Singapore — Commodities trader Noble Group suspended its shares in Singapore on Monday pending an announcement, as efforts to get shareholder agreement on its controversial $3.5bn debt restructuring plan drag on longer than expected. The stock fell to a record low of five Singapore cents last week before closing at 5.4 cents on Thursday prior to a public holiday. Once Asia’s largest commodity trader, the company’s market value has shrunk to about $50m from more than $10bn in 2010. After three years of decline featuring billions of dollars in losses, a debt default and, more recently, a spate of public sparring with shareholder Goldilocks Investment, Noble is struggling to pass a rescue deal that will swap half the debt for equity and hand control to creditors. The company’s original plan was to complete the restructuring by July. While the plan has been backed by about 85% of senior creditors, as well as founder and largest shareholder Richard Elman, it has run into fierce oppositio...
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