Bangkok--Jan 24--Aziam Burson-Marsteller
For the second consecutive year, Ferrier Hodgson receives prestigious International Financing Review (IFR) Asia 'Debt Restructuring Adviser' of the year award
Ferrier Hodgson, a leading accounting, financial restructuring and recovery firm, today announced that it has the honor of being named "Debt Restructuring Adviser" of the year 2002 by International Financing Review (IFR), a unit of the Thomson Financial Group.
Launched in 1974, IFR is a leading global publication offering intelligence and data on international financing and capital markets. Its annual awards are established as the benchmark of achievement in global capital markets.
Ferrier Hodgson won the same award last year.
IFR's criteria for selecting the award winner included 'what the Restructuring Adviser of the Year has achieved in terms of how many deals the firm has completed, the size of the deals it has settled, the challenges overcome in completing deals (including regulatory, legal and logistical), and the innovative and unique methods used in bringing about restructurings.'
"We are certainly honoured to receive this award as it is a great testament to our achievements during 2002, all of which are underpinned by our focus on providing lasting business and financial solutions to all our clients," said Anthony J Norman, Regional Business Development Director of Ferrier Hodgson Limited.
"Complex restructuring problems require an approach which coordinates the intelligence and experience of the many creditors, debtor representatives, professional advisers and other stakeholders to resolution of the problem."
"It is the Ferrier Hodgson approach to work as a team with stakeholders and industry experts to understand a debtor's business and business problems. Our emphasis is on finding commercially realistic solutions to fairly address the competing needs of all stakeholders in a restructuring. This is critical to our success and we value the co-operation and professionalism of those creditors, employees, managers and government institutions we work with."
Mr Norman added that unlike other accounting firms, "Our work does not stop with the completion of due diligence and identification of a business' problems. These are essential but we have always believed in going further by understanding and managing all stakeholders, evaluating and prioritizing risks and opportunities working with our industry experts to provide business and industry analysis and designing and implementing practical solutions."
For its role as advisors to nine Export Credit Agencies on the Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) restructuring, IFR noted, 'As the APP case illustrates, the firm is committed to bringing unparalleled resources to its mandates - an approach that saves both valuable time and money for all parties involved in debt restructuring negotiations and one that catalyses workout talks.'
IFR praised Ferrier Hodgson by stating, 'Fortunately, a growing number of creditors are realizing that Ferrier Hodgson provides the leadership, the imagination and solutions that remove the obstacles lenders often make for themselves or that debtors put in their way. In the environment where so few quality restructuring deals have been concluded in the past few years, it is a pity that there aren't more Ferrier Hodgsons in Asia.'
Ferrier Hodgson operates throughout the Asia Pacific region in financial restructuring, corporate recovery, insolvency management and related services. Ferrier Hodgson established a Hong Kong office in 1985, and has since opened offices throughout the region including Bangkok in 1998, Jakarta in 1998, Kuala Lumpur in 1998 and Singapore in 2002. Regionally, the Ferrier Hodgson team has been involved in large and small restructuring transactions with a total value of over USD $30 billion. The firm has over 100 staff in Asia with experience in such diverse fields as engineering, operations and supply chain re-engineering, strategy, management and, of course, accounting and finance.
Editors Note: A copy of IFR's two page "Debt Restructuring Adviser"award article for year 2002 is available upon request.
For more information, please contact:
Aziam Burson-Marsteller
James Best
Tel. 662-252-9871-7
Ferrier Hodgson Pte Ltd
Anthony J Norman
Tel. 65-6829-7162 End.
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