Jilin provincial government steps in to save Asia's largest corn processor

Global Bio-Chem, the third-largest corn refiner in the world and Asia’s biggest, has been taken over by a investment firm owned by the government of Jilin province after racking up US$1.9 billion in debt to banks and local businesses, The Financial Times reported, citing local media. “Historically, local governments don’t like any big employer to close. They’d rather see them bailed out and they also don’t like to see big investors lose,” said Michael Spencer, chief economist for Asia at Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong. “The process of imposing a hard budget constraint on Chinese companies is still in its infancy.”