US firm accuses Taiwan's Chinatrust of spoiling a landmark mainland stake
Newbridge Capital has filed a suit in Texas against Taiwan's Chinatrust Commercial Bank, accusing it of spoiling a landmark mainland banking deal for a stake in Shenzhen Development Bank (SDB), according to court documents.
The United States investment firm also alleges that Chinatrust 'conspired' with SDB president Zhou Lin to 'mislead' the Shenzhen and central governments by saying that Newbridge was planning to resell the bank shares to Chinatrust after the deal closed.
Chinatrust, Taiwan's most profitable bank and its largest private bank, is owned by the powerful Koo family.
The lawsuit, filed by Newbridge Asia on Tuesday, is a sharp response to the potential collapse of one of China's higher profile foreign investments in the key banking sector and suggests Newbridge overreached in trying to gain control of a Chinese bank.
Newbridge wants to buy nearly 20 per cent of the shares in SDB, the smallest of the four mainland-listed banks.