SUNRISE INDUSTRIES (INDIA) LTD v PT. OKI PULP & PAPER MILLS & Anor

[2023] SGHC 3 High Court (General Division) 6 January 2023 HC/S 8/2017 64 min read

17 cases cited (13 SG, 4 foreign) Cited by 2 cases

Key facts

Court	High Court (General Division)
Decided	6 January 2023
Judge	Valerie Thean
Charges / claim	Contract, Commercial Transactions
Counsel	Advocatus Law LLP, Drew & Napier LLC, Christopher Anand s/o Daniel, Ganga d/o Avadiar, Kirpalani Rakesh Gopal, Lim Yi Zheng, Oen Weng Yew Timothy, Saadhvika Jayanth, Shawn Lin, Yeo Yi Ling Eileen

Source: [2023] SGHC 3, High Court (General Division), decided 6 January 2023 — eLitigation. Updated 10 July 2026.

Catchwords

Contract — Variation Commercial Transactions — Sale of goods — Breach of contract

Practice Areas

Contract Commercial Transactions

Judges (1)

Valerie Thean Delivered

Counsel (10)

Advocatus Law LLP Firm Drew & Napier LLC Firm Christopher Anand s/o Daniel Counsel Plaintiff Ganga d/o Avadiar Counsel Plaintiff Kirpalani Rakesh Gopal Counsel Defendant Lim Yi Zheng Counsel Plaintiff Oen Weng Yew Timothy Counsel Defendant Saadhvika Jayanth Counsel Plaintiff Shawn Lin Counsel Defendant Yeo Yi Ling Eileen Counsel Plaintiff

Parties (3)

Dena Bank Limited Defendant PT OKI Pulp & Paper Mills Defendant Sunrise Industries (India) Ltd Plaintiff

Case Significance

Sunrise Industries (India) Ltd v PT OKI Pulp & Paper Mills and another [2023] SGHC 3 was decided in the General Division of the High Court (Suit No 8 of 2017) by Valerie Thean J, with judgment reserved and delivered on 6 January 2023 after hearings across September and November 2022. The plaintiff, Sunrise Industries (India) Ltd, an Indian manufacturer of thermosets and lined equipment, agreed to supply and install pipes, fittings and manholes for a pump mill owned by the first defendant, PT. OKI Pulp & Paper Mills, an Indonesian company, and procured a bank guarantee with the second defendant, Dena Bank Limited. The catchwords record issues of contract variation and breach of contract in the sale of goods, arising after disputes in performance led OKI to invoke the bank guarantee and Sunrise to bring suit.

[2023] SGHC 3 explained

SUNRISE INDUSTRIES (INDIA) LTD v PT. OKI PULP & PAPER MILLS & Anor ([2023] SGHC 3) is a Singapore judgment decided by the High Court (General Division) on 6 January 2023. It is categorised under Contract and Commercial Transactions. Within this corpus it has since been cited by 2 other reported Singapore judgments, a measure of how often later decisions have referred to it. This page summarises what the reported decision covers and links the primary sources — the full judgment, the statutes it cites, and the other cases it engages with — so the decision can be read in context. It is reference information, not legal advice, and it does not state the outcome or any holding beyond what the official judgment records.

What is [2023] SGHC 3 about?

SUNRISE INDUSTRIES (INDIA) LTD v PT. OKI PULP & PAPER MILLS & Anor ([2023] SGHC 3) is a High Court (General Division) decision from 2023. Its published catchwords are “Contract — Variation” and “Commercial Transactions — Sale of goods — Breach of contract”, which indicate the subject matter the judgment addresses. The full reasoning and orders are in the judgment itself, linked below.

How influential is [2023] SGHC 3?

Within this corpus, [2023] SGHC 3 has been cited by 2 later reported Singapore judgments. That count reflects references from other decisions held in this corpus only and is a conservative lower bound on how often the case has actually been cited.

Summary

Sunrise Industries (India) Ltd sued PT. OKI Pulp & Paper Mills and Dena Bank Limited over contracts to supply and install pipes, fittings and manholes for a pulp mill in Indonesia, following OKI's calling on a bank guarantee. The dispute concerned breach of the sale of goods contracts and their variation. The High Court assessed the competing entitlements under the Supply and Installation Contracts and awarded Sunrise a net sum of US$688,258.70 with interest at 5.33% from the date of the writ.

What was Sunrise Industries (India) Ltd v PT OKI Pulp & Paper Mills about ([2023] SGHC 3)?

The dispute concerned a contract under which Sunrise Industries (India) Ltd was to supply and install pipes, fittings and manholes for a pump mill owned by PT. OKI Pulp & Paper Mills in Indonesia. Disputes arose in performance, OKI invoked a bank guarantee, and Sunrise brought suit.

Who decided [2023] SGHC 3 and when?

Valerie Thean J decided the matter in the General Division of the High Court, Suit No 8 of 2017. Judgment was reserved after hearings in September and November 2022 and delivered on 6 January 2023. The bank guarantee involved Dena Bank Limited, the second defendant.

Cases Cited (17)

SG (3)

[2013] SGHC 220 [2018] SGHC 145 [2019] SGHC 285

SLR (10)

[1997] 1 SLR(R) 103 [1998] 3 SLR(R) 447 [2007] 4 SLR(R) 413 [2008] 3 SLR(R) 1029 [2009] 2 SLR(R) 332 [2010] 2 SLR 1154 [2013] 4 SLR 409 [2020] 2 SLR 1151 [2021] 1 SLR 304 [2022] 1 SLR 302

UK (4)

[1920] 3 KB 475 [1972] 2 QB 189 [1991] 1 QB 1 [2010] EWHC 2372