China developer Zhongliang seals bond repayment extension as Beijing struggles to contain risks
A mid-sized China property firm on Tuesday became the latest in a series of peers to scramble for, and win, bondholders’ consent to delay repayment to avert crisis in one of the primary engines of growth for the world’s second-biggest economy.
Zhongliang Holdings said creditors holding US$629 million worth of 2022 bonds agreed to exchange them for new notes due next year as the sector struggles with a liquidity squeeze that has seen some larger players default, the latest being Sunac China.
The mounting challenges for developers come against the backdrop of April national property sales falling at their fastest pace in around 16 years as Covid-19 lockdowns further cooled demand. That was despite more interest rate policy easing steps by Beijing aimed at reviving a key pillar of the Chinese economy.
With offshore debt maturities worth around US$20 billion for rest of the year, more major developers could miss their upcoming obligations or may need to conduct bond exchanges, analysts and developers said.
Zhongliang has been scrambling to secure approval to extend repayment conditions for notes due May and July 2022 totalling US$729 million. For the 2022 bonds where Zhongliang did not gain approval, it warned it did not expect to make timely repayments and urged those bondholders to agree to an exchange.
“The company would like to reiterate to holders of the remaining exchange notes that the liquidity issues faced by developers, including the company, in the PRC (China) property sector continues to be severe,” the Shanghai-based developer said in a statement.
A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU
Tuesday, 12 pm
Property Insights
Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond.
Sunac China last week missed the deadline for coupon payments on a US$742 million offshore bond and said it does not expect to make payments coming due on other bonds.
Elsewhere Shenzhen-based Logan Group, whose shares in Hong Kong have been suspended from trading since Thursday, was in talks to extend the maturities of its offshore debt, local media reported last week. Logan’s next offshore maturity is a US$300 million bond due in August, and it has a total of US43 million coupons due in June and July.
Chinese policymakers and regulators have repeatedly sought to take steps to ensure the sector remains healthy by avoiding defaults and meeting companies’ “reasonable” financing need.
Sources told Reuters three major private Chinese property developers - Country Garden, Longfor Group and Midea Real Estate, which are financially healthy - were asked by the authorities to issue bonds with credit risk protection this week to help boost market sentiment.
In Zhongliang’s exchange offers, it said only 83.66 per cent of the July 2022 notes were tendered and that it waived its minimum requirement that 90 per cent be tendered. Just over 90 per cent of the May notes were tendered.
In exchange for the 2022 notes, it will issue US$201.44 million in 8.75 per cent senior notes due April 2023 and US$428.40 million in 9.75 per cent senior notes due December 2023.
The weaker yuan has also made offshore debt harder to repay.
A senior executive at Zhongliang told Reuters last week the firm would need to pay an additional SU$1.25 million on its bond coupons for the bond exchanges due to a weaker yuan.
Zhongliang’s Hong Kong-listed shares rose 1.3 per cent by Tuesday mid-afternoon, while the Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index was up 0.4%. REUTERS
Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services
