Country Garden vote to delay payments looms as China rolls out more support
By Xie Yu, Clare Jim and Li Gu
HONG KONG/SHANGHAI (Reuters) — Embattled Chinese developer Country Garden is delaying a deadline for creditors to vote on whether to postpone payments for an onshore private bond, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, while Beijing rolled out more support measures for the property sector.
The vote on the 3.9 billion yuan ($535.4 million) onshore private bond is a key hurdle Country Garden will have to overcome as it strives to avoid default amid a spiralling financing crisis and opposition from some creditors.
The voting was due to conclude by 10 p.m. (1400 GMT) Hong Kong time. The voting was to be held via private meetings and it is unclear how quickly the results will be made available to the bondholders.
Bloomberg reported that Country Garden is pushing the deadline by one day to 10 p.m. Beijing time on Friday, citing filings to the Shanghai Stock Exchange's private disclosure platform seen by the news agency.
Country Garden could not immediately be reached outside Asia business hours.
Country Garden is China's largest private developer. The company's mounting woes are the latest to hit the property sector and have sparked fears of financial system contagion at a time when the country is already struggling with a broader economic slowdown.
The property sector, which accounts for roughly a quarter of the economy and is now grappling with a debt crisis that has rattled global markets, has been on a downward spiral since 2021 after Beijing cracked down on debt accumulation by developers.
«A slowdown in China is mostly priced into global markets but a real recession of the world's second-largest economy is not ideal for anyone,» said Matthew Pestronk, president and co-founder of Post Brothers,
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