Citic takes action against Qingdao port operator

[MELBOURNE] China's Citic Resources Holdings Ltd has begun court proceedings against the operator of a bonded warehouse at Qingdao port as legal action ramps up following an investigation into metals financing fraud at the world's seventh busiest port.

Citic Resources said last month that it had been unable to secure around 120,000 tonnes of alumina, more than half of the alumina stocks that it had title to that were stored at the port pending payment by buyers and delivery.

Under the legal action, Citic is requiring the port operator to confirm its ownership of 223,270 tonnes of alumina and 7,486 tonnes of copper, and to release the metal to the group or to offer compensation, it said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange yesterday.