SINGAPORE, May 22 (Reuters) - Shares of AusGroup Ltd AUSG.SI rose 5.6 percent on Monday after the Singapore-listed company said it was proposing a debt-to-equity swap of S$110 million ($79 million) of bonds, looking to cut interest costs and improve its balance sheet.
AusGroup, which provides services from construction to engineering and also operates in the troubled marine industry, said it could potentially issue up to 1.8 billion new shares, at a maximum total value of S$106.2 million, to exchange for the notes.
The company had previously extended the maturity of the two-year 7.95-percent note by another two years to October 2018.
The firm, which has a market capitalisation of about $30 million, also proposed issuing new shares to convert a loan from its largest shareholder Ezion Holdings Ltd EZHL.SI , it said in a statement late on Sunday. ($1 = 1.3874 Singapore dollars)