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HK protest dogs Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered Plc said it could offer only “limited service” at its Hong Kong headquarters yesterday when investors in notes linked to Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc staged a protest that blocked its doors.

Hong Kong police tried to persuade the demonstrators, including one tied to a door of the bank, to leave, Standard Chartered spokeswoman Cathy Kwong (鄺慧茵) said by telephone.

“We hope the demonstrators can stay calm and won’t get rowdy,” Kwong said.

The anniversary of the Lehman Brothers collapse is this Tuesday. After the Wall Street institution went bankrupt, investors in so-called “mini-bonds” in Hong Kong began staging protests over their losses. Investors have been offered at least 60 cents in the dollar to settle the dispute over the notes sold by 19 Hong Kong banks and one brokerage.

In Singapore, a group of investors sued the three parties, including Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, responsible for separately issuing, arranging and distributing securities linked to Lehman Brothers for misrepresentation and negligence.

RBS is being sued because it now owns the ABN Amro Holding NV Singapore unit that originally sold the products. This unit failed to understand what it was selling, the Minibond Investors Action Group alleged in a statement issued on Thursday by its lawyer, Conrad Campos.

The group represents more than 165 people with at least S$20 million (US$14 million) of investments in Lehman notes through various financial institutions in Singapore, according to the statement.

The issuer, Minibond Limited, and arranger, Lehman Brothers Singapore Pte Ltd, are also being sued, according to the statement. RBS bought parts of ABN Amro in 2007.

Campos declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg News. Tan Ping Ping, a Singapore-based ABN Amro spokeswoman, also declined to comment on the case.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore in July banned 10 financial institutions, including ABN Amro, that sold products tied to Lehman, from selling structured notes.

The central bank had investigated claims by investors who said the financial companies misled them in the sale.
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