Follow up action on MAS investigation report

The report released by MAS has been disappointing. The financial institutions that were found to be breached the regulation have been banned from selling structured products for 6 to 24 months. This will not affect them financially, as the sale of structured products have virtually disappeared during the past months, and is unlikely to revive over the next two years.

More importantly, the mis-guided investors, who have lost a large sum of savings in these products and were looking for some compensation for their loss, had their hopes dashed. They posted their views strongly in this blog.

There were reports that investors in Hong Kong are likely to get compensation of 60% to 70%. Someone worked out that the compensation paid to Singapore investors to be less than 20% (but this is not verified due to lack of complete information).

During the past two weeks, I have been talking to lawyers and the insurance broker to see if the "after the event" insurance can be obtained for investors who wish to take legal action against the distributor on the legal grounds of mis-representation. They are several obstacles to be overcomed, but I am working on them.

If the obstacles can be overcomed, investors (who are not involved in any existing class action) can consider a new class action to be arranged. The larger investors can consider taking individual legal action. I like to ask you to complete this survey, to see if there is sufficient interest.

A team of volunteers is helping me to plan a gathering of investors at Speaker's Corner in Hong Lim Park on Saturday 22 August 2009 at 5 p.m. Keep the date free. If you wish to help in the organisation, you can join this Google Group.


On a separate matter, I like to ask investors to write your story for publication in a book. Share your experience with the future generation. Write your story to cover how you were misled into investing in the toxic product and the months of agony that you went through in trying to get compensation. You can send them to me at kinlian@gmail.com.

Tan Kin Lian