Lehman investors reject new offer

Lehman investors reject new offer

Lehman investors group rejects offer

28-03-2011


The Alliance of Lehman Brothers Victims has rejected the latest compensation offer. The group -- which represents people who bought investment products linked to the collapsed American bank -- was responding to the offer by 16 Hong Kong banks to pay back up to 96.5 percent of their original outlay.
But the Alliance's convenor, Eddy Chan, insisted that they should get a 100 per cent refund. Earlier, the Financial Secretary, John Tsang, urged investors to accept the payout offer.

Under the deal, the estimated 31,000 investors could recover up to 96.5 percent of their initial outlay - an improvement on the 60 percent offered in 2009. Mr Tsang said the proposal showed that the banks were sincere. But he added that if investors were still unhappy they could go-ahead with legal action.

A Civic Party legislator, Ronny Tong, also advised investors to take the offer. He told RTHK's "Hong Kong Today" programme that any offer of compensation of more than 90 percent should be acceptable and that if the dispute was drawn out further it would be a drain on public resources.

He added that despite the offer, the regulatory bodies could continue to pursue banks which had broken the law in the sale of the minibonds.