Bribery Claim Sparks 23% Slump in Shares of Thai Builder
Bribery Claim Sparks 23% Slump in Shares of Major Thai Builder
(Bloomberg) -- Thailand’s second-largest listed construction firm dropped the most in almost 13 years on Wednesday over a bribery allegation.
Sino-Thai Engineering & Construction Pcl fell as much as 23%, the biggest slide since December 2006, after the National Anti-Corruption Commission said it’s seeking charges against the firm’s President Pakpoom Srichamni, and others, over the claims.
The complaint relates to a bribe of 20 million baht ($661,000) paid to four government officials, to allow three ships to use a port the vessels were too big for, the agency said in a statement detailing the allegations.
The commission said the ships were carrying equipment for a power plant being built by a Sino-Thai Engineering & Construction-led consortium. The firm faked a document to facilitate the payment to the government officials, according to the anti-graft agency allegation.
Sino-Thai Engineering & Construction said in a statement that it can provide explanations and evidence to defend against the claim, adding it remains innocent as there’s no final court judgment.
The company will never be involved in or support any form of corruption and adheres to principles of good governance, it said, adding investors can be confident in the operations of the business.
“The bribery case has probably forced some funds to cut their holdings of the stock because of corporate governance policies,” said Kowit Pongwinyoo, an analyst at UOB Kay Hian Securities (Thailand) Co. in Bangkok. “This is a knee-jerk reaction as the company’s fundamentals remain unaffected and the case will take some time to be finalized.”
The stock ended the day down 19.6% at 14.40 baht per share.
--With assistance from Margo Towie.
To contact the reporter on this story: Anuchit Nguyen in Bangkok at anguyen@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sunil Jagtiani at sjagtiani@bloomberg.net, Unni Krishnan
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