Opinion | Are state-owned companies now too big to touch?

There couldn't be a better tombstone to mark the 20th anniversary of the listing of mainland state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Hong Kong than the handling of the graft allegations against Song Lin, chairman of China Resources.

It would read: "State firms have grown big enough - in relative and absolute terms - that no one in our financial arena dares to touch them until Beijing comes in."

The allegation that listed subsidiary China Resources Power (CRP) had overpaid for some Shanxi mines was made public three months before a Xinhua reporter pointed the finger at Song on Wednesday.

On March 19, four national newspapers reported CRP had paid more than 10 billion yuan (HK$12.6 billion) - 50 per cent above peer valuation - for the mines, the exploration licences for which had expired.

On April 15, six shareholders repeated the allegation in a Hong Kong newspaper advertisement, demanding more information. On July 5, they brought the case to Hong Kong's courts, suing all CRP's directors for breaching their fiduciary duty.

The Hong Kong press reports of all these events were met with total silence. Before Wednesday, CRP made no announcement. When pushed by the media, it insisted there was nothing that met the disclosure threshold.