The $37bn problem facing Asian oil and gas

Asia’s oil and gas companies are struggling.

Malaysia’s Perisai and Singapore’s Swiber have both defaulted on bond payments, but the problems are much more widespread. Bankers say discussions about covenant loosening or maturity extensions are happening across the sector.

This is despite the rebound in the price of oil. Brent oil now trades above $50 per barrel. That is a far cry from the $112 per barrel it was trading at in 2014 but it is still more than 35% above where it started this year. HSBC’s Thomas Hilboldt, one of the most-respected oil and gas analysts in the region, told FinanceAsia his team was...