Debt-Plagued Chinese Real Estate Developer Grapples with Default Risk

China Evergrande Group is the country’s second largest property developer and it’s been selling assets to improve solvency.

In a discussion about the debt-burdened real estate developer, the August Elliott Wave Financial Forecast mentioned that the share price of China Evergrande had plunged 84% (as of August 2) from the peak in October 17.

The publication also mentioned the property developer’s bonds and showed this chart:

The chart shows that the price of Evergrande’s 8¾% dollar bonds crashed in July to 39 cents on the dollar.

Nearly a month later (August 31), Bloomberg published an article headlined “Evergrande Flags Default Risk From Cash Crunch; Bonds Fall.” Here’s an excerpt:

China Evergrande Group warned that it risks defaulting on borrowings if its all-out effort to raise cash falls short, rattling bond investors in the world’s most indebted developer.

“The group has risks of defaults on borrowings and cases of litigation outside of its normal course of business,” the Shenzhen-based company said in an earnings statement on Tuesday. “Shareholders and potential investors are advised to exercise caution when dealing in the securities of the group.”

The company said it’s exploring the sale of interests in its listed electric vehicle and property services units, as well as other assets, and seeking to bring in new investors and renew borrowings. Still, sharp discounts to swiftly offload apartments cut into margins, helping push net income down 29% to 10.5 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) in the first half of the year, in line with an earlier profit warning.

… Evergrande’s bonds sank toward fresh lows as investor confidence in its ability to repay debts continued to erode. While borrowing fell, total liabilities that include bills owing to suppliers edged up to 1.97 trillion yuan, near a record high.