Noble Group to start legal proceedings following third Iceberg Research report

NOBLE Group on Monday said it will start legal proceedings against Hong Kong resident Arnaud Vagner, Enlighten Ace Ltd, a Seychelles company, and any associates, at the Hong Kong High Court "for conspiracy to injure Noble Group".

"Noble Group refers to the statements made by Iceberg Research in their three reports. We reject their allegations as inaccurate, unreliable and misleading," the company said in a statement on Monday.

"As a public company we support responsible research. However, Iceberg are not the independent research house they claim to be. Their actions, and their timing, have been calculated primarily to inflict damage rather than to facilitate the distribution of research."

The anonymous blog Iceberg Research issued its third report on commodity trader Noble Group on Saturday, saying that the Hong Kong-headquartered group had substantially understated its gross and net debt.