Bondholders seek $170m from China Milk Products

Bondholders of China Milk Products Group (G86.SIN) have been trying to reclaim nearly US$170 million from the company as it becomes the latest domestic agricultural products firm to face debt problems, the Wall Street Journal reported. US asset management firm BlackRock is among the bondholders who have been struggling to recoup their funds, stymied by regulatory difficulties: While the company’s base of operations is in Daqing, Heilongjiang province, it is incorporated in the Cayman Islands and listed in Singapore, meaning domestic securities regulators have no jurisdiction over its stocks or bonds. Liu Hailong, China Milk’s chairman, was believed to have been in Hainan province, but has since been unreachable. China Milk’s businesses in China include milk, cow embryos and bull semen.