Hong Kong

INSTITUTIONAL investors are finally standing up to corporate China. Two recent shareholder votes in Hong Kong suggest money managers are becoming less tolerant of sloppy governance. Though there's a long way to go, Chinese companies used to silent acquiescence from foreign investors may be in for a surprise.

China Merchants Bank (CMB) is the latest victim of the newly belligerent mood. Just over a week ago, the country's sixth-largest lender asked shareholders to endorse changes to its employee share ownership scheme. The bank said that it had tweaked the scheme after China's securities regulator asked big investors in local companies to help stabilise the stock market by increasing their shareholdings.