Chinese police quickly broke up the protest
Hundreds of Chinese mineral investors have protested in Beijing, alleging they have been defrauded.
They claim to have lost money after investing in the Fanya Metal Exchange in the city of Kunming.
Hundreds
of thousands of people have invested billions in products offered by
the exchange as the values of rare metals rose in recent years.
China's recent stock market collapse has caused prices to fall and investors to demand their money back.
However,
the exchange's funds have been frozen because of a liquidity issue.
Many of the investors are ordinary people, who believed the company's
promise of big returns on investments.
An unidentified employee
told the Reuters news agency that there had been "a run" on the
exchange. However, they claimed it was still operating normally.
Protests
on this scale are unusual in Beijing. Police quickly broke up this
demonstration, but it can be seen as a symptom of China's economic
slowdown.
On its
website, Fanya claims to have a turnover of 325bn yuan ($51bn; £33bn).
Protesters claim that they were not adequately warned of the risks involved.
"We
were protesting today because we have no other option and no one has
responded to our complaints," one investor turned protester told
Reuters.
There have already been demonstrations against Fanya in other Chinese cities.
Title : China protests by Fanya Metal Exchange investors
Description : From the section China ...
