GUANGZHOU — Ninety-four "zombie companies" in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province, were declared bankrupt, the city's Intermediate People's Court said Monday.

Most of them, including 74 State-owned enterprises, were established in the 1980s and 1990s.

These enterprises, making great losses for years, have ceased or suspended production, and survived on government subsidies and bank loans.

Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court set up a tribunal last year to deal with "zombie" cases.

A total of 363 applications for bankrupt and compulsory liquidation have been received, and 189 cases were accepted by the court in 2017, said Wu Xiaoping, vice-president of the court.