Teo Siong Seng, executive chairman of Pacific International Lines (PIL) and CEO of Singamas Container Holdings, will take leave of absence from his key roles starting June 1 and June 8, 2026, following a US Department of Justice indictment accusing him of conspiracy to fix prices and restrict output of dry shipping containers [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
The US DOJ alleges the conspiracy spanned from November 2019 through at least January 2024. During that time, container prices roughly doubled between 2019 and 2021, while the profits of container manufacturers surged nearly 100-fold, according to the indictment. Teo is one of seven executives named, including six others linked to container manufacturing companies [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
Teo, age 71, became PIL executive chairman on April 1, 2018, succeeding his late father Chang Yun Chung. He also serves as pro-chancellor of the National University of Singapore (NUS) and holds leadership roles at the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce (SERT), and Enterprise Singapore [1, 2].
Effective June 1, Teo will take leave from his NUS pro-chancellor role as well as his chairmanships and related positions at SBF, SERT, and Enterprise Singapore. He will step down from his PIL duties beginning June 8. Mark Lee, vice-chairman and honorary treurer of SBF, will assume his duties as SBF chairman during Teo’s leave [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
Teo stated, “I have proactively decided to take these leaves of absence to afford myself sufficient time to attend to this matter, and for the best interests of the aforementioned organisations” [1]. He also noted that his current SBF chairman term ends June 24, 2026, and that he does not intend to seek re-election [1].
The Ministry of Trade and Industry announced several of Teo’s leave arrangements after the DOJ indictment was unsealed on May 19, 2026. Teo’s full leave expansion to include PIL and NUS roles was confirmed on May 28. His resignation plans from SBF will take effect when his term expires later in June [1, 2].
