China’s debt-saddled property sector has at least $292 billion of onshore and offshore borrowings coming due through the end of 2023, raising the specter of mounting payment pressure following this year’s record wave of defaults, reports Bloomberg.
There’s $53.7 billion borrowings still due the rest of 2022, followed by $72.3 billion of maturities in the first quarter of next year. The figures include onshore and offshore bonds and loans as well as domestic trust loans according to data compiled by Bloomberg and research firm Use Trust.
“If we draw parallels from 2022, a lot of the stress began because of the seasonality of payments toward the first quarter,” according to Henry Loh, head of Asia fixed income at abrdn Plc. “So undoubtedly, the payment pressure in the first quarter of 2023 will add more stress to what is already a challenging environment.”