INVESTORS filed 154 individual lawsuits against Wuliangye Yibin Co, accusing one of China's top liquor distillers of disclosure violations and seeking an aggregate 19.1 million yuan (US$3.1 million) in damages.

Shares in Shenzhen-listed Wuliangye lost 1.39 percent yesterday, the biggest daily loss in three weeks, to 23.46 yuan.

The civil litigation stems from a May 2011 ruling by the China Securities Regulatory Commission that found Wuliangye had released false, untimely and incomplete reports to the market. It was fined 600,000 yuan by the CSRC, and eight executives were fined between 30,000 yuan and 250,000 yuan each.

The company didn't comment on the current claim for compensation but said in a filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange that it will "actively participate in the litigation and disclose progress in the case."

Wuliangye said the lawsuits won't impact profit for the current period.

The compensation claim is lighter than expected, given that 450,000 people who held about 3.8 billion tradable shares in the company in 2011 were legally eligible to file claims.