Asimco, one of China's largest foreign investors, yesterday vowed to fight two mainland court rulings against its 60 per cent controlled car-parts joint venture in Zhuhai, involving a total of US$8 million, chairman Jack Perkowski said yesterday.
He said the case, involving alleged fraud of letters of credit and false guarantees of loans, would become a test of the mainland judiciary authorities' ability to protect the legal rights of foreign investors in the mainland.
Asimco, a direct investment company, has invested more than US$500 million in 17 joint ventures there.
Mr Perkowski said the case arose after the Zhuhai branch of the Guangdong Development Bank filed suits late last year against Asimco joint venture CAC Brake for the liability for a US$5 million letter of credit and US$3 million worth of loans, guaranteed in the name of CAC, using the company's assets.
Earlier this month, the Zhuhai People's Intermediate Court found CAC liable for the letter of credit and also liable for the debts of the venture's mainland partner, worth more than US$8 million.
The court has frozen CAC's bank deposits of US$3 million.