Dongbei Special Steel Group Co., a Chinese steelmaker based inthe country's Liaoning province, defaulted on its bonds for the second time in asmany weeks, Bloomberg News reported April 5.

The company said it missed payment on 1.01 billion Chinese yuanin principal and interest on notes due the same day. The 90-day commercial paperwith a principal of 1 billion yuan and 6% coupon was issued in January.

This comes after Dongbei, whose chairman, Yang Hua, was founddead at home in March, recently failedto make an 852 million yuan payment on a bond.

Rising inventory levels and the general downturn in the steelsector were blamed for the missed payment.

The same report also noted that Chinacoal Group Shanxi HuayuEnergy Co. said it may miss a 637.7 million yuan payment on bonds due April 6, whileiron ore miner Zibo Hongda Mining Co. defaulted on notes in March.

As of April 5, US$1 wasequivalent to 6.47 Chinese yuan.