Solar giant LDK defaults on $24m bond

China's solar giant LDK announced on Tuesday it had partially defaulted on a $24 million bond, almost a month after its rival Suntech defaulted on $541 million bonds.

The company said due to cash-flow shortages it was not able to make full payments to the holders of 4.75 percent convertible senior notes due in 2013 with an aggregate principal amount of $23,793,000.

The company said it has negotiated with two holders of the convertible notes for the aggregate principal amount of about $16.5 million, and reached settlement shortly before the maturity date, through a partial payment in cash and effectively a loan facility to postpone the repayment of the remaining indebtedness.

LDK Solar Co Ltd, based in China's Jiangxi province, is the world's largest producer, in capacity terms, of solar wafers.

Several big Chinese solar companies face maturing debts this year amid a gloomy global outlook.

China's Suntech, once the world's leading solar panel maker, last month defaulted on $541 million of its dollar-denominated bonds and declared its biggest subsidiary bankrupt.