HONG KONG - HONG Kong investors who were allegedly mis-sold minibonds in the collapsed bank Lehman Brothers have been invited to mount an international lawsuit against the institutions involved, a lawmaker here said on Friday.

James To, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party here, which is acting for most of a group of some 40,000 mini-bond holders in the city, said US lawyers presented them a proposal for a legal action in a US court.

'The lawyers have presented us a very detailed proposal. Their proposed action will be to sue some of the US institutions involved in the handling of the mini-bonds for a breach of duty according to American law,' Mr To told AFP.

More than 40,000 Hong Kong investors, including many retirees, put a total of HK$15.7 billion (S$3.05 billion) into mini-bonds and other complex financial products backed by Lehman Brothers.

Mr To refused to divulge the background of the lawyers or details of the institutions listed on the proposal. But he said that the lawyers had made sure that those were the institutions whose assets remained intact following the bankruptcy of the investment giant Lehman Brothers in Sept.

The lawmaker said the lawyers had also approached affected investors in other places, including Singapore.

'These lawyers are very aggressive. They have identified the Lehman saga as an excellent business opportunity for them,' he said.

His party is now consulting US legal experts for their views on the proposed action. He said the party would only discuss the matter with the investors if they could be sure that the lawsuit would not place the investors under further financial burden.

The Wall Street icon filed for bankruptcy in Sept as it buckled under the weight of the collapse in US subprime, or high risk, mortgages.

The investors mounted protests against the banks, the Hong Kong government and the city's financial regulators, urging a full refund. -- AFP