Actress Zhao Wei and husband face class action from hundreds of investors after China market ban
Lawyer says incensed investors could seek compensation of up to 30m yuan
Zhao Wei, the billionaire Chinese actress, faces class action along with her husband from hundreds of investors who suffered heavy losses because of their investments in a listed company that had been targeted for a takeover by the couple last year, according to lawyers representing the investors.
Wang Zhibin, a lawyer at Shanghai-based Bright & Young Law Firm, representing the small investors said they could seek roughly 30 million yuan in compensation because of misleading information disclosure linked to the takeover deal.
However, whether a lawsuit could be filed would depend on a final decision by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the stock market watchdog.
Last week, the CSRC barred Zhao, and her husband Huang Youlong, as well as the owner of Zhejiang Sunriver Culture, the target company in the takeover deal, from China’s securities markets for five years, for “seriously misleading the market”, according to a filing by Sunriver to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Lawyers said it could take another six months for the CSRC to reach a decision on the final punishment, since Huang announced through his Hong Kong-listed Sino Golf Holdings on November 10 that he would “submit a statement and plea to the CSRC to request a hearing” on the five-year ban.