SINGAPORE (May 11): Noble Group’s shares plunged to the lowest level in 14 years after the commodity trader warned it’s likely to post a first-quarter loss of about US$130 million ($183 million) because of wrong-way bets on coal prices and dwindling liquidity.

Shares of the Hong Kong-based company slumped as much as 23% to $1.00, the lowest since February 2003, before trading at $1.06 at 10.41 am in Singapore. Noble’s 6.75% 2020 notes lost 5.8 cents to 85.3 cents on the dollar, the lowest since Jan 3, according to Bloomberg-compiled prices. The company said on Tuesday that it will record the net loss, which compares with a profit of US$40.5 million a year ago. Wednesday was a public holiday in Singapore.

The loss is the latest in a string of setbacks for Noble, once the largest commodity trader in Asia. The company has been selling assets and cutting costs to prop up its finances after a torrid few years when its shares collapsed and credit rating was cut to junk. Noble didn’t renew a US$615 million revolving credit line that was repaid this week, according to people familiar with the matter, a sign that it’s left with more expensive funding -- including a junk bond that costs four times the credit line it repaid.

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