Minibond

They were a brand name for a series of structured financial notes issued in Hong Kong and Singapore under control of Lehman Brothers.

Most investors do not read the terms of sale in detail and get the impression that mini-bonds are capital-guaranteed and low-risk investments.

Most minibond investors regard them as a deposit replacement product with higher yields and could not accept the possibility that their principal may not be recovered.

During the period, the pan-democrats urged the Legislative Council to use the privilege law to establish a committee to investigate the incident.

As a result, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong and the Federation of Trade Unions unanimously voted against it.

But the law was re-introduced and finally, the Legislative Council unanimously voted to establish a committee to investigate the incident.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong, William Wei, responded that minibonds were "just a brand name" and they were debentures.