A proposed RMB 3.3 billion ($463 million) restructuring plan for debt-laden Shanshan Group Co. Ltd. has collapsed after key creditor and shareholder groups voted it down, derailing the recovery effort of the once-prominent private enterprise, reports Caixin. The Ningbo-based firm, now focused on battery materials and polarizers, has been under court-supervised restructuring since February 2025, following the death of founder Zheng Yonggang and a subsequent family dispute. Creditors have filed claims totaling more than RMB 44.2 billion.
On Monday, Shanshan and its listed unit, Ningbo Shanshan Co. Ltd., said the restructuring plan—led by Ren Yuanlin, chairman of shipbuilder Jiangsu New Yangzi Trading Co. Ltd. and dubbed China’s “private shipping king”—failed to gain approval from secured and unsecured creditors as well as shareholder groups. Only employees and tax creditor groups backed the proposal.
The investment plan, signed on Sept. 30, called for a consortium including New Yangzi, TCL Industrial Investment, and China Orient Asset Management Co. Ltd. inject RMB 3.28 billion in exchange for a 23.36% controlling stake in Shanshan Co. through a mix of direct purchases and trust structures. Ren would have become the company’s new de facto controller.