(Beijing) Chinese promoter Evergrande, strangled by abysmal debt of $ 375 billion, honored a bond payment just before a deadline on Friday, according to financial agency Bloomberg.
The financial situation of the real estate group, one of the largest in China, is scrutinized with concern, because its potential collapse could hamper the growth of the Asian giant.
Evergrande was due to make an interest payment on a dollar bond on September 29. The payment had not been made at the time, but the company had a grace period of one month – which ran until Friday.
The group has repaid the $ 47.5 million it owed to its creditors, writes the Bloomberg agency on Friday without specifying its sources.
Despite this payment, the title Evergrande fell by -0.83% Friday morning on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
For Evergrande, this is his second deadline honored in a week.
Last month, the firm was unable to repay an initial loan of $ 83.5 million.
Fears of Evergrande’s bankruptcy had panicked international markets. This sum has since been reimbursed, to the surprise of analysts.
In September, dozens of injured owners, who had not received delivery of their apartment, as well as unpaid suppliers, demonstrated in front of the group’s headquarters in Shenzhen (south).
Authorities fear further unrest if the real estate juggernaut collapses.
The Communist authorities have still not made it clear whether or not they will come to the aid of the company.
Beijing, however, is urging Evergrande boss, Chinese billionaire Xu Jiayin, to tap into his personal fortune to save his group, Bloomberg said this week.
The poor health of the group is only one of the symptoms of a real estate sector in China which is globally seized up.
New housing prices are thus down for the first time in six years, in a context of mistrust of buyers facing the risk of bankruptcy of several developers.
The promoter Kaisa has thus seen its financial strength ratings lowered by the rating agencies Fitch and S&P.
The decision made the share unscrew 18% Thursday on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, where the group is listed. She was still losing more than 2% on Friday morning.
Kaisa, much smaller in size than Evergrande, was the first Chinese real estate group in 2015 to be the subject of a default on dollar bonds.