Chinese solar panel maker Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd. said it intended to contest a bankruptcy petition filed against it in the U.S. by some bondholders, Reuters reported yesterday. A group of four U.S. bondholders, holding about $1.6 million of the debt-laden company's 3 percent convertible senior notes due 2013, made the filing under chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Suntech defaulted in March on a principal payment on its $541 million convertible bonds, prompting its main manufacturing unit, Wuxi Suntech, to file for bankruptcy protection in China five days later. Analysts have long warned that Suntech's overseas bondholders had slim chances of recovering their money, though the company has continued to enjoy government support while under bankruptcy proceedings in China.
