China's Datang-owned thermal power plant files for bankruptcy

It defaulted on approximately $2.39m of debt.

As local authorities push for the use of renewable energy, Datang Group, one of China’s biggest power generators, has become the latest casualty after its subsidiary in northwestern Gansu province that operates a coal-fired power station applied for bankruptcy and liquidation after defaulting on approximately $2.39m (RMB16.44m) of debt, Reuters reports.

Datang International Power Generation Liancheng Power Plant in Gansu, which has a total installed capacity of 660MW, had total assets of about $86.54b (RMB594m) and $260m (RMB1.77b) of debt by end- May.

“(A) court has accepted creditors’ application for bankruptcy and liquidation of Liancheng power plant... and made (a) declaration on insolvency of the firm for settlement of outstanding debt,” Datang said in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

In December, Datang announced the bankruptcy of its Baoding Huayuan thermal power plant after it failed to pay out billions of debt.

China’s total investment in thermal power construction in 2018 was the lowest since 2004, and more than half of the country’s coal-fired power plants have been in the red for two years, according to data from the China Electricity Council.

Read the full report here.