Siemens braced for stormy meeting

A shareholder general assembly at German conglomerate Siemens today could end up resembling a trial owing to a dogged scandal that is starting to look like a bottomless pit.

The anger of some 10,000 investors expected today in the Bavarian city of Munich should spare Siemens boss Peter Loescher, who was named to the post six months ago following the disclosure of a well-stocked slush fund at the group.

But many others could be in for a rocky ride, including those supposed to be controlling the group like supervisory board Gerhard Cromme and his right-hand man, Deutsche Bank chairman Josef Ackermann.

The association of small shareholders DSW intends to vote against a renewal of their mandates, which nonetheless seem assured.

Among the top figures absent will be former Siemens boss Klaus Kleinfeld and former supervisory board president Heinrich von Pierer, the emblematic head of the group from 1992 to 2005.

Both left Siemens last year.

One sign of the present times was a decision by Siemens to forego the traditional vote of confidence by which shareholders typically approve the management team's performance over the past year.

It has been more than a year since revelations have multiplied over dubious transactions at Siemens, often in the form of money alleged to have been paid under the table to obtain foreign contracts.

At last count, the biggest private German employer had acknowledged 1.3 billion euros in questionable funds.

According to press reports, internal revelations continue and describe a situation where corruption was present up to the higher spheres of the group.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has estimated that Siemens is "the biggest case of corruption ever seen," Cromme has said.

The German group is listed on Wall Street and fears being slapped with a fine of 4 billion euros in the United States, the German business magazine WirtschaftsWoche reported.

AFP

(China Daily 01/24/2008 page16)