Koh Brothers Eco Engineering faces S$57.6 million in legal liabilities

Koh Brothers Eco Engineering has disclosed three major legal disputes that could result in potential liabilities of up to S$57.6 million. The announcement comes shortly before a shareholder vote regarding the company's move to the Singapore Exchange mainboard.

The liabilities consist of three distinct claims:

1. A joint venture (JV) dispute with a maximum exposure of S$20.5 million. This follows a Singapore High Court decision on August 6 to dismiss applications by subsidiary Koh Brothers Building & Civil Engineering Contractor (KBCE) to set aside partial arbitration awards.

2. A consortium arbitration involving approximately S$23.3 million, stemming from allegations that KBCE failed to pay its share of capital injections.

3. A subcontractor claim of between S$9.18 million and S$13.78 million involving allegations of wrongful termination and conspiracy. This suit also names Koh Keng Siang, the company's non-executive and non-independent chairman. The parties have agreed to mediation, and the company intends to file a counterclaim.

Despite these disputes, Koh Brothers stated that the legal proceedings do not cast significant doubt on its ability to continue operations.