BEIJING, Sept. 23 -- The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) said on Tuesday Sinosteel Corporation (Sinosteel) and its subsidiaries did not default on its loan.

Sinosteel's outstanding loans from the ICBC accounted for less than 1.3 percent of the group's total financing raised from financial institutions.

The statement from ICBC came after online rumors that Sinosteel and its affiliated companies had defaulted on loans and accrued interest worth tens of billions of yuan.

The ICBC and the Bank of Communications (BOCOM) were reported to be the major lenders. No response has been made by BOCOM so far.

Sinosteel, previously one of the Fortune 500 companies, failed to make the list in the last two years due to falling revenues and rising debts.