A Chinese toy-maker on Wednesday denied reports that it had laid off 6,000 workers, and said that business was booming with orders for Christmas.

Xu Guozhu, chief administrative officer for the Zhongshan plant of Hong Kong Sewco International Holdings Limited, said the payroll had 12,400 staff in September and 12,509 in August.

The company, based in Zhongshan, Guangdong Province, has 12,800 registered staff. It produces toys for international brands such as Mattel and Disney.

A report by National Business Daily on Tuesday claimed it had cut the workforce from 9,000 to about 3,000 due to a sharp fall in orders.

"The National Business Daily reporters did not come to the company at all, nor did they speak to us," said Xu. "I really do not know how this report came about."

Xu admitted the company had suffered temporary losses in the first half due to an increase in material and labor costs, but business had been booming in the second half with falling material costs.

In September, the company exported toy products worth US$11 million, 20 percent more than the same period last year, according to Xu.

Established in 1986, the company reported total exports of almost US$100 million, or one fifth of Zhongshan City's toy exports.

More than 7,000 workers lost their jobs after two factories closed in Dongguan City, Guangdong, on October 15 as the global economic slowdown took hold. The factories were part of the Smart Union Group (Holdings) Limited, a Hong Kong listed company and supplier to US Mattel.

(Xinhua News Agency October 23, 2008)