“And so the saga of this troubled company continues.” Few letters to shareholders start with such candour, but the latest communication from London Asia Capital reads as a cautionary tale for private investors seeking exposure to unquoted Chinese stocks.

After seeing 13 of its investments in small Chinese companies written down to nil-value, and its London Stock Exchange listing cancelled, the company was to have its future decided at an emergency general meeting this week. Its largest shareholder, a Singapore-based investment entity called Richpoint Overseas Group, was hoping to win a vote to restructure the company around one of it last remaining valuable assets: a small Chinese private company called Zhongying, which owns land near the town of Wuhan. London Asia’s new board opposed the vote, but it has now been postponed until February.

But the dispute over Zhongying highlights the failings of London Asia’s strategy of investing in tiny Chinese private companies and then floating them on western stock markets. Zhongying may have some residual value – the directors estimate it could be worth as much as ￡12m – but London Asia was valued at more than ￡50m when its shares were listed.