Govt sued for not delivering $2.4m investment prize money

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-10-30 17:17

A lawsuit against the Xingtai city government in Hebei province for not handing over 16.5 million yuan ($2.4 million) in investment prize was heard at the Xingtai Intermediate People's court Monday, China Youth Daily reported.

In 1999, the government of Xingtai promulgated a notice saying people who introduced inbound investments would be granted a prize valued at 1% to 2.5% of the total investment volume. In the updated notice in 2003, the rule was kept.

The plaintiff, Han Jie, said he introduced a Hong Kong corporation to invest 1.65 billion yuan in the city to build a coking factory and a chemical plant. According to the notice, he deserves a prize of at least 16.5 million yuan.

The government said the rule stated introducers could be granted 1% to 2.5% of the total investment, but it does not necessarily mean they must pay him the amount of money.

Court official Su Tianzhi said this is the first case in Hebei province that a local government is sued for not giving out investment prize.

"In this case, we still prefer negotiation, and will work hard to reach a settlement out of court," said Su.