Koh Brothers Eco Engineering faces up to S$57.6 million in potential legal liabilities
It reveals a binding S$20.5 million joint venture risk alongside fresh consortium, subcontractor disputes
The Koh Brothers Eco Engineering, a Singapore-based engineering and construction firm, is facing potential legal liabilities totaling nearly S$57.6 million due to three major disputes. The engineering company disclosed this on Tuesday, Aug 18, just before shareholders voted to move the company to the Singapore Exchange mainboard.
The firm's exposure is estimated at a maximum of S$20.5 million in a joint-venture (JV) dispute, S$23.3 million in a consortium arbitration, and up to S$13.78 million in a subcontractor claim. The most pressing issue involves a counterclaim from the JV partner, which Koh Brothers estimated at S$20.5 million. The company holds more than S$40 million in undistributed funds in the JV account.
In a separate dispute, consortium partners are seeking S$23.3 million for KBCE's alleged failure to pay its share of capital injections, with a hearing postponed to an unconfirmed date. Additionally, a former subcontractor is suing KBCE and Koh Brothers' non-executive, non-independent chairman, Koh Keng Siang, for alleged wrongful termination and conspiracy, seeking between S$9.18 million and S$13.78 million.
The parties have agreed to mediation, and Koh Brothers intends to file a counterclaim against the subcontractor. Despite the legal proceedings, the company maintains that the disputes do not significantly undermine its viability as a going concern, citing a net asset position of S$124.7 million as of June 30.
Written by urgent.news from The Business Times - Companies & Markets's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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