New | Troubled Noble Group to explain how its business works

Noble Group will hold an investor conference in Singapore today in another bid to fight off attacks over its accounting practices after endorsement from a second auditor failed to convince markets and detractors last week.

The beleaguered Hong Kong-based commodities trader said it would present "a comprehensive explanation of how [its] business works" and the findings of a PricewaterhouseCoopers review.

Noble, Asia's biggest commodities house by revenue, has been battling a reputational crisis since February, when little-known Iceberg Research started assailing its accounting policies. Others, including Muddy Waters and Hong Kong's GMT Research, followed with similar allegations.

In its strongest yet defence, Noble last week released the findings of the PwC review that endorsed its accounting practices. But that failed to appease the market.

After a short-lived jump on Tuesday - the day after the report was released - Noble's shares took another dive, falling 21 per cent over the past week to close at S$0.49 (HK$2.70) on Friday.

At the heart of the debate was how Noble realised gains from the mark-to-market approach from its long-term physical and derivative commodities contracts. PwC did nothing more than what Ernst & Young, Noble's auditor, had been doing for years, ensuring the compliance with accounting rules, Iceberg said.