The Chinese real estate giant Country Garden effectively declared that it has defaulted on its debt, becoming one of the biggest casualties of China’s deepening property crisis.
In a recurrence just over two months apart, Country Garden has cautioned investors about the potential default on its $190 billion debt, underscoring that China's real estate crisis persists.
The company revealed its failure to make a repayment of 470 million Hong Kong dollars ($60 million) owed to overseas bondholders by Tuesday.
Facing a liquidity crisis, the troubled developer, once China's largest, has narrowly averted multiple defaults in the past month. However, ongoing challenges in the property market and a tough refinancing environment have impeded its ability to generate sufficient funds to meet its substantial debt obligations.
In a Tuesday filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Country Garden stated that apartment sales plummeted by 81% in September compared to the same month last year. It expressed an expectation that meeting all offshore payment obligations within the stipulated grace periods might not be feasible.
The filing warned of the potential consequences, stating, "Such non-payment may lead to relevant creditors of the Group demanding acceleration of payment of the relevant indebtedness owed to them or pursuing enforcement action."
