A senior Chinese legislator has said that the process of enacting a new bankruptcy law could take up to five years, the Financial Times reported. The forecast was given by Cheng Siwei, a member of the National People's Congress standing committee and the principal architect of the legislation.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Cheng said that the new law would apply to both state-owned and privately-owned companies. It would ensure that those taking over a bankrupt company paid its bank debt and bore the cost of retraining redundant employees. However, he said that an anti-trust law, which was in the early stages of drafting, should be a higher legislative priority.