Chinese builder Jingrui ordered to liquidate by Hong Kong court

[HONG KONG] Hong Kong’s High Court ordered the liquidation of developer Jingrui Holdings, making it the latest defaulted Chinese builder to be wound up in the city amid China’s years-long property crisis.

The ruling from judge Jonathan Harris was handed down on Thursday (Jan 15) following a hearing last October. China Citic Financial AMC International Holdings filed the winding-up petition against Jingrui in October 2024 as part of its efforts to recover debts.

The liquidation order underscores the perils developers continue to face as China remains mired in a deep property slump. Among them, China Vanke, the last major Chinese developer to stave off debt failure so far, is under mounting strain from nearly US$50 billion in interest-bearing liabilities. Vanke rushed to find cash to meet bond repayments in December after a key state-owned shareholder scaled back support, triggering a cascade of default tests.

While many defaulted developers are wrapping up their restructurings, others are still facing liquidation risks as creditors grow weary of drawn-out debt talks. Aside from Jingrui, eight of China’s 30 major builders that have defaulted on US dollar debt have received liquidation orders, including China South City Holdings, which was liquidated in August last year.

Shanghai-based Jingrui, which has residential projects across China, suspended payment for some US dollar notes in February 2023. As of the end of June, the company had 15.9 billion yuan in outstanding borrowings but only 231 million yuan in cash on hand, according to its latest financial report.

The wind-up petition relates to an around US$108 million loan plus accrued interest and penalties, of which Jingrui is the guarantor, according to an exchange filing. BLOOMBERG