Feb 18, 2022
China Developer Zhenro Says Funds Insufficient to Pay March Debt
Bloomberg News
,![The Oriental Pearl Tower, center left, Shanghai World Financial Center, center, and the Shanghai Tower, center right, stand among other buildings in the Lujiazui Financial District along the Pudong riverside in this aerial photograph taken above Shanghai, China, on Monday, April 2, 2018. China's sprawling local government financing system needs "crucial" reforms to increase consumption, build prosperity and encourage economic rebalancing, the International Monetary Fund said., Bloomberg The Oriental Pearl Tower, center left, Shanghai World Financial Center, center, and the Shanghai Tower, center right, stand among other buildings in the Lujiazui Financial District along the Pudong riverside in this aerial photograph taken above Shanghai, China, on Monday, April 2, 2018. China's sprawling local government financing system needs "crucial" reforms to increase consumption, build prosperity and encourage economic rebalancing, the International Monetary Fund said.](/polopoly_fs/1.1725511.1645195604!/fileimage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_620/the-oriental-pearl-tower-center-left-shanghai-world-financial-center-center-and-the-shanghai-tower-center-right-stand-among-other-buildings-in-the-lujiazui-financial-district-along-the-pudong-riverside-in-this-aerial-photograph-taken-above-shanghai-china-on-monday-april-2-2018-china-s-sprawling-local-government-financing-system-needs-crucial-reforms-to-increase-consumption-build-prosperity-and-encourage-economic-rebalancing-the-international-monetary-fund-said.jpg)
(Bloomberg) -- Zhenro Properties Group Ltd., a Chinese developer, said its existing internal resources may be insufficient to meet debt payment obligations next month, according to a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
The Shanghai-based developer is soliciting the consent of creditors “to certain proposed waiver and amendments” to help improve its overall finances and give it stability, it said in the filing late Friday. Zhenro is China’s 30th largest builder by contracted sales in 2021, according to China Real Estate Information Corp.
The company said internal funds available for debt services “became increasingly limited” and said they may be inadequate to “address its upcoming debt maturities in March 2022, including the redemption of the securities in full” on March 5. It had pledged to redeem them earlier.
Chinese developers have faced months of worries about their debt-repayment abilities, as new-home sales plunge and many builders are unable to refinance borrowings. The sector saw a record number of defaults last year following a regulatory crackdown on excessive borrowing in the industry. China Evergrande Group, the world’s most indebted developer, is facing a lengthly restructuring after being labeled a defaulter in December.
Zhenro said it expects market conditions in the real estate sector to remain under pressure in 2022, and in the absence of a sharp recovery, it said it remains “cautious about its liquidity in the near term.” It is working to generate cash flow to meet its financial commitments, it added.
Just days ago, Zhenro said in separate exchange filings that articles about its controlling shareholder Ou Zongrong and offshore debt securities are “untrue and fictitious,” and that it reserves the right to pursue legal actions against parties responsible for inaccurate information. It said operations remained normal.
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