Ordinary Gweilo

It’s always amusing to read prospectuses with the warnings that they are obliged to include these days (“all our senior management might leave the company, and all our customers might suddenly die from a mysterious disease”) but this one seems to be self-inflicted.

The New York Times reports that a Chinese company called Ctrip.com has warned the holders of its American depository shares (ADS) that it hasn’t decided whether it will listen to their opinions:

Ctrip’s contribution to convenient democracy is detailed in its prospectus. Buyers of the American depository shares are told they “may instruct the depositary of our A.D.S.’s to vote the shares underlying your A.D.S.’s but only if we ask the depositary to ask for your instructions.”