Ping An Real Estate, the property investment arm of Chinese insurance giant Ping An Insurance (Group), is receiving a lifeline from a sister company as more than RMB 8 billion ($1.1 billion) in debt repayments approach, reports Caixin. The board of Ping An Bank, the banking unit of Ping An Insurance, has approved the issue of a one-year credit line of RMB 8 billion to Ping An Real Estate, the bank said in a Monday filing.
With both companies controlled by Ping An Insurance, the deal constitutes a major related-party transaction, but the pricing will be conducted in accordance with commercial principles, said the bank.
The credit line comes as Ping An Real Estate, wholly owned by Ping An Insurance, faces RMB 8.02 billion bond repayments by the end of this year, according to rating firm Ratingdog. As of Feb. 20, Ping An Real Estate’s outstanding bond balance amounted to RMB 21.7 billion, including RMB 13.4 billion in domestic bonds, RMB 7.8 billion in offshore bonds, and RMB 497 million in asset-backed securities, Ratingdog data showed.