Nanjing Tanker Corp to be delisted

Loss-making shipping company Nanjing Tanker Corp will be delisted from the Shanghai Stock Exchange after a five-day grace period, the bourse said over the weekend, marking the first time a company backed by the central government will be dropped from a -domestic exchange.

The delisting comes after the government allowed China's first-ever public bond default in March and underscores the difficulties facing domestic companies saddled with record debt in a slowing economy.

The delisting had been widely anticipated after the company said in January it was poised to post its fourth straight year of loss, breaching exchange rules.

A statement carried on the Shanghai exchange's Weibo on Friday said Nanjing Tanker will be delisted after booking losses from 2010 to 2013.

The company has the option of -appealing the decision in the next five days. Trading in Nanjing Tanker shares has been suspended since April 2013.

Officials at Nanjing Tanker - the oil and bulk chemicals marine freight subsidiary of State-owned Sinotrans & CSC Holdings Co Ltd - declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.

Nanjing Tanker reported 12.45 billion yuan ($2.05 billion) in total debt at the end of September, with debt outpacing equity by more than four times, exchange filings showed.

Nanjing Tanker's parent, Sinotrans & CSC, operates under the direct administration of the State Council's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

According to Reuters calculations based on exchange data, around 90 firms have been delisted from the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges since their establishment over twenty years ago. However, the Nanjing Tanker delisting is the first by a company backed by the central government.

Sinotrans & CSC reported group turnover of 106.7 billion yuan and assets of 122.9 billion yuan in 2012. The group holds five listed companies, -including Sinotrans Ltd.