathay Cineplexes has received more repayment demands – this time, a sum exceeding S$3.3 million in rental arrears and for other items, owed to the landlords of its outlets at Century Square and Causeway Point.

These include two statutory demands received on Tuesday (Jul 15), for the payment of S$86,142.31 and S$643,064.36 owed for the lease of its Century Square outlet.

A third statutory demand was received the same day for the sum of S$2.6 million, owed for the lease of its Causeway Point outlet, said its parent company mm2 Asia in a bourse filing on Wednesday.

Cathay Cineplexes has three weeks – by Aug 5 – to pay the full amount, or to secure or compound the above sums to the reasonable satisfaction of the landlord, Frasers Centrepoint Trust.

If the cinema chain fails to comply, it shall be deemed to be unable to pay its debts under the provisions of the Singapore Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act, the company said.

mm2 and the Cathay Cineplexes board said they are seeking legal advice, and intend to engage with Frasers to explore all available options.

This announcement comes shortly after the company received a statutory demand for S$7.6 million from Linkwasha Holdings on Jul 9.

The amount owed was related to a loan Linkwasha extended to mm2, for the media company to partially finance its acquisition of the cinema chain from Cathay Organisation.

Linkwasha, a related entity of Cathay Organisation, extended a loan of S$30 million to mm2, for the acquisition worth S$230 million.

As at the date of the statutory demand, mm2 said it had repaid most of the loan, and that the outstanding amount, including interest, was S$7.6 million.

On Jul 2, the cinema chain received a statutory demand from the landlords of its shuttered outlet in Jem shopping mall, asking that it pay up arrears of around S$3.4 million by the end of the month.