Sinic Holdings Group has become the latest struggling Chinese property developer to warn of an upcoming default, as rising contagion risk leaves investors wondering who else may face a credit crunch, reports the South China Morning Post. The Shanghai-based company said in a Hong Kong stock exchange filing that it does not expect to repay a $250 million dollar bond due on October 18 and that may trigger cross-default on its two other notes.
The firm has $694 million in dollar bonds outstanding and missed domestic payments in September, triggering an 87% stock plunge.
Sinic’s problems are another sign of the hidden risks for investors in China’s beleaguered property debt market as uncertainty over the future of Asia’s biggest issuer of junk bonds, China Evergrande Group, weighs on the sector. A sell-off has accelerated since a surprise default by Fantasia Holdings Group last week, sparking concerns about its distressed peers.
China Evergrande Group bondholders have said that they had not received interest payments on three offshore bonds worth $148m ahead of a deadline on Tuesday, reports the Financial Times. The company has now missed at least five bond interest payments.