Shares in top SK E&C shareholders fall after Laos dam collapse

By Reuters July 24, 2018 | 07:51 pm PT

Villagers carry their belonging as they evacuate after the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower dam collapsed in Attapeu province, Laos July 24, 2018. Photo by Reuters/Stringer

Shares in major shareholders of South Korea’s SK Engineering & Construction dropped on Wednesday after a dam it was building in Laos collapsed.

SK E&C’s biggest shareholder, SK Holdings Co Ltd , fell 6.2 percent, marking its biggest daily percentage loss since February 11, 2016. The second biggest shareholder, SK Discovery Co Ltd, slid as much as 10 percent.

Rescuers searched in difficult conditions on Wednesday for dozens of people feared dead and hundreds missing after a dam collapsed in a remote part of land-locked Laos, one of Asia’s poorest countries, a government official said.

SK E&C, a construction unit of South Korean conglomerate SK Group, said early on Wednesday part of a supply dam was swept away by heavy rains, causing flooding of nearby villages. The company was cooperating with the Laos government to help rescue villagers near the site, the company said.

Two South Korean companies - SK E&C and state utility Korea Western Power Co - have stakes in the $1 billion project.