China Evergrande Hires Advisers To Deal With Debt Woes
China Evergrande Group is hiring more financial and legal advisers to deal with its massive debt restructuring and demands from creditors, the world's most indebted property developer announced on Friday after a key group of its international creditors threatened to take legal action if it did not show more urgency to resolve a default. The company said in a stock market statement that it was proposing to engage China International Capital Corp Ltd and BOCI Asia Ltd as financial advisers, and Zhong Lun Law Firm LLP as legal adviser. The move came one day after an offshore creditor group, represented by law firm Kirkland & Ellis and investment bank Moelis, said it was ready to take "all necessary actions" to defend members' rights after a lack of engagement by the firm at the heart of China's property crisis. Evergrande is the world's most-indebted property company, with more than $300 billion in total liabilities, which include nearly $20 billion of international bonds all deemed to be in default after a run of missed payments late last year. Its rocky financial situation has roiled other Chinese property developers over the past year and exacerbated a funding squeeze in the sector. But in one positive sign, larger rival Country Garden surprised the market on Friday with a new issue of $500.2 million convertible bonds, after a similar attempt failed last week. The creditor group said that Evergrande has disregarded its offshore creditors and the legal rights of its creditors, and it had to "seriously consider" enforcement action. Shares of Evergrande fell over 3% in Asia on Friday. Its April 2023 dollar bond traded at 12.551 cents on the dollar, data by Duration Finance showed, bouncing after the news though still softer than overnight.
Tags : China Evergrande Group China International Capital Corp Ltd BOCI Asia Ltd China Realty Chinese property developers