Daiwa Construction Co. said Friday it has filed with the Tokyo District Court for protection from creditors under the fast-track corporate rehabilitation law.

The construction company, listed on the second section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, has liabilities totaling 23.05 billion yen.

With the nation's prolonged economic slump having bludgeoned public works spending and corporate capital spending, Daiwa Construction has been trying to rehabilitate its management with support from its biggest shareholder, condominium builder Dia Kensetsu Co.

After plunging to a negative net worth of more than 14 billion yen in fiscal 2001, the Tokyo-based construction company was granted debt waivers totaling 14.5 billion yen in August 2002.

The company has also tried to improve its finances through cost cuts, workforce reductions and other operational restructuring measures.

But with Cesar Co. filing for court protection from creditors in March, the collection of 1.3 billion yen in accounts receivable from the real estate company has become difficult, according to Daiwa Construction.

As a result, Daiwa Construction's board of directors decided Friday that the company should abandon its efforts to rehabilitate.

Daiwa Construction is having difficulty clearing the TSE's listing requirements, which stipulate that a company must have a market capitalization of 1 billion yen to remain listed on the second section.

Founded in 1947, Daiwa Construction boasted a workforce of 124 as of the end of March.

In fiscal 2001, the company incurred a net loss of 14.27 billion yen and a pretax loss of 3.87 billion yen on operating revenue of 34.25 billion yen on an unconsolidated basis.