A FIRM that recorded one of China’s biggest corporate bond defaults is emerging as the most popular name among the nation’s stock traders in 2019.

Wintime Energy Co., a coal miner based in northern China’s Shanxi Province, has surged more than 60 percent this year to lead the benchmark CSI 300 Index. Its Shanghai-listed shares have rallied as investors wait for it to announce details on restructuring efforts, even as it said it sees uncertainty over repaying a 1 billion yuan (US$148 million) bond due Tuesday this week.

Wintime Energy was the second-biggest bond defaulter in China last year after CEFC Shanghai International Group. It was sitting on 63.2 billion yuan in outstanding debt as of the end of September. Concerns over its ability to repay the debt put it among the worst performers on the CSI 300 Index last year, falling more than 60 percent as the stock endured periods of suspension.

It hasn’t finalized a debt restructuring plan. The coal miner has proposed asset sales to repay debt, including a plan to sell its stake in a power plant by the end of this month, and has said it is in talks to sell some financial investments.

China’s banking regulator Wednesday said it would step up support for private and small companies by boosting credit supply and keeping financing costs at a reasonable level.

“Stock investors, especially some speculative short-term traders, have bet that the government will rescue private companies with financial difficulties. Wintime Energy is one of them,” said Dai Ming, Shanghai-based fund manager at Hengsheng Asset Management Co., who sold the stock in 2013.

Wintime Energy surged by its daily limit of 10 percent Thursday, with trading volume at more than six times its three-month average. The stock closed up 3.72 percent after surging 10 percent in earlier Friday trading.

“Wintime Energy could be bailed out by the government,” said Guo Feng, an investment adviser at Northeast Securities Co. “It’s a good target for speculative money.”

Such hopes could be tested again this week. “Wintime Energy has proposed asset sales to repay the debt, which might explain the market’s optimism on the stock,” said Michelle Leung, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence in Hong Kong. (SD-Agencies)