(Yicai Global) Dec. 11 -- Tsinghua Unigroup apologized after the troubled Chinese semiconductor maker failed to repay a dollar bond yesterday for the first time and defaulted on yuan-denominated debt for a second month in a row.

The Beijing-based company is trying to raise money to pay the principal on the USD450 million bond, it said in a statement yesterday, adding that it will “consult with all parties involved to extend the payment period and find solutions.”

The chipmaker had warned creditors about its inability to meet its obligations, which will set off cross-defaults on a further USD2 billion of debt, Bloomberg New reported yesterday.

Tsinghua Unigroup also defaulted on a CNY5 billion (USD764.4 million) bond, its biggest maturing note with a 5.2 percent coupon rate, which also came due yesterday, after failing to repay a CNY1.3 billion bond last month.

Tsinghua Unigroup is one of a number of recent high-profile corporate defaults. Last month, Henan province-based miner Yongcheng Coal and Electricity Holding Group missed a CNY1 billion debt repayment, denting confidence in other state-owned enterprises, while Brilliance Auto was declared insolvent with liabilities of CNY52.4 billion (USD8 billion) after defaulting on CNY6.5 billion in loans.

Tsinghua Unigroup has CNY17.4 billion (USD2.7 billion) of corporate bonds outstanding, according to financial data provider Wind. More than CNY6 billion is due with a year. Many of its bills have plunged in value amid the firm’s liquidity crisis.

The company’s credit rating was cut to B, the lowest before sliding to C, from BBB, along with many of its bonds, by China Chengxin International Credit Rating, which also put the firm on its watch list for possible downgrade due to its tight financial situation, Tsinghua Unigroup said on Dec. 9.

Formed in 1988, Tsinghua Unigroup had about CNY270 billion (USD41.3 billion) in assets as of 2018. The company, which claims to be the world’s third-largest smartphone chip designer, has over 40,000 employees.

Editor: Emmi Laine