Zhuangji Ship Industry and Wenzhou Yuandong Shipyard, two subsidiaries of Zhuangji Group in Zhejiang, China, held the first creditor conference on 27 May after they filed for bankruptcy reorganisation.
As of 15 May, 49 creditors has demanded a total of CNY1.2 billion (USD194 million) claims from Zhuangji Ship Industry. A total of CNY629 million claims of 32 creditors have been confirmed, CNY363 million claims of which are secured with property. Zhuangji Ship Industry also has two confirmed labour claims, amounting to CNY684,600.
A total of 11 creditors has demanded CNY724 million claims from Wenzhou Yuandong Shipyard, and CNY399 million claims of eight creditors have been confirmed, CNY243 million claims of which are secured with property.
The administrators of the bankruptcy reorganisation, Zhejiang JRC Law Firm, Zhejiang Lianying Law Firm, and Wenzhou Huaming Certified Public Accountants, suggested at the creditor conference to merge the two companies, since Wenzhou Yuandong Shipyard is a fully owned subsidiary of Zhuangji Ship Industry.
Zhuangji Ship Industry suffered huge loss in 2008 when its two 82,000 dwt cargo ships were abandoned. Zhuangji Group called for the government’s help to defer repayment and deduct interests in November 2012.
Although one of the two 82,000 dwt ships was sold in July 2013, the yard still could not avoid bankruptcy.
Zhuangji Group, established in 1996, is a large scale enterprise with businesses in clothing, properties, and mining, and started its venture in the shipbuilding business in 2004 when it set up Zhuangji Ship Industry with registered capital of CNY300 million.
Another four branches of the group also entered bankruptcy reorganisation.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.
