S'pore firm files $2.5m suit against Chinese tyre maker

SINGAPORE (REUTERS) - A Chinese tyre maker is being sued for about US$2 million (S$2.5 million) in damages by a unit of Singapore's Lee Rubber Group for defaulting on shipments of around 2,000 tonnes of rubber, and more cases are likely to emerge.

Shandong-based Zhaoyuan Leo Rubber failed to honour contracts to buy 2,016 tonnes of rubber from Regional Rubber Trading, according to the Asean Rubber Business Council (ARBC) and plaintiff Regional Rubber Trading.

The lawsuit involves defaults in 2008, when buyers in top rubber consumer China stunned the market by refusing to pay for cargoes after the financial crisis hit global auto sales and tyre prices.

"The ARBC is in the midst of processing more cases reported by members, which will be published on its website. This will be a strong deterrent to errant behaviour in an otherwise honourable rubber industry," an ARBC official told Reuters.