Sunac Has Missed Bond Payments And Anticipates Missing More

Sunac China did not make an interest payment on a $742 million offshore bond before the grace period expired, and the business expects it would not make payments on other maturing bonds, it announced Thursday.

It was obligated to pay $29.5 million in interest on the October 2023 bond that matured last month.

Sunac, the third-largest developer in mainland China by sales, stated that it has not paid interest payments on three additional offshore bonds that are currently in a 30-day grace period.

Sunac stated that the remaining balance on the October 2023 bond was currently $742 million.

It said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange, "The Group's contracted sales have continued to fall dramatically, while access to new financing has become increasingly problematic due to increased liquidity concerns among certain property developers."

"The Company does not anticipate making payments under the above-mentioned notes and other senior notes it has issued when they mature or within the applicable grace periods," the statement read.

Sunac stated that bondholders could seek immediate repayment of principal and interest if the October 2023 payment was missed, but it had not received any "acceleration notices" from these investors.

It stated that it was collaborating with bondholders to find a solution within a "reasonable amount of time."

Since April, Sunac has skipped four dollar coupon payments totaling $104 million.

It is the fourth largest bond issuer among Chinese developers, behind China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) and Kaisa Group (1638.HK), and Country Garden (2007.HK), which is still considered financially stable.

According to the announcement, the business has hired Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) as its financial advisor and Sidley Austin as its legal advisor.