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New | Haosheng sues LeMobile for unpaid bills as LeEco’s cash woes persist

The suit is the latest sign that LeEco’s survival hinges on moving from one creditor’s claim to another

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LeEco’s business grew from video streaming to making phones. Asia-Pacific chief executive Mok Chui-tin stepped down in November as LeEco’s founder admitted his company was facing a cash crunch. Photo: David Wong
Jennifer Li

LeEco, the video streaming company that’s aspiring to build the world’s fastest electric sports car, is being sued by a Chinese vendor for unpaid bills, in the latest sign that its cash woes are persisting even as it claims to be raising funds from investors.

Zhejiang Haosheng Electronic Technology, which makes speakers used in smartphones, has sued LeEco’s mobile phone unit to recover 51.74 million yuan (HK$58 million) of unpaid bills, according to the plaintiff’s January 5 statement. The case is being arbitrated by the Shanghai International Economic &Trade Arbitration Commission, the statement said.

LeMobile signed a November 16 contract to buy speakers from Haosheng, agreeing to pay the vendor 11.02 million yuan and US$5.93 million in nine instalments, plus 6 per cent annualised interest rate. The first instalment was missed on December 11 last year, Haosheng said.

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Haosheng is among several creditors queuing up at LeEco’s door.

AAC Technologies Holdings, Taiwan’s Compal Electronics and Truly International Holdings have made public disclosures of debts owed by LeEco’s subsidiaries, according to a January 5 report by thepaper.cn website. Compal said on November 23 that LeMobile had already rectified its arrears, thepaper.cn said.
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Since its establishment in 2004, LeEco had expanded from its core business of video streaming into music, making smartphones, movie production, virtual reality, and even the manufacturing of electric cars. Last month, the company broke ground on a 12 billion yuan assembly in Zhenjiang province with the capacity of producing up to 40,000 electric cars a year.

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