Seatrium’s involvement in a bribery scandal is back in the news, but that’s not its biggest problem

Financial targets unveiled at its recent Investor Day did not excite the market, and a share consolidation exercise might weigh on its market value

Ben Paul

Published Mon, Apr 1, 2024 · 05:00 AM

Mark to Market

THE market may not react well in coming weeks to further news about the two former executives of Seatrium who have been charged with corruption offences related to a decade-old bribery scandal in Brazil.

Yet, the bigger risk for shareholders of the offshore engineering company might be their expectations of the company’s growth prospects; and the imminent 20-to-1 consolidation of its shares.

On Thursday (Mar 28), the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) and the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) jointly announced that Wong Weng Sun and Lee Fook Kang have each been slapped with five charges of conspiring to “corruptly give gratification” worth millions of dollars to officials in Brazil from 2009 to 2014.