BOC(HK) sued over minibonds
A woman is suing Bank of China (Hong Kong) in the High Court over the loss of HK$10 million through a minibonds investment, alleging she was misled about the products.
Cheung Chun-ping, who lives and works on the mainland, filed a writ on Monday through her lawyers.
It said she invested in minibonds in June 2004 on the advice of BOC(HK) employee Edwin Wang Li-hsung, who told her that the minibonds were a stable and secure product linked to Hutchison Whampoa, a company related to tycoon Li Ka-shing.
Minibonds are not corporate bonds, but high-risk, credit-linked derivatives. They are marketed as a proxy investment in well-known companies.
The writ said she told Wang her intention was to accrue money for her children's future and the principal of any investment had to be protected. Nevertheless, she agreed to invest HK$10 million in minibonds. Claiming she was unable to understand English, the writ alleges that the content of the issue prospectus was never explained to her.
It said that Cheung had once wanted to cash in her investment to raise fund for a down payment on a flat, but she was dissuaded by another bank employee.
As a result, she lost her chance to minimise her losses when Lehman Brothers folded in September last year.
