As disclosed in the announcements on 4 and 7 August 2013 as well as on 14 March and 13 May 2014 (collectively, the “Announcements”), Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (“HKEx” or “Company”), along with its subsidiaries, The London Metal Exchange (“LME”) and LME Holdings Limited (“LMEH”), were named as co-defendants in class action lawsuits filed in the United States (“US”) regarding alleged anti-competitive and monopolistic behaviour in connection with aluminium warehousing.
As announced on 27 August 2014, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Court”) dismissed all claims relating to aluminium warehousing against LME on sovereign immunity grounds (the “LME Decision”). On 29 August 2014, the Court issued a ruling on claims against the remaining defendants in the aluminium warehousing lawsuits. The Court dismissed all of the remaining claims in the case, including all of the claims pending against HKEx and LMEH. The Court allowed only the first level purchaser (“FLP”) class plaintiffs and the two unconsolidated plaintiffs: Mag Instruments Inc. (“Mag”) and Agfa Corp. & Agfa Graphics (“Agfa”), to amend those claims against the remaining defendants (including HKEx and LMEH) within 21 days. Should these plaintiffs choose to re-plead any claims against HKEx and/or LMEH, HKEx management will contest any amended allegations vigorously.
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