The Guardian-Chinas Country Garden risks default after missing bond payment
October 19, 2023 3 min 472 words
Country Garden's potential default on a dollar bond payment is yet another ominous sign for China's troubled property sector. As the nation's largest developer, its struggles signify a deepening crisis, putting its approximately $200 billion in liabilities and nearly $11 billion in offshore bonds at risk. The company's failure to make a $15.4 million coupon repayment is a significant concern, leading to a 4% drop in its share price and a staggering 74% decline since the year began. Country Garden denies rumors that its founder and chair have fled the country, emphasizing that they are operating as usual in China. The story of Yang Guoqiang's rags-to-riches journey is noteworthy, and his daughter, Yang Huiyan, was once the richest woman in Asia. However, the company's troubles amid China's property market turmoil highlight the far-reaching consequences of regulatory measures to curb excessive debt levels in the sector. The crisis in the property industry, ignited by the Evergrande default in 2021, remains a significant threat to China's economy. The emergence of creditors seeking talks with Country Garden underscores the urgency of addressing these issues and the broader ramifications they hold for the Chinese economy. Moody's potential downgrade further underscores the gravity of the situation.
The crisis in China’s property sector deepened as Country Garden, the country’s biggest developer by sales, reportedly missed its final deadline for an interest payment on a dollar bond, putting it at risk of default.
The troubled company, which has about $200bn (£163bn) in liabilities and nearly $11bn in dollar-denominated offshore bonds, was due to make a $15.4m coupon repayment this week, but failed to do so, according to reports. Its share price fell 4% in Hong Kong on Thursday, and is down 74% since the beginning of the year.
Country Garden rejected reports that its founder and chair had both left China. It said in a statement that its founder, Yang Guoqiang, and his daughter Yang Huiyan, who chairs the company and is its majority owner, were “working as normal” in China.
Yang Guoqiang was born into a peasant family and his rags-to-riches tale led to nicknames for him and his company such as “the most grassroots tycoon and the “Universe’s No 1 property developer”. He spent years building up his fortune and worked as a farmer and on construction sites before turning to property development. His daughter was the richest woman in Asia with an estimated $29.6bn fortune just two years ago, before China’s property bubble burst.
Country Garden has been battling to avoid a default on its international debts. Earlier this month, it said that it “expects that it will not be able to meet all of its offshore payment obligations when due or within the relevant grace periods”. It said at the time that its sales were “under remarkable pressure”, while its available funds had continued to decline.
Creditors are seeking urgent talks with the debt-laden developer, Reuters reported. Two bondholder groups have emerged seeking discussions about a potential debt restructuring package. One group holds about $2bn of the developer’s offshore bonds, and is made up of international and fund manager investors.
The credit rating agency Moody’s said it could downgrade Country Garden’s “corporate family rating” if the recovery prospects for its creditors weaken further. Moody’s said Country Garden’s senior unsecured rating of C was already at the bottom of its scale.
The crisis in China’s property industry was sparked by a clampdown by authorities on developers’ high debt levels, which resulted in the default of Evergrande on parts of its $300bn debt pile in late 2021. As property accounts for more than a quarter of China’s economy, the construction delays and slump in housing sales have dragged down growth.
Evergrande, the world’s most indebted developer with a burden of $340bn, faces a winding-up hearing in Hong Kong at the end of the month. Its debt restructuring plan was derailed in September because of an investigation.