(Yicai Global) Nov. 28 -- The administrator appointed to oversee the bankruptcy proceedings of Yueqi Information Technology, the company Xiaoming Bike, the first Chinese bike sharer to declare itself broke, has completed an initial review of claims by 30 creditors.

But no substantive appraisal has been carried out because of ongoing or proposed lawsuits, the Guangzhou-based company said in a bankruptcy information note shared on its WeChat account two days ago.

The 30 non-user ordinary creditors are collectively owed more than CNY19.2 million (USD27.6 million). Meizhou Kaida Shared Bicycle, which supplied the brand and is now Yueqi Information's single biggest creditor, holds CNY14 million in bonds.

Xiaoming Bike was set up in July 2016, when competition was already fierce. It then received tens of millions of yuan in angel round funding and A-round financing of CNY100 million. But by the end of 2017, it was at a dead end with its chief executive leaving, 99 percent of its staff laid off, and salaries unpaid.

The Guangdong Consumer Council took Yueqi Information to court on Dec. 8 last year. It was the first public prosecution in China's bike sharing sector and attracted much attention.

When Xiaoming Bike ceased operations it refunded 80 percent of the CNY800 million in deposits collected from more than four million users, though 700,000 deposits remained outstanding, Guan Bin, the firm's legal representative, said in court.

Total creditors' rights amounted to CNY70 million, while just CNY350,000 remains in the bank, Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court said in its latest progress report on the bankruptcy this month.

Scrap Metal

Ni Yezhong, the lawyer appointed as the administrator, said he intends to entrust China Recycling Development with salvaging the bikes at CNY12 per unit.

Xiaoming Bike charged users CNY0.1 for each use after a deposit of CNY199. In its heyday, Xiaoming Bike put over 430,000 two-wheelers on the streets of more than 10 cities, including Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen, and had four million users and CNY800 million of deposits.

The bike sharing market took a hit in the second half of last year and Xiaoming couldn't refund the deposits. Wukong Bike, Bluegogo and Kuqi Bike were also accused of refunding shortfalls and went bankrupt or shut shop.

More than 20 of the 77 bike sharing firms closed down or stopped operations, Liu Xiaoming, deputy director at the transport ministry, said in February.

Editor: Bivash Mukherjee