CITIC Starts Court Proceedings Against Qingdao Port Operator
China's CITIC Resources Holdings Ltd has begun court proceedings against the operator of a bonded warehouse at Quindao port as legal action ramps up following an investigation into metals financing fraud at the world's seventh busiest port. CITIC Resources said last month it had been unable to secure around 120,000 tonnes of alumina, more than half of the alumina stocks it had title to that were stored at the port pending payment by buyers and delivery. Under the legal action, CITIC is requiring the port operator to confirm its ownership of 223,270 tonnes of alumina and 7,486 tonnes of copper, and to release the metal to the group or to offer compensation, it said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday.
China Port Metal Scandal Hits CITIC Shares
CITIC Resources Holdings Ltd said on Tuesday that metal it owns at Qingdao port may be affected by a probe into suspected fraud, the latest firm caught up in a scandal that has raised broader worries about the risks of metal financing in China. The probe at the Chinese port, where a third-party firm is suspected of using single cargoes of metal multiple times to obtain financing, has also shaken markets amid fears the problems could extend to other ports and force a crackdown on using metal as collateral for finance. The investigation into the status of aluminium and copper products stored at the world's seventh-biggest port may hit the group, CITIC Resources said, sending its shares down by more than 8 percent to their lowest since May 7.
