SG-linked Singamas chief tied to US price-fixing shipping case

The alleged cartel fueled Singamas’ swing to a $239m (US$186.8m) profit in 2021.

Singapore-linked former Singamas Container Holdings Ltd. chief executive Siong Seng Teo was amongst seven shipping container executives charged in the US over an alleged container price-fixing scheme during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) said the alleged cartel operated from at least November 2019 to January 2024 and involved nearly all standard unrefrigerated shipping containers used in trade.

“The multi-year conspiracy roughly doubled the prices of standard shipping containers between 2019 and 2021,” the DOJ added.

Singamas was a publicly traded Hong Kong-based container manufacturer.

The indictment also named executives and companies linked to China International Marine Containers (Group) Co Ltd (CIMC), Shanghai Universal Logistics Equipment Co Ltd, and CXIC Group Containers Co Ltd.

In November 2019, Yongbo Wan and Tianhua Huang of CIMC, Qianmin Li of Dong Fang, Yuqiang Zhang of CXIC, and a co-conspiring executive of Co-Conspirator Company A met at CIMC’s headquarters in the city of Shenzhen.

The group allegedly agreed to restrict production capacity through measures including limiting factory operating hours, avoiding the construction of new plants, and monitoring production lines using surveillance cameras.

The DOJ said the companies later coordinated quotas for specific customers, including US-based container lessors, shipping lines, and logistics firms. From 2022 onwards, the group allegedly agreed to cap total cargo container output volumes.

Profits at CIMC’s container manufacturing business rose from about $25.3m (US$19.8m) in 2019 to $2.2b (US$1.75b) in 2021. Singamas swung from a $140.7m (US$110m) loss to a profit of about $239m (US$186.8m) over the same period.

One defendant, Vick Nam Hing Ma, was arrested in France in April and is awaiting extradition to the US. Six executives remain at large.

The defendants were charged under Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a $1.3m (US$1m) fine for individuals, and up to $127.9m (US$100m) for corporations.

$1 = US$0.78

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