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Singapore shipping tycoon Teo Siong Seng was accused by the US of colluding to raise dry-container prices, placing one of the city-state's most prominent business figures at the center of a sweeping antitrust case.
Teo and several other executives at four of the world's largest makers of shipping containers were indicted by the US Justice Department in a "global conspiracy affecting billions of dollars of commerce." The indictment was filed in January and unsealed earlier this week.
Teo, the chief executive officer at Singamas Container Holdings Ltd., was alleged to have joined an agreement to restrict production through quotas and introduce penalties for exceeding output limits from 2019 to at least 2024, according to a court document. China International Marine Containers Co., Dong Fang International Container Co. and CXIC Group Containers Co. and their top executives were also named in the probe.
The case adds to renewed scrutiny on Singapore's maritime industry following a series of high-profile corporate scandals over the past decade. The founder of Hin Leong Trading Pte was jailed after the oil trader hid losses from over 20 banks while Seatrium Ltd. paid $241 million to settle a long-drawn corruption probe in Brazil.
Teo will take a leave of absence from his roles at the Singapore Business Federation, the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce and government agency Enterprise Singapore to focus on addressing the indictment, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said Friday. His two-year term as chairman of the business federation is until June.
Teo did not reply to an email seeking comment. Hong Kong-listed Singamas said in an exchange filing on Wednesday it had engaged external legal advisers and that operations remained normal. The company added neither it nor Teo had been served by the US Justice Department.
Singamas shares climbed 2% on Friday after tumbling 14% on Thursday.
Pacific International Lines Pte., the parent of Singamas, said Friday in response to a Bloomberg News query that it's not in a position to comment on the matter or on Teo in his capacity at the unit. PIL in 2021 received a $600 million rescue package from a unit of Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings Pte.
Teo, a leading corporate figure in the city-state, was recently featured by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore in a social media video on his family's shipping legacy.
US prosecutors said Teo was informed ahead of a December 2019 meeting in Shanghai to discuss the "healthy development" of the container industry. He was later allegedly briefed on plans to artificially curb production before a formal agreement was signed with the other alleged co-conspirators.
The indictment claimed efforts were made to conceal the collusion. Teo had allegedly said "we also need to keep low key" after the 2019 meeting. A Singamas executive had purportedly warned the alleged conspirators "not to be high profile" since they could violate monopoly laws or be accused of price price manipulation.
Another Singamas board member said the discussion "appeared to be anti-competition" and suggested deleting the email chain after reading it. Teo responded: "Yes I feel the same."
Fuente: GCAPTAIN
