Country Garden creditors seek CDS ruling on failure-to-pay event

THE Credit Derivatives Determinations Committees were asked if Country Garden Holdings’s missed US dollar bond interest payment would trigger credit default swaps (CDS) tied to the developer’s debt, according to a notice posted on Monday (Oct 23).

A panel of banks and investment managers was asked by an eligible market participant if a failure-to-pay event had occurred after the company skipped an interest payment on its 6.15 per cent US dollar bonds due Sep 17. A 30-day grace period on the US$15.4 million interest payment expired last week, and a default can be called after that.

China’s former top builder has remained silent after saying to Bloomberg News last week that it does not expect to meet all of its offshore payments on time, citing China’s home market weakness and subdued sales. The company added that it hopes to seek a “holistic solution” to its debt problems.

With US$186 billion of total liabilities, Country Garden is one of the world’s most indebted builders and has come to symbolise China’s broader property woes. Creditors are now examining whether the the latest payment failure would trigger a cross-default on other debt, and when the company will deliver a restructuring blueprint.

Country Garden’s debt now trades for pennies on the US dollar. The 6.15 per cent note due in 2025 last traded for under 10 US cents, according to Trace. BLOOMBERG