LDK president Xingyue Tong bluntly stated that the company is “working closely with our stakeholders and the relevant governmental agencies” to find a pathway back to financial stability, after posting a loss of $517m for the fourth quarter – its seventh straight quarterly deficit – only days after defaulting on some of its bonds.

The depth of the hole which LDK finds itself in is breathtaking, even by the standards of the struggling PV manufacturing sector.