* Lawsuit suggests scandal at Qingdao port hitting other sectors
* Shanxi Coal says owed $177 mln in payments guaranteed by Decheng Mining and its parent
* StanChart says has about $250 mln in commodity-related exposure around port (Adds details, trade comments)
By Fayen Wong and Chen Aizhu
SHANGHAI/BEIJING, June 27 (Reuters) - China's Shanxi Coal International Energy Group said it was suing the company at the centre of the alleged metals financing fraud at Qingdao port and its parent for over $177 million in missed payments the two had guaranteed, a move that suggests the scandal is starting to affect other sectors in China.
Shanxi Coal, one the country's top producers, said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Thursday it was suing three clients over the missed payments as well as Decheng Mining and its parent, Dezheng Resources, and another firm that had acted as guarantors.
No one at Decheng Mining or Dezheng Resources was immediately available for comment.
Shanxi's exposure to Decheng came as a result of complex transactions which are typical of commodity financing and the common business practice of inter-company loans in China. .
Goldman Sachs estimated in March that commodity-backed deals account for as much as $160 billion, or about 30 percent of China's short-term foreign-exchange borrowing.
Shanxi said it had agreed with Decheng in 2012 to act as its import agent for alumina, aluminium ingots and refined copper through Citic Australia Commodity Trading. The shipments were sold to two Hong Kong-registered companies, with Decheng and its sister company as guarantors.
In another deal, it signed a contract to buy alumina from Decheng, which was then sold to local firm Qingdao Yida Mining Ltd, with Dezheng Resources also being one of the guarantors.
"Big state companies often act as import agents for smaller firms because they have easy access to credit. When you look into these deals carefully, its clear that they play an essential role in shadow lending," said an analyst who declined to be identified because of sensitivities in commenting on state firms.
Many large companies in China engage in the practice because of the better and quicker returns they can get, compared to their primary business.
Shares in Shanxi Coal, which reported a 68 percent drop in its 2013 net profit, were down 3.76 percent at 3.58 yuan at midday on Friday, after falling as much as 4.3 percent earlier. Its shares have lost over a third of its value in the past year on the back of slumping coal prices.
Shanxi Coal's $177 million exposure to Decheng and its parent is more than four times of its 2013 earnings of $39 million.