Investors vow to carry on with the fight

Many holders of the Lehman Brothers minibonds were not impressed by the banks' offer to buy them back at current market prices.

They vowed to carry on fighting for a full refund, while others said they would not accept any buy-back that values their investment at less than 70% of their purchase price.

"Before, the estimated value averaged between 60 to 70%," said Peter Chan Kwong-yue who represents many Lehman minibond holders. "Later, this average may be 50% or may fall to 20% because there is no indication as to how long the buy-back process is going to take."

"Such a buy-back is worthless," said Siu Kwai-ching, 50, who invested around $6 million in these minibonds through Bank of China (Hong Kong). "We are not backing off."

On the other hand, some investors are considering a buy-back. "It depends on how they value my investment," said Mr Chan Hong-yuk, 63, who spent around HK$1.2 million on the minibonds and would accept a buy-back at 70 to 80% of what he paid. "A low valuation of say, 10 or 20%, would certainly be unacceptable...I had some sleepless nights. I worked hard for all my life and the investment is almost all the money I have."