Natixis pressed to clear up Hyundai mess

By Kim Da-ye

Creditors of Hyundai Engineering & Construction (HE&C) refused Monday to accept a document issued by French bank Natixis as confirmation that Hyundai Group borrowed 1.2 trillion won from the bank without providing any collateral.

But while doubts over the loan only mount up, Natixis the lender, which is in the middle of the controversy, remains quite.

“We judge that Natixis’ written confirmation submitted by Hyundai is inadequate to clear doubts,” creditors including Korea Exchange Bank said in a statement.

“If no extra satisfactory evidence is submitted by the morning of Dec. 7, 2010, creditors will hold a final discussion and request additional documents to be submitted in the next five days as agreed under the memorandum of understanding.”

Hyundai Group had been asked by creditors to hand in the contract between the group and the lender as the media and politicians questioned how the French branch of the group’s major affiliate Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) with capital of only 3.3 billion won could borrow the huge sum without providing any collateral.

The group submitted Friday a notarized document issued by Natixis which says that the group did not provide HE&C’s shares nor those of the group’s affiliates as collateral, and its affiliates didn’t guarantee the loan.

The suspicion that a third party could have been involved in borrowing the sum strengthened as a leaked written confirmation showed directors of Nexgen Capital Limited signed the document.

The leaked document was signed by Jerome Biet and Francois Robey, both French nationals, who are directors of Nexgen Capital Limited and Nexgen Reinsurance Limited.

A Hyundai Group official said that both directors are also executives at Natixis, so the written confirmation is valid. Hyundai Group is suspicious that someone from the creditors leaked the document and is concerned how they could provide further evidence if it is not secure from being leaked.

Nexgen Capital is a capital market trading company incorporated in Ireland. It belongs to the Nexgen Financial Holdings, whose parent is Natixis. The labor union of Hyundai Securities, a Hyundai Group affiliate, had claimed that the loan could have been backed by the speculative investor.

In the past, Nexgen Capital helped Hyundai Group to protect its status as the major shareholder in its affiliate. In September, it bought 1.8 percent share of Hyundai Merchant Marine and transferred the voting rights to the group for other material benefits. Nexgen currently holds about a 5 percent stake in HMM.

Another controversy arose Monday when a local daily, the Munwha Ilbo, broke a story about the non-binding agreement between the group and German engineering firm M+W Group.

The German construction firm intended to join the consortium led by Hyundai Group, offering about 1 trillion won. The “term sheet” leaked to Munwha shows that the German firm, in return, wanted control of Hyundai Engineering, a HE&C's affiliate specializing in engineering and construction.

Hyundai Group said that it was only a preliminary, non-binding agreement that ended because the group wished to protect HE&C’s control of Hyundai Engineering.

프랑스 은행 현대건설 문제 해소 압력

현대건설 채권단은 현대그룹이 제출한 대출 확인서는 프랑스 나티시스 은행에서 대출 받은 1조 2천억원에 대한 의혹을 해소하기에는 불충분 하다며, 추가 소명자료를 요구했다.

자본금이 33억원에 불과한 현대상선 프랑스법인 계좌에 예치되어있는 1조 2천억원에 대한 의혹은 나날이 커지고 있지만, 정작 열쇠를 쥐고 있는 나티시스 은행은 이에 대해 함구하고 있다.

이에 더해 최근 언론에 몰래 공개된 대출 확인서에 사인한 나티시스관계자가 나티시스은행의 손자뻘인 투자사인 넥스젠 캐피털의 임원으로 알려졌다. 11월 중순 현대증권 노조는 1조 2천억원은 투기적 성향이 강한 넥스젠 캐피탈에서 나온 것이라는 의혹을 제기했었다.