China's Shimao secures creditor backing for $11 bln offshore debt revamp (updated)

Shimao group

24/02/2025 10:55

(Writes through with further details from paragraph 2 onwards)
       Feb 24 (Reuters) - 
    Chinese property developer Shimao Group  0813.HK  has
secured creditor backing to restructure about $11.04 billion in
offshore debt, the latest such deal in the sector after years of
liquidity troubles. 
        
    Sunac China  1918.HK  became the first troubled Chinese
property developer to successfully reduce its onshore debt
earlier this year, while CIFI Holdings  0884.HK  has reached an
agreement with a key group of bondholders on an offshore debt
restructuring plan.
        Shimao said on Monday 98.75% of its creditors,
representing claims totalling about $11.04 billion, had backed
its plan announced last March to restructure all of its debt,
amounting to around $11.7 billion in offshore notes, bonds and
other credit facilities.
    The embattled developer had been negotiating with creditors
to refine the term sheet after a group of major bondholders said
last year they "firmly oppose" the firm's proposal to revamp
$11.5 billion of offshore debt it had defaulted on in 2022.
    Shimao had offered bondholders four options, including
repayment through short-term notes, long-term notes, zero-coupon
mandatory convertible bonds, and a fixed combination of them.
    "Therefore, the scheme was approved by the requisite
majorities of scheme creditors," the company said in a statement
on Monday.
    The petition seeking sanction of the scheme will be heard on
March 13, Shimao said. 
    Since China's property crisis unravelled in 2021, several
developers in the country, including China Evergrande Group,
have faced liquidation lawsuits by creditors, with some firms
already ordered to dissolve.
    

 (Reporting by Roushni Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika
Syamnath)
 ((Roushni.Nair@thomsonreuters.com;))