ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

China Evergrande's rising default risks shift focus to possible Beijing rescue

A man walks by a China's map showing Evergrande development projects and its apartment buildings are seen behind, at an Evergrande city plaza in Beijing, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) A man walks by a China's map showing Evergrande development projects and its apartment buildings are seen behind, at an Evergrande city plaza in Beijing, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Share
HONG KONG/NEW YORK -

Persistent default fears eclipsed efforts by China Evergrande Group's chairman to lift confidence in the embattled firm on Tuesday, as Beijing showed no signs it would intervene to stem any domino effects across the global economy.

Analysts played down the threat of Evergrande's troubles becoming the country's "Lehman moment," though concerns about the spillover risks of a messy collapse of what was once China's top-selling property developer have roiled markets.

In an effort to revive battered confidence in the firm, Evergrande Chairman Hui Ka Yuan said in a letter to staff the company is confident it will "walk out of its darkest moment" and deliver property projects as pledged.

In the letter, coinciding with China's mid-autumn festival, the chairman of the debt-laden property developer, also said Evergrande will fulfill responsibilities to property buyers, investors, partners and financial institutions.

"I firmly believe that with your concerted effort and hard work, Evergrande will walk out of its darkest moment, resume full-scale constructions as soon as possible," said Hui, without elaborating how the company could achieve these objectives.

Investors in Evergrande, however, remained on edge.

Its shares fell as much as 7per cent, having tumbled 10per cent in the previous day, on fears its $305 billion in debt could trigger widespread losses in China's financial system in the event of a collapse. The stock ended down 0.4per cent.

Other property stocks such as Sunac, China's No.4 developer, and state-backed Greentown China on Tuesday recouped some of their hefty losses in the previous session. The Hong Kong property sector index rose nearly 3per cent.

"There must be negotiations behind the scenes about a systemic recapitalization (of Evergrande) by state proxies," said Andrew Collier, managing director of Hong Kong-based Orient Capital Research.

"If one piece of Evergrande's debt is allowed to default, it would trigger questions about all of their remaining debt from investors and the government doesn't want a wider crisis like that," he said.

The Chinese government has been largely quiet on the crisis at Evergrande in recent weeks.

World stocks stabilized somewhat on Tuesday and oil prices recovered from the previous day's heavy selling, as investors grew more confident that contagion from the distress of Evergrande would be limited.

However, the spillover concerns at least in the property sector remained. S&P Global Ratings downgraded Sinic Holdings to 'CCC+' on Tuesday, citing the Chinese developer's failure "to communicate a clear repayment plan."

Hong Kong-listed shares of small-sized Chinese developer Sinic plunged 87per cent on Monday, wiping $1.5 billion off its market value before trading was suspended.

A major test for Evergrande comes this week, with the firm due to pay $83.5 million in interest relating to its March 2022 bond on Thursday. It has another $47.5 million payment due on Sept. 29 for March 2024 notes.

Both bonds would default if Evergrande fails to settle the interest within 30 days of the scheduled payment dates.

"I think (Evergrande's) equity will be wiped out, the debt looks like it is in trouble and the Chinese government is going to break up this company," said Andrew Left, founder of Citron Research and one of the world’s best known short-sellers.

"But I don't think that this is going to be the straw that breaks the global economy's back," said Left, who in June 2012 published a report that said Evergrande was insolvent and had defrauded investors.

SPILLOVER RISKS

The Chinese government will help Evergrande at least get some capital, but it may have to sell some stakes to a third party, such as a state-owned enterprise, Dutch bank ING said in a research note.

"The spin-off of non-core businesses, for example, those that are not residential real estate type businesses, will probably be done first," wrote Iris Pang, ING's Chief Economist, Greater China.

"After that could come sales of stakes that are at the core of Evergrande's business," Pang said.

Citi analysts in a research note said that regulators may "buy time to digest" Evergrande's non-performing loan problem by guiding banks not to withdraw credit and extend the interest payment deadline.

Still, Citi said that while Evergrande's default crunch was a potential systemic risk to China's financial system, it was not shaping up as "China's Lehman moment."

In any default scenario, Evergrande, teetering between a messy meltdown, a managed collapse or the less likely prospect of a bailout by Beijing, will need to restructure the bonds, but analysts expect a low recovery ratio for investors.

S&P Global Ratings said in a report on Monday it does not expect Beijing to provide any direct support to Evergrande.

"We believe Beijing would only be compelled to step in if there is a far-reaching contagion causing multiple major developers to fail and posing systemic risks to the economy," the rating agency said.

"Evergrande failing alone would unlikely result in such a scenario," S&P said.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss, Clare Jim, Tom Westbrook, Alun John and Anshuman Daga; Writing by Megan Davies and Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Stephen Coates & Shri Navaratnam)

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.

Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.

A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.

The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.

Local Spotlight

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

Stay Connected