China Evergrande's shares firm as restructuring looms

[HONG KONG] Shares of China Evergrande Group rose over 7 per cent on Tuesday in early trading as the embattled developer moves closer toward a restructuring that has loomed for months over global markets and the world's second-largest economy.

The market is watching if the real estate giant, which is grappling with over US$300 billion in liabilities and is at risk of becoming China's biggest ever default, has paid US$82.5 million coupons with a 30-day grace period coming to an end.

A formal default it would trigger a wave of cross defaults that would ripple through the property sector and beyond, potentially rattling global investor confidence, already shaken by the emergence of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Evergrande's stock, which hit a record low on Monday, opened up at HK$1.93.

The world's most indebted developer said on Monday it had set up a risk management committee that included officials from state entities which would play an important role in "mitigating and eliminating the future risks" of the group.

REUTERS