A Hong Kong-listed Chinese real estate developer said it will suspend all offshore debt payments, citing weakness in the country’s property market, deteriorating sales and constrained liquidity.

“After careful consideration, the company will suspend payments to all offshore creditors to ensure fair treatment among all offshore creditors,” Central China Real Estate said after it wasn’t able to pay the interest on its 7.75 per cent senior notes due 2024 at the end of a grace period on Friday (Jun 23).

The developer warned that such non-payment may lead to creditors “demanding acceleration of repayment of their debts” or taking other actions, according to an exchange filing. The company added that it has concluded that “it should immediately explore a holistic solution to the current situation to secure” the group’s future development.

China’s home prices climbed at the slowest pace in four months in May, adding to evidence of renewed weakness in the residential property market after sales and prices rallied briefly following an historical slump. Beijing is considering a broad package of stimulus measures – including those aimed at supporting real estate – as pressure builds on the government to boost the economy, Bloomberg reported earlier this month.

“It proves China’s easing measures for the developers last year from the financial perspective aren’t enough to get them out of trouble,” said Liu Yuan, vice-president for property research at Centaline Group. “More firms may follow suit if their sales don’t improve. But from what we see now, the property difficulties will likely continue.” 

“Measures aimed at stabilising demand need to be introduced to alleviate the pains in this sector,” Liu added.

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A mountain of developer debt – equal to about 12 per cent of China’s GDP – is at risk of default, according to Bloomberg Economics. Other Chinese developers have also resorted to suspending debt payment, including CIFI Holdings Group, another small builder.

As at Friday, Central China said it hasn’t yet received any notice regarding acceleration of offshore repayment. Business operations remain normal, it added.  

Shares of Central China have tumbled 70 per cent so far this year. A gauge of Chinese property developers has slumped 26 per cent during the same period, as the industry’s renewed downturn weighed on Chinese markets. BLOOMBERG