Evergrande once again barely avoids default with 11th hour cash payout | CBC News

Evergrande, the world’s most indebted developer, has been stumbling from deadline to deadline in recent weeks as it grapples with more than $300 billion in liabilities, $19 billion of which are bonds denominated in U.S. dollars held by foreign investors like Clearstream.

The latest payments were made at the end of a 30-day grace period that ended Wednesday, and were the third time in the past month the company has paid up perilously close to a deadline. The bonds were due to pay out more than $148 million US in interest payments.

A failure to pay would have resulted in a formal default by the company and triggered cross-default provisions for other Evergrande dollar bonds, exacerbating a debt crisis looming over the world’s second-largest economy.

Problems remain

Although the developer managed to sidestep imminent disaster, woes in the country’s $5 trillion property sector showed no signs of abating with a wall of debt coming due.

“The near-term fix seems to be happening but there’s a long way to go before this issue gets sorted out. These are early days,” said a source with knowledge of the matter, referring to Evergrande and declining to be named without authorisation to talk to the media.

Evergrande did not respond to Reuters request for comment.

Bankers and analysts told Reuters that Beijing would stand firm on policies to curb excess borrowing by property developers even as it makes financing tweaks amid an industry liquidity crunch.

Next major payment due in December

Evergrande has coupon payments totalling more than $255 million due on Dec. 28. It has come under pressure from its other creditors at home and a stifling funding squeeze has cast a shadow over hundreds of its residential projects.

Investor focus is now also shifting to other cash-strapped developers which have a string of offshore payments coming due in the short term, including Kaisa Group.

WATCH | Why the Evergrande crisis matters 

Jia Wang, Director of the China Institute at the University of Alberta, explains why Evergrande is a big risk for China’s entire housing market and broader economy. 0:54

Kaisa has the most offshore debt of any Chinese developer after Evergrande and pleaded for help from creditors  this week. It has coupon payments totalling over $59 million due on Thursday and Friday, with 30-day grace periods for both.

It was not immediately known if Kaisa, which became China’s first property company to default on an overseas bond in 2015, has made payment for the tranche due on Thursday. It has already missed payments on some wealth management products at home.

The developer did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment.

Property bubble

While the U.S. Federal Reserve this week warned China’s troubled property sector could pose global risks, there were no clear indications Beijing would step in with a broader, national plan to tackle the issue.

Chinese regulators have in recent weeks, however, sought to reassure investors and homebuyers, saying risks were controllable and excessive credit tightening by banks was being corrected.

Developers including Evergrande and Kaisa have also been looking to sell some of their business assets in China and elsewhere to raise cash amid rapidly growing repayment obligations.

British electric motor maker Saietta said on Thursday that it is acquiring electric powertrain company e-Traction from Evergrande’s automotive unit in a deal worth up to 2 million euros ($2.31 million).