一线｜独家：金立破产清算案初审曝光 债权总额173亿元 – Tencent Tech
What happened: A Shenzhen court held a hearing of creditors associated with phone maker Gionee’s bankruptcy liquidation case on Tuesday. The court said that 372 creditors claimed debts of RMB 17.3 billion (around $2.6 billion) from Gionee. The debt administrator appointed by the court announced a repayment scheme based on liquidating Gionee’s assets and will form a creditors’ commission consisting of six creditors and one Gionee employee. The hearing pertains to a bankruptcy liquidation application filed by creditors, including Huaxing Bank, against Gionee, which the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court accepted in December 2018.
Why it’s important: Founded in 2002, Shenzhen-based Gionee was once one of China’s largest mobile phone makers. The company had 4.7% of China’s mobile phone market in 2012 and had expanded to India, Southeast Asia, and Africa before it went bankrupt. The company ran into trouble beginning in December 2017, and is facing hundreds of debt-related lawsuits. It was reported (in Chinese) that Gionee chairman Liu Lirong lost RMB 10 billion of company funds while gambling in Saipan.