Mainland developer Shimao faces winding-up petition
Shares in Chinese property giant Shimao Group plunged to a record low on Monday after saying it faced a winding-up petition from one of the country's biggest banks. Shimao said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange that state-run China Construction Bank had filed a liquidation petition against it on Friday over unpaid debts worth HK$1.58 billion. The developer said in the filling that it would "vigorously" oppose the lawsuit and press on with a plan to restructure about US$11.7 billion of offshore debt, with an aim of cutting it by 60 percent. "The company is of the view that the Petition does not represent collective interests of the company's offshore creditors and other stakeholders," the firm said. Shimao's shares plunged more than 16 percent in Hong Kong on Monday, to a record low of HK$0.38. "Typically banks would prefer to work with troubled creditors if they demonstrated willingness and ability to work with banks to come up with a repayment plan," said KT Capital researcher Fern Wang, who publishes on Smartkarma. "In this situation, it is very likely China Construction Bank (Asia) is running out of options and thus is seeking the liquidation of Shimao." Shimao has defaulted on offshore bonds after it missed the interest and principal payment for a US$1 billion offshore bond in July 2022. After that missed payment, its entire US$11.7 billion worth of offshore debt is in default. The company in late March laid out detailed debt-restructuring terms. Shanghai-based Shimao is a major Chinese developer, with residential, office, hotel and commercial properties in cities including Shanghai and Beijing. (AFP/Reuters)