Major Recent Corporate Failures in China | Generated by AI
Question: What are the major company failures or collapses in China in recent years, like Missfresh, Zhufaner, etc.?
Answer:
In recent years (primarily 2021–2025), China has seen numerous high-profile company collapses, driven by factors such as the property sector crisis, regulatory crackdowns, economic slowdown, overleveraging, intense competition in tech sectors, and funding shortages. The property downturn, triggered by government deleveraging policies like the “three red lines” in 2020, has been a major contributor, while tech and consumer startups faced cash flow issues amid post-COVID challenges and reduced investor appetite.
Here are some notable examples:
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China Evergrande Group: The world’s most indebted property developer defaulted in 2021 with over $300 billion in liabilities. It faced liquidation orders in Hong Kong courts (2024–2025), asset sales, and delisting from the stock exchange. This symbolized the broader property crisis affecting household wealth and economic growth.
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Country Garden: Another major property giant, it faced severe debt issues, missed payments, and sharp sales declines (e.g., 43% drop in one period), narrowly avoiding full default but highlighting sector vulnerabilities.
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Zhongzhi Enterprise Group: A shadow banking firm that collapsed amid risky investments tied to the property slump, declaring insolvency and triggering concerns over financial contagion.
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Missfresh (Daily Youxian): An online grocery delivery startup (Nasdaq-listed, once valued at $3 billion post-2021 IPO) effectively collapsed in 2022. It shut down operations, faced massive layoffs, unpaid suppliers, user refund issues, and rumors of bankruptcy due to cash shortages and competition in the quick-commerce sector.
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Zhufaner: A home renovation platform (founded by Tsinghua graduates in 2015) admitted a funding chain collapse in recent years, with halted projects, unpaid wages/suppliers, and client demands for transparency on misused funds.
Other sectors saw failures too:
- Semiconductor startups: Thousands closed (e.g., over 10,000 in 2021–2022, record 10,900 deregistrations in 2023), with cases like Shanghai Wusheng Semiconductor bankrupt due to unmet investments and market pressures.
- EV-related: Subsidiaries of Evergrande’s Hengchi faced forced bankruptcy amid overcapacity.
These collapses reflect broader trends: rising bankruptcies (Chinese courts handled ~30,000 cases in recent years, up from ~10,000 in 2020), “slow bankruptcies” to avoid panic, and shifts away from debt-fueled growth in property and tech.
References:
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[China’s murky bankruptcies expose hazards for foreign investors Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-murky-bankruptcies-expose-hazards-foreign-investors-2025-04-15/) - What the collapse of Missfresh means for China’s tech sector
- Zhufaner’s Founder Admits Chinese Home Renovator Is in Trouble
- Chinese property sector crisis (2020–present) - Wikipedia
- Major Chinese semiconductor company goes bankrupt