Keppel bribery fine puts spotlight on peer Sembcorp

SINGAPORE: Singapore oil rig builder Keppel Corp´s deal to pay a $422 million fine to resolve Brazilian bribery charges has brought smaller rival Sembcorp Marine into focus, with some analysts saying a similar fine would hurt Sembcorp more.

Shares of both Keppel and Sembcorp slid more than 3 percent on Tuesday after Keppel´s offshore rig building unit agreed to pay the fine to resolve charges it bribed Brazilian officials, including some at state-run oil company Petrobras , U.S. authorities said on Friday.

Sembcorp Marine has also been named among foreign companies that did business with people who are under investigation in Brazil as part of a massive corruption investigation.

"The market is likely to also focus on whether SMM (Sembcorp Marine) will face a similar penalty," OCBC Investment Research said in a report on Tuesday.

OCBC estimates that the $422 million fine accounts for 4.5 percent of Keppel´s third-quarter net asset value (NAV), while a similar fine would knock off about 22.6 percent of Sembcorp Marine´s NAV.

The research firm maintained its "buy" rating on Keppel while downgrading Sembcorp Marine´s rating to a "sell".

Sembcorp Marine said it could not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Keppel´s shares fell by around 3.4 percent on Tuesday afternoon, their biggest daily drop intra-day in 15 months.

It was the biggest percentage loser on Singapore´s benchmark Straits Times Index.