Hyflux and three of its subsidiaries have applied to the court for a further extension of a debt moratorium, the firm said in a bourse filing yesterday morning.

The applications will be heard tomorrow, when the court will also hear an update on Hyflux's restructuring process.

In May, Justice Aedit Abdullah extended the moratorium by two months to tomorrow, less than the extension to the end of next month that the troubled water treatment firm sought.

Hyflux also said yesterday it remains in discussions with potential strategic investors and stakeholders, with a view to entering into a binding agreement for an investment in the group.

United Arab Emirates-based utilities company Utico is in talks to possibly take an 88 per cent stake in Hyflux through a $400 million commitment, comprising $300 million in equity injection and $100 million in a shareholder loan.

Utico also said it intends to offer the cash equivalent of a 4 per cent stake in the enlarged Utico group plus additional cash to Hyflux's perpetual securities and preference shareholders.

Hyflux also said in May and June that it had received separate non-binding letters of intent for investments by a Chinese power service provider as well as Mauritius-registered Oyster Bay Fund. It has prioritised talks with investors who are willing to keep the group intact, as opposed to those who prefer to "cherry-pick" parts of its business.