Mr. Tatsuya Konoshita, Chief Executive Officer of Group Lease Public Company Limited, disclosed today that according to the Central Bankruptcy Court had read the judgement of the Court of Appeal for Specialized Cases dated February 26, 2019, we would like to inform the key points from the Court of Appeal as follows;
It is unknown if JTA has a right to file the rehabilitation lawsuit because its status as a creditor of GL is unclear; and
It is not yet proven if GL is insolvent under the definition of the Bankruptcy Act.
Therefore, the Court of Appeal ordered the Central Bankruptcy Court to continue re-consider the case and allow for J Trust to have another chance to argue its position that GL is bankrupt. The management of GL strongly believe the Company is not bankrupt as the Company has more assets than liabilities (THB 14.6 billion in assets and THB 8.7 billion in liabilities as of 30 Sept 2018) and that this will be proven in court. Further, the Company believes it is under no current obligation to pay J Trust at this time and that since no payment is currently due to J Trust, J Trust has no right to bring the Company to the Central Bankruptcy Court.
One effect from today’s decision is that GL is again under the “automatic stay” under the Bankruptcy Act. However, the management of GL would like to confirm that today’s decision does not affect the normal business operation of GL and its subsidiaries. The Company was previously under an automatic stay the first time the Central Bankruptcy Court heard the case and the Company was at that time still able to continue operating including entering into new contracts with customers and business partners, paying employees, etc. Nevertheless, GL will not be able to declare a dividend payment until the hearing is final.
The Court has set the first hearing date on April 26 and the Company will use its best effort to finalize the litigation as soon as possible so that the Company can focus all of its energy and effort to enhance shareholders’ equity.
The management of GL would like to especially thank KAsset, KBank, and other creditors who objected to the rehabilitation action by JTA and have shown their sincere and utmost support to the business operation of GL.