Theng Hong Heavy Engineering denies rumours it has gone bankrupt

Theng Hong Heavy Engineering, formerly known as Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery, denied online rumours that it has gone bankrupt and ceased operations.

Lanjinger, a Sina Weibo account run by mainland reporters, alleged Theng's major shareholder Li Yan had gone missing. The South China Morning Post is unable to confirm this claim.

Theng, a machinery maker headquartered in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, and Li, who also has the Tibetan name Suo Lang Duo Ji and the western name Dominique Shannon, were in the news when Theng, then known as Tengzhong, and Li jointly tried to acquire US jeep maker Hummer from US car giant GM but failed to gain the approval of the Chinese government in 2010.

In a statement on its website yesterday, Theng said it was operating normally and its major shareholder, Sichuan Huatong Investment, another mainland firm controlled by Li, was not directly involved in its day-to-day operations.

Other shareholders had taken over the company to ensure it continued to operate normally, while Theng and its subsidiaries had no bad credit record, it said.