Court declares troubled Sanlu bankrupt

By Jin Jing  |   2009-2-13  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

Sanlu Group, the debt-plagued dairy maker at the center of China's tainted milk scandal, has been declared bankrupt, and a receiver was appointed to dispose of its assets and handle payments to creditors.

The Intermediate People's Court in Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei Province, accepted Sanlu's bankruptcy petition yesterday.

Among Sanlu's 274 creditors, the largest is Sanlu Business and Trade Co, a wholly owned subsidiary of the group. The other creditors include banks, distributors and suppliers.

The troubles of Shijiazhuang-based Sanlu erupted in September after the industrial chemical melamine was found in its infant milk formula, forcing it to shut down plants, recall products and pay massive amounts of compensation to the victims. By December, Sanlu was 1.1 billion yuan (US$161 million) in debt.

On December 19, Sanlu borrowed 902 million yuan to pay medical fees and provide other compensation to sick children. It filed for bankruptcy four days later. Sanlu was fined 49.4 million yuan last month by the Shijiazhuang court, which also handed down a life sentence to Sanlu's former chairwoman, Tian Wenhua.