China Fund Sues City of London Investment Group, Others Over Proxy Misrepresentations
New York, New York, April 3, 2018 – The China Fund, Inc. (NYSE: CHN) (the “Fund”) today announced it has sued City of London Investment Management Company Limited (“CLIM”), Barry M. Olliff, (who is the CEO of CLIM’s parent company), and other defendants in federal court in New York City. The lawsuit cites the defendants’ misconduct in soliciting proxies to be voted at the Fund’s 2018 Annual Stockholders Meeting. The Fund alleges the defendants violated the antifraud provisions of the SEC’s proxy rules by disseminating proxy solicitation materials tainted by material misstatements and omissions. The Fund is asking the court to order the defendants to correct their deficient disclosures and to stop soliciting proxies until the corrective disclosures have been published. The Fund also is asking the court to invalidate all proxies obtained by the defendants before the corrective disclosures are published.
In the New York lawsuit the Fund notes that CLIM filed its own lawsuit this past Friday in a Maryland state court. CLIM is asking the Maryland court to issue an order that would effectively prevent Fund stockholders that already voted from changing their votes, and Fund stockholders that have not yet voted from voting at all.
The Fund and its board of directors intend to vigorously defend against CLIM’s Maryland lawsuit, which they believe is a baseless and unprecedented attack on investor voting rights designed to deny the Fund’s stockholders a full and fair vote.
Additional Information
This communication may be deemed to be proxy solicitation material. In connection with the Fund’s 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, the Fund filed a definitive proxy statement and other relevant documents, including a form of proxy card, with the SEC on February 5, 2018. The definitive proxy statement and a form of proxy have been mailed to the Fund’s stockholders. Stockholders are urged to read the Fund’s definitive proxy statement and any other documents filed by the Fund with the SEC in connection with the 2018 Annual Meeting because they contain important information.
Investors will be able to obtain, for free, copies of documents filed with the SEC at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Copies of the Fund’s definitive proxy statement and proxy card also are available without charge from the Fund’s proxy solicitor, D.F. King, who may be reached toll-free at (800) 207-3156.
The Fund and its directors and President are “participants” in the solicitation of proxies from stockholders of the Fund in connection with the 2018 Annual Meeting. Information regarding those persons is provided in the definitive proxy statement filed by the Fund with the SEC.
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