Chinese coking coal producer Puda Coal, Inc. has announced that Shanxi Putai Resources Limited Co., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, has signed a loan agreement to borrow RMB 240 million (US$35.2 million) from the company's founder, significant shareholder and chairman of the board of directors, Ming Zhao.
As part of the Shanxi provincial government's policies to consolidate and redevelop the local coal mining industry, new guidelines were enacted by the government in February this year which required the registered capital of coal mine consolidators to be at least RMB 200 million (US$29.3 million). The new requirement was adopted to ensure that coal mine consolidators have sufficient financial strength to consolidate coal mines efficiently and timely.