BONDHOLDERS of Shanghai Chaori Solar Energy Science & Technology Co. will meet next month as they seek repayment from the first Chinese company to default on onshore notes.

    Creditors should file their claims before Aug. 11 and the meeting will be held Aug. 18. The development comes after Shanghai marked a milestone in corporate bankruptcy last month when a court accepted a restructuring application for the Shenzhen-listed solar panel maker.

    Speculation is mounting that China may face more defaults as the nation’s companies have the most debt globally after increasing borrowings to US$14.2 trillion as of Dec. 31, surpassing the United States’ US$13.1 trillion, Standard & Poor’s said in a June 15 report.

    A meeting of Chaori Solar’s bondholders set for March was delayed after the bond underwriter couldn’t find enough noteholders to attend for resolutions to be effective.

    “Whether Chaori Solar bondholders can get back their money still depends on the court ruling on the company’s restructuring,” said Li Ning, a bond analyst in Shanghai at Haitong Securities Co. “Because most bondholders are retail investors, it’s uncertain if there will be enough registry of investors so that the meeting can be held on the planned date.”

    Chaori Solar paid 4 million yuan (US$645,000) of an 89.8 million yuan coupon due March 7 on its 2017 bonds. As of March, Chaori Solar’s liabilities were more than 700 million yuan greater than its assets, according to the Shanghai court statement last month.

    The Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court accepted the restructuring application from Chaori Solar’s supplier, Shanghai Yihua Metal Materials Ltd., because the solar maker can’t repay overdue debt. (SD-Agencies)