SINGAPORE (Jan 8):
Dear Readers,
When a headline about Keppel Corp reaching a global resolution with authorities in the US, Brazil and Singapore over a bribery scandal rolled across the screen of my mobile phone just before Christmas, I knew it was a story that would keep us journalists busy for several weeks. And, it wasn’t long before our reporters were messaging one another with web links to useful information about what had happened.
It occurred to me that the previous year ended on a similar note. We saw a handful of private bankers who had assisted Low Taek Jho in his schemes involving 1Malaysia Development Bhd being convicted and sentenced. Then, there was the arrest of John Soh Chee Wen, who has been charged for orchestrating a massive fraud in the manipulation of three penny stocks that collapsed spectacularly in October 2013.
Even as these stories are still unfolding, it seems that we now have another scandal on our hands, and one involving what many investors would consider to be a blue-chip company. Is the corporate sector becoming more corrupt? Or, have companies always turned a blind eye to dodgy practices when there is enough money to be made? Are we just seeing more frequent instances of corruption because we now live in a world with no secrets? Does truth coming to light even change things anymore?
One narrative I have encountered in our reporting is that Singapore’s leading companies are expanding their footprint internationally, and Singapore itself is becoming a global city. So, some would argue that we need to adapt to the ways of the world. The cynics would take that to mean that we should become more accepting of — if not corruption — unashamed venality. My view is that it is a wake-up call to begin thinking hard about more effective regulation and law enforcement in the corporate sector.
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In the case of Keppel, some market watchers are wondering when the executives who were involved in the bribery scandal will be charged in Singapore. Yet, the deferred prosecution agreement and fine meted out by the US Department of Justice might well be more effective in keeping Keppel on the straight and narrow, because it recognises the nature of such entities.
The fine of more than US$422 million is well in excess of the US$350 million in profits that the US DOJ says Keppel earned from the contracts that were corruptly obtained from Petrobras. Whatever their business, profit-maximising companies will not engage for long in activities that lose them money.
This survival instinct is also what prompts Singapore’s leading companies to constantly rethink their business models and find new competitive advantages to continue thriving, which is another slow-burning story that is becoming increasingly important for investors. After the big stock market rally in the past year, and in the face of disruptive technologies, it is companies that manage to adapt and continue growing that are likely to deliver decent returns this year.
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With that in mind, we are once again reaffirming our commitment to accurate, analytical and timely reporting, and making some changes to our pages. As you will see in this first issue of 2018, we have adopted a new design and revamped our Capital section to offer more actionable investing ideas. In particular, the Capital section now features a regular international portfolio column by Tong Kooi Ong, chairman of The Edge Media Group, which owns this newspaper.
In the main Corporate section, we are strengthening our traditional focus on locally listed companies, with a commitment to delivering regular in-depth interviews with their CEOs and other top executives. We will also bring you the views of experts in fields relevant to the local market, including corporate finance, fund management, transport and technology. In addition, we plan to provide more deep analysis of corporate transactions and deals. We are also continuing our effort to closely integrate our print publication with our digital platform, which was renamed www.theedgesingapore.com last year.
We hope you enjoy the stories in the pages that follow, and that the changes we have made provide you with better insight into the local corporate sector, as well as useful ideas on where to put your money. We welcome your feedback as well as suggestions of what else you would like to see in our pages. On behalf of our editorial team, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Ben Paul, Editor
