Richard Menezes, chief executive of Utico, told reporters: " We are a millimetre away from signing, it' s up to them... The value of Hyflux is falling."

The TuasOne waste-to-energy plant is Hyflux' s " crown jewel" , he said, but it will only begin commercial operations next year and needs more money next month, which Utico has agreed to provide. Mr Menezes added: " We met NEA (the National Environment Agency) today in the morning, and NEA said they will support it as long as there is funding for next month. They are running out of money at the project level."

Mr Menezes was speaking to reporters at the end of a Singapore High Court session on Friday, during which Hyflux appealed for more time to cure its insolvency. Though he did not speak in Court, he observed the session from the public gallery.Hyflux had hoped to get its  debt moratorium extended till the end of November, but Justice Aedit Abdullah only gave Hyflux two more months. Hyflux can seek a further extension at the next court hearing on Sept 30.

Justice Aedit said he wants to see Hyflux file an application to convene creditor scheme meetings by September before allowing the case to drag on. " If it doesn' t work out in the next few months (with either Utico or other potential investors), I think I' ll pull the plug."

Unlike the failed Salim-Medco deal where Hyflux first signed a definitive agreement with the potential investor before negotiating the finer details and eventually reaching a wall, the approach it has taken with Utico is different.

Various stakeholder groups are engaging directly with Utico, said WongPartnership lawyer Manoj Sandrasegara, who represents Hyflux. " While the definitive agreement is being negotiated, the allocation is being negotiated simultaneously as well, in terms of what goes to creditors and what goes to capital needs.

" We are optimistic that when the definitive agreement is signed, we can move forward quicker because by that time, the allocations should have been agreed," he said.

Utico has agreed to take an 88 per cent stake in Hyflux through a S$300 million equity injection and a S$100 million shareholder loan.

So far, only Hyflux' s unsecured working group (UWG) of financial creditors has not agreed with the commercial terms of the restructuring, though other lenders like DBS Bank are supportive.

The UWG said it has not received any proof of funds from Utico, though Mr Menezes said that proof has been provided.

Asked  if he could explain what his proof of funds entailed, Mr Menezes said: " We can explain that later."

Utico has previously said that its cash injection into Hyflux will be funded by a mixture of debt and equity.

While Utico is planning an initial public offering (IPO) in two years, it will not depend on its IPO to fund the deal, Mr Menezes said. " We' re not depending on that. This deal is funded."

Mr Menezes has been in Singapore four times over the last three weeks, he said.

On Thursday night, Mr Menezes met with a " reflective sample" of around 60 of Hyflux' s retail perpetual and preference shareholders through the assistance of the Securities Investors Association (Singapore) or Sias, Mr Sandrasegara said.

The chief executive said Utico was " well received" by retail investors at the three-hour meeting, and that Sias will share more on the options Utico has put forth for perp and pref shareholders soon.

" I can only say that at the end of the meeting there was applause," Mr Menezes said.

Hyflux did not specify how long an extension it is seeking.

During the previous case management conference in May, it had sought for a four-month extension but was only granted two months by Justice Aedit Abdullah, who said he was &ldquo concerned about giving four months (extension) at a go&rdquo .