HONG KONG: China Resources Power Holdings Co Ltd said on Monday it had secured exploration rights for all three coal mines involved in a lawsuit, as it seeks to reassure investors after corruption accusations against some of its executives.
The company said the Department of Land Resource of Shanxi Province had issued exploration permits on July 25 for two of the three coal mines to Shanxi Jinye Coal Coking Group Co. China Resources Power acquired Shanxi through an associate firm in 2010.
A permit for the third mine was obtained in April, China Resources Power said.
The statement came just hours after Hong Kong's High Court started hearing a case in which six minority shareholders of China Resources Power filed a lawsuit against former and existing executives of the company for what they said was faulty approval of its acquisition of the coal mining assets.
The lawsuit filed on July 5 alleged that China Resources Power "suffered serious loss and damage" from its acquisition of coal mining assets in the northern province of Shanxi in 2010, according to a copy of the writ obtained by Reuters.
The exploration licenses of some of the mines had expired at the time of the acquisition, which resulted in losses, the suit says, adding that executives had breached their duties. The shareholders demanded an unspecified amount of damages.
Li Jianjun, a former mainland journalist who first exposed the incident, also appeared in court.
On Monday, Li also took his fight to the city's anti-graft agency.
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