On 2018-11-21, Singapore authorities said they were jointly investigating Noble Group Ltd over suspected false and misleading statements, a move that landed just days before the company was expected to complete its $3.5 billion debt restructuring.
The probe was announced by the Commercial Affairs Department of the Singapore Police, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority. The agencies said they were examining possible violations of securities and company laws, along with potential non-compliance with accounting standards by Noble Resources International Pte Ltd, the Singapore-based subsidiary wholly owned by Noble.
Noble said it had received a letter from the authorities asking for access to documents tied to the accounting treatment, consolidation and reporting of certain contracts involving the company and its subsidiaries over the last few years. The company said it would co-operate fully with the investigation.
The scrutiny came as Noble tried to salvage itself after years of pressure. Once Asia’s top commodity trader, the company saw its market value collapse from $6 billion in February 2015 after Iceberg Research questioned its accounting. Since then, Noble has sold assets worth billions of dollars, taken heavy writedowns and cut hundreds of jobs while defending its books.
The company’s shares were suspended from trading from Monday because of the restructuring. Noble said it still intended to push ahead with the plan, which it said was in the best interests of creditors and shareholders, and it said it would continue working within the previously disclosed timelines.
The Singapore Exchange’s regulatory arm said it would review whether the investigation could affect the financial statements Noble had already disclosed in connection with the restructuring. It added that trading could only resume after the restructuring was completed and after its review.
Not everyone expected the probe to derail the deal. Mak Yuen Teen, an associate professor of accounting at the National University of Singapore, said he did not expect the investigation to affect the restructuring because the process would create a new entity with a largely new board, while the probe would focus on the previous board and management.
The authorities also said they were looking into possible breaches of disclosure requirements by Noble. Last week, the company reported that its quarterly net loss from continuing operations had narrowed to $43.3 million.
FILE PHOTO: A Noble Group sign is pictured at a meet-the-investors event in Singapore on August 17, 2015. REUTERS/Edgar Su
