The bankruptcy of Suntech Power Holdings – the first private Chinese company to list on the New York Stock Exchange – has taken a new turn after overseas liquidators won an injunction from a Singapore court to freeze transfers they claim are designed to move assets out of the reach of international bondholders.
The Suntech saga is a test case because it was listed in the US but nearly all its assets are in China. It was the first overseas-listed Chinese company to default on international bonds, and its bankruptcy in China has pitted the claims of Chinese creditors against international debt holders.
Suntech is the poster child for the debt-fuelled expansion of the Chinese solar industry, which suffered after overseas markets dried up. Suntech was once the world’s largest solar-panel maker by capacity. Chinese creditors have already signed on to the sale of Suntech’s Chinese assets to Hong Kong-listed Shunfeng Photovoltaic.