Shi Zhengrong on Bankruptcy and Restructuring

Suntech accumulated $2.2 billion in debt and defaulted on a $541 million bond; five days after that default, its main operating subsidiary, Wuxi Suntech Power, filed for bankruptcy protection.

A Jiangsu provincial intermediate court formally accepted an insolvency and restructuring petition for Wuxi Suntech filed by a group of eight Chinese banks (including Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, and Bank of China) owed as much as $1.14 billion (7.1 billion yuan), per Forbes citing Xinhua.

Suntech defaulted on a $541 million bond, its main subsidiary Wuxi Suntech Power filed for bankruptcy protection after a group of eight Chinese banks petitioned a Jiangsu court, the company's market value collapsed from a peak of $16 billion to about $106 million, and Shi's personal fortune fell from $2.9 billion to under $250 million. Shi called his removal 'misconceived and unlawful,' disputing the board's characterization of the ouster, though the underlying financial collapse and bankruptcy filing are independently documented, undisputed facts.