Teo Siong Seng to take leave of absence from SBF, economic task force to deal with US allegations

[SINGAPORE] Teo Siong Seng, the shipping veteran at the centre of an investigation by the United States Justice Department, will take a leave of absence from his roles at the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce (SERT) and trade agency Enterprise Singapore.

Responding to queries from The Straits Times, a Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) spokesperson on Friday (May 22) said Teo had informed MTI of his decision to do so, citing the need to “focus his attention to addressing the indictment by the US Department of Justice”.

The ministry added that it is unable to comment further given the ongoing legal process in the US.

Teo, 71, is chairman of SBF and a board member of Enterprise Singapore. By virtue of his appointment at SBF, he sits on the SERT, which was set up to address the impact of US tariffs on the Republic.

He is accused by the US of colluding with executives of other shipping container companies to restrict the production of dry shipping containers, which led to prices being artificially inflated.

As a result, the prices of standard shipping containers were said to have roughly doubled between 2019 and 2021, with four of the world’s largest container manufacturers recording an almost hundredfold profit increase.

One of the firms is Singamas Container Holdings, where Teo is chief executive. The others are China International Marine Containers (CIMC), Shanghai Universal Logistics Equipment, and CXIC Group Containers.

Seven people, including Teo, were named in the May 19 indictment.

One of them, Chinese national Vick Ma, the marketing director of Singamas, was arrested in France on April 14 while attempting to fly to Hong Kong.

SEE ALSO

Singamas says company, Teo Siong Seng have not been served with any legal process by DOJ

The other people accused are Mai Boliang, who was president and chief executive of CIMC before becoming the firm’s chairman in August 2020; Huang Tianhua, vice-president of CIMC; Wan Yongbo, general manager of CIMC’s operation management centre; Li Qianmin, general manager of Shanghai Universal Logistics Equipment; and CXIC Group Containers chief executive Zhang Yuqiang. THE STRAITS TIMES