Chinese property developer Kaisa's liquidation hearing adjourned to May 27

CIFI Holdings (Group)

29/04/2024 04:44

HONG KONG, April 29 (Reuters) - A Hong Kong court
adjourned a hearing to liquidate Kaisa Group  1638.HK  to May
27, as the embattled Chinese property developer said it aims to
iron out restructuring terms in the coming four weeks.
    Shenzhen-based Kaisa has been working on an offshore debt
restructuring for two years after defaulting on its $12 billion
of offshore debt in late 2021.
    Kaisa's lawyer told the court on Monday that progress had
been made on the restructuring negotiations with the ad hoc
group of bondholders, and that it will try to sign an agreement
in the next four weeks.  
    Citicorp International, the bond trustee of the 2023 notes
with an outstanding principal of $750 million, was instructed by
the ad hoc group to become the new petitioner in the last
hearing in March, after the original petitioner, Broad Peak
Investment, withdrew its petition, filed in July.    
    Many Chinese developers, including giant Country Garden
 2007.HK , are facing winding-up petitions filed after the
sector plunged into a debt crisis in 2021, resulting in numerous
companies defaulting. The Hong Kong High Court in January
ordered Evergrande to liquidate.
    But a growing list of developers reached restructuring
agreement with their creditors. The latest was Shanghai-based
CIFI Holdings  0884.HK , which on Monday detailed its plan to
cut its offshore debt by up to $4 billion. 
    Shares of Kaisa jumped 23% on Monday, in line with the
performance of other property peers. Hong Kong's Hang Seng
Mainland Properties Index  .HSMPI  firmed 5.6%, while mainland
China's CSI 300 Real Estate Index  .CSI000952  rallied 7.3% 
    Kaisa is China's second-largest issuer of offshore debt
among developers after China Evergrande Group  3333.HK  and was
the first Chinese property developer to default on its dollar
bonds in 2015.
    Last month Kaisa reported a widening net losses of 19.9
billion yuan billion yuan for 2023. Its total liabilities and
total assets were 226.4 billion yuan and 232.8 billion yuan,
respectively, at the end of last year.

 (Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Gerry Doyle)
 ((clare.jim@thomsonreuters.com;))