(Yicai Global) Dec. 17 -- The management team of debt-ridden Tsinghua Unigroup said a claim by the Chinese chipmaker’s chairman that its restructuring plan will cause a CNY73.4 billion (USD11.5 billion) asset loss is unfounded.

Chairman Zhao Weiguo, who controls Tsinghua Unigroup shareholder Jiankun Investment Group, spread false statements in a bid to interfere with the Beijing-based company’s judicial reorganization, the management team said in a statement released late yesterday.

Bringing in strategic investors will cause a CNY73.4 billion loss of state-owned assets, Jiankun Investment said on Dec. 15, adding that it has asked a professional body under the Ministry of Finance to assess Tsinghua Unigroup’s assets.

The management of Tsinghua Unigroup, which is 49 percent owned by Jiankun Investment, said Zhao manipulated the chip conglomerate into mergers and acquisitions over past years through massive fundraising, resulting in excessive debt that combined with poor management triggered a debt crisis at the firm last year.

Due to its insolvency, a creditor applied for Tsinghua Unigroup to go bankrupt, the company said on July 9. The Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court approved the application on July 16 and appointed a liquidation group as manager to seek out strategic investors. On Dec. 10, Tsinghua Unigroup announced that Jianguang Asset Management and Wise Road Capital would become its strategic investors.

The management’s statement pointed out that after multiple rounds of bidding, the highest bids still could not cover all of the firm’s debts, meaning investors believe it is insolvent.

According to a third party recognized by creditors, the objective and fair market value of Tsinghua Unigroup’s assets for the reorganization was about CNY121.5 billion (USD19.1 billion) as of June 30, while its debts were CNY137.6 billion.

Tsinghua Holdings, a wholly owned unit of China’s prestigious Tsinghua University, owns the other 51 percent of Tsinghua Unigroup.

Editor: Futura Costaglione