(Yicai Global) Nov. 17 -- Tsinghua Unigroup, a designer and manufacturer of integrated circuits, has become the latest Chinese state-owned business to fail to meet its debt obligations.    

Tsinghua Unigroup defaulted on a CNY1.3 billion (USD198.4 million) bond on Nov. 5, according to a statement yesterday from the lead underwriter Bank of Shanghai.

Founded by the prestigious Tsinghua University in 1988, Beijing-based Tsinghua Unigroup has outstanding bonds totaling CNY17.4 billion (USD2.7 billion), with CNY6 billion set to mature in the next year.

“Tsinghua Unigroup has blindly expanded amid policy stimulus,” online news outlet Lanjinger quoted Chanson Capital Executive Director Shen Meng as saying. “Its debts surpassed the security boundary, while its operations and corresponding industrial integration lagged behind.”

Many of the company’s bonds have slumped since the start of this month, but its controlling shareholder, Tibet Ziguang Chunhua Investment, has pledged further support.

Tsinghua Unigroup is not alone. Other state-owned businesses have recently defaulted, Shen said, adding that “it reflects the risks in the entire bond market and corporate financing.”

Coalminer Yongcheng Coal and Electricity Holding Group defaulted on a CNY1 billion bond last week, while automaker Huachen Automotive Group was unable to pay a same-size note last month. Huachen Auto said yesterday that its creditors have applied for a court-led corporate restructuring.

Editor: Tom Litting