China's Shimao sells Shanghai hotel for $708 mln to state-owned firm

China Conch Venture Holdings

28/01/2022 15:40

Jan 28 (Reuters) - Chinese property developer Shimao Group
 0813.HK  said on Friday it would sell a hotel in Shanghai to
state-owned Shanghai Land Group for 4.5 billion yuan ($707.83
million), as it seeks to reduce its debt amid a crisis in the
country's property sector. 
    The deal is part of the Chinese government's push to buy
assets from cash-strapped private developers, as Beijing steps
up efforts to stabilise and tighten control over a beleaguered
sector that accounts for a quarter of its economy.
    Shimao, which defaulted on a trust loan earlier this month,
said it will sell an entity whose principal asset is the Hyatt
on the Bund hotel to the Shanghai Land Group. 
    The developer in 2022 has $1.7 billion maturities offshore
and 8.9 billion yuan onshore, according https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/chinese-developer-shimao-plans-repay-publicly-issued-debt-due-q4-redd-2021-12-17
 to Moody's.
    The move comes on the same day Agile Group  3383.HK ,
another embattled Chinese property firm, sold stakes in several
units worth nearly 2 billion yuan to state-owned China Overseas
Land & Investment  0688.HK  and China Conch Venture  0586.HK .
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN2U81N1 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN2U81N7
    Regulatory curbs on borrowing have driven China's property
firms into a debt crisis, with sector bellwether China
Evergrande  3333.HK  grappling with $300 billion in liabilities.
    


($1 = 6.3575 Chinese yuan renminbi)

 (Reporting by Arundhati Dutta in Bengaluru; Editing by
Ramakrishnan M.)
 ((Arundhati.Dutta@thomsonreuters.com;))