Maike Metals International Co., once one of the most powerful traders in China’s massive copper market, filed for bankruptcy after more than a year of debt struggles.

The firm founded by entrepreneur He Jinbi in the early 1990s was until recently responsible for more than a quarter of China’s copper imports. On Monday, Maike said the Intermediate People’s Court of Xi’an accepted its filing, a step toward a final ruling by the court to wind up the company.

The court case caps a tumultuous period in the world’s biggest copper market after a sagging economy squeezed the country’s private sector, leading to Maike’s dramatic cash crunch and He’s disappearance. The company’s woes have rippled internationally, leading some of the most active banks in metals to pull back from financing.

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The latest development in Maike’s saga comes as hundreds of executives from the global metals industry gather in Shanghai for Asia Copper Week, an annual event of contract negotiations, market discussions and networking.

The nation’s copper demand has proved relatively healthy this year, largely thanks to the rapid expansion of the country’s new-energy sectors — especially solar power and electric vehicles. But traders have struggled with the legacy of the pandemic as well as the country’s prolonged property slump and tighter rules on commodity trading.

Maike and He have been targeted with legal action by creditors since the firm ran into payment difficulties in 2022 during China’s extended Covid lockdowns. By September of that year, its trading activities had largely ground to a halt, and it filed for “preliminary restructuring” with the Xi’an court in February.

Maike will “fairly pay off all types of creditors’ rights” in accordance with market principles and the rule of law, it said. The company declined to comment further on the bankruptcy proceedings or on He’s latest whereabouts, after executives lost contact with him in early October.

Chairman He was sued this year by ING Groep NV in Hong Kong over $147 million in unpaid debt. The case involved overdue payments owed by a trading arm of Maike, according to court filings. The Chinese company has previously declined to comment about the case.

Another big copper merchant and conglomerate, Amer International Group Co. has also struggled. The Fortune 500 firm owned by billionaire Wang Wenyin has seen an exodus of staff — including some of its top metals traders — as a result of the challenging market conditions.

--With assistance from Alfred Cang.