Shanghai Turbo-charged drama adds to S-chips fear factor

ANOTHER day, another bizarre drama in the S-chips community on the local bourse. This time it's Shanghai Turbo Enterprises, a mainboard-listed engineering company that makes key components for power plants with one operating subsidiary in Changzhou city in China's Jiangsu Province - Changzhou 3D Technological Complete Set Equipment.

The episode highlights the potential risks of investing in firms with a single operation abroad, more so, in China. If you require a visual, imagine walking the plank blindfolded. (You get the point). For starters, S-chips refer to China-based companies listed in Singapore.

First, a recap of the strange goings-on that shareholders of Shanghai Turbo have had to contend with over the past five months. The storm of events began in April when Shanghai Turbo's executive director and chief executive Liu Ming - a Chinese national who currently, according to court documents, is allegedly "in hiding" there - was ousted at an annual general meeting on April 15.