Developers China Evergrande, Sunac issue 4th dollar bonds in 6 months

[HONG KONG] China Evergrande Group and Sunac China Holdings sold US$2 billion and US$750 million in senior notes, respectively, on Monday, the fourth issuance of dollar bonds for both these developers in six months.

The dollar bond market has seen a rapid rise in issuance by Chinese property developers since the beginning of the year, as a broad stock market rally and investor expectations for fewer interest rate rises have boosted risk appetite.

Evergrande said in a filing late on Monday the coupon rates of the three-year, four-year and five-year bonds were 9.5 per cent, 10 per cent and 10.5 per cent, respectively.

It will use the proceeds to refinance existing debt and for capital expenditures, it said.

Taken together with the latest issuance, Evergrande has sold US$7.8 billion of bonds in the past six months, while Sunac has sold US$2.5 billion.

The notes due Oct 2023 issued by Sunac, the fourth largest developers in China, carry an interest of 7.95 per cent, according to a filing on Tuesday. They were assigned a rating of B1 by Moody's and B+ by S&P.

Evergrande's notes were expected to be assigned a rating of B2 by Moody's and B by S&P, according to the company.

Other developers including Country Garden, Future Land, Kaisa Group and Zhenro Properties have also issued bonds in the past two weeks.

REUTERS