Gitic declared bankrupt

Gitic declared bankrupt

BEIJING (DPA): A southern China court on Saturday announced the formal bankruptcy of the Guangdong International Trust and Investment Company and assigned a special task force to liquidate its assets, the official media reported Sunday.

The Higher People's Court of Guangdong said Gitic and its four subsidiaries had failed to meet maturing debt obligations because of poor management and illegal fund-raising, the Xinhua news agency said.

The news follows the Jan.11 announcement by provincial officials of Gitic's demise. The central bank closed the investment firm in October. It is the first case involving the failure of a non-banking financial institution in the history of Communist China.

Gitic amassed debts reaching some 36.2 billion yuan (US$4.3 billion) against the company's assets of 21.5 billion yuan ($2.6 billion), Xinhua said.