A crisis at Country Garden Holdings Co., formerly China’s biggest developer, deepened at the start of the week after units halted local bond trading and shares slid following a cut by Morgan Stanley.
The developer, which has four times as many projects as defaulted peer China Evergrande Group, is suspending trading from Monday of 11 onshore notes issued by the company and subsidiaries, it said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange dated Sunday. The firm’s shares fell as much as 15% Monday in Hong Kong, after closing below HK$1 for the first time ever last week.
The moves come just days after the builder, helmed by one of China’s richest women, Yang Huiyan, said it would report a multi-billion-dollar loss for the first half of this year. The builder is considering extending some soon-to-mature securities, and representatives of bank China International Capital Corp. told some noteholders that its bond-underwriting team has been engaged to explore options for yuan-note maturities, people familiar with the matter said last week.
“Considering its large exposure in low-tier cities, we believe it could take years for Country Garden to recover from its liquidity challenges,” Morgan Stanley analysts including Stephen Cheung wrote in a note, as they cut the price target on the shares.
In a separate statement Saturday, the company said it’s planning to hold meetings with bondholders on the repayment arrangements in the near future. It reiterated it will take measures to defuse risks and protect the legitimate rights of its investors while ensuring home deliveries.
Here’s a calendar of Country Garden’s upcoming bond principal and interest payments across currencies:
The developments come after China’s sixth-largest developer said last week that it anticipates posting a net loss of 45 billion to 55 billion yuan ($6.2 billion to $7.6 billion), compared with earnings of 1.91 billion yuan in the first half of 2022.
Country Garden apologized Friday, vowing the firm will take more powerful and effective measures to ensure home delivery and to address periodic liquidity stress, Chairwoman Yang Huiyan and President Mo Bin say in a WeChat statement to investors and clients.
Bonds and shares of Country Garden Holdings Co. have plunged after noteholders failed to receive coupon payments of two dollar notes by a deadline on Aug. 7, raising concern it will be the next property giant to default.
