InvestSMART

Leighton disputes claims on funds

Leighton Holdings has rejected a Fairfax Media report that it had been advised its Middle East joint venture would struggle to recover $1.1 billion it is owed.
By · 29 Nov 2013
By ·
29 Nov 2013
comments Comments
Leighton Holdings has rejected a Fairfax Media report that it had been advised its Middle East joint venture would struggle to recover $1.1 billion it is owed.

In a statement to the ASX, Leighton said the report contained inaccuracies about settlements between the Al Habtoor Leighton Group (HLG) and clients.

"Leighton reiterates that Fairfax has once again been inaccurate and unbalanced in its representation of Leighton's operations, governance, values and accounting," the company said. Leighton dismissed several aspects of the report, but did not deny the central allegation that it was given advice by consultants and staff that warned Al Habtoor Leighton would not recover all of the $1.1 billion it claims to be owed for construction work.

Instead Leighton would say only that it held a range of advice about recovering debts and the joint venture was entitled to uphold the value of its claims.

Leighton has pushed out by three years the timeline for the recovery of a substantial number of payments. Fairfax Media on Thursday confirmed Leighton's loans to HLG were not secured by any collateral from the Middle East company.

"Loans are secured by assets, not borrowings, as reported by Fairfax," Leighton stated. "This information has been pointed out to Fairfax and ignored."

Before publication, Leighton referred Fairfax to page 18 of its results to answer questions about loans and security. That page states the loans to HLG are secured by borrowings.
Google News
Follow us on Google News
Go to Google News, then click "Follow" button to add us.
Share this article and show your support
Free Membership
Free Membership
InvestSMART
InvestSMART
Keep on reading more articles from InvestSMART. See more articles
Join the conversation
Join the conversation...
There are comments posted so far. Join the conversation, please login or Sign up.

Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…

Leighton Holdings disputes a Fairfax Media report claiming that its Middle East joint venture would struggle to recover $1.1 billion it is owed. Leighton argues that the report contains inaccuracies regarding settlements with clients.

Leighton Holdings did not deny the central allegation that it was advised the Al Habtoor Leighton Group might not recover the full $1.1 billion. However, they emphasized having a range of advice on debt recovery and maintaining the value of their claims.

Leighton Holdings has extended the timeline for recovering a substantial number of payments by three years, indicating a more prolonged process than initially expected.

According to Leighton Holdings, the loans to the Al Habtoor Leighton Group are secured by assets, not borrowings, contrary to what was reported by Fairfax Media.

Before the report's publication, Leighton Holdings referred Fairfax Media to page 18 of its results to clarify questions about loans and security, which states that the loans are secured by borrowings.

Leighton Holdings claims the Fairfax Media report inaccurately represents its operations, governance, values, and accounting, particularly regarding settlements with clients and the security of loans.

Leighton Holdings acknowledges receiving a range of advice about recovering debts and asserts that the joint venture is entitled to uphold the value of its claims.

Leighton Holdings views Fairfax Media's reporting as inaccurate and unbalanced, particularly in its representation of the company's operations and financial dealings.