Shares of China's largest private property developer Country Garden plunged to a record low on Friday after it forecast a first-half loss of up to $7.6 billion and a media report said it was preparing for a debt restructuring.
The company, which had total liabilities of about $194 billion at the end of last year and large exposure to lower-tier cities, is expected to begin a restructuring process soon, Chinese news outlet Yicai said.
China International Capital Corporation (CICC) has been hired as a financial adviser to lead the restructuring, the report added.
Country Garden declined to comment. CICC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Country Garden said this week that it had not been able to make $22 million of dollar coupon payments on time, though both have 30-day grace periods.
The missed payments triggered a sell-off in its shares and bonds and deepened contagion worries in a sector that accounts for a quarter of China's economy but has already seen many company defaults since late 2021.
The shares shed as much as 14.4 per cent on Friday morning to a record low of HK$0.89 ($0.1139), having lost 38 per cent of their value so far this week.
Most of its dollar bonds traded at a record low below 7 cents on the dollar, further down from 8 cents on Tuesday after it missed the two coupon payments.
The firm's onshore notes including two bonds due in 2025 trading in Shanghai dropped more than 11 per cent.
Country Garden forecast the large first-half loss in filings on Thursday, and said that it would take measures to meet its debt obligations and fix operational issues to get the company back on track.
On Thursday, ratings agency Moody's downgraded Country Garden's corporate family rating to Caa1 from B1, citing heightened liquidity and refinancing risk after the company missed bond payments.
Other major Chinese property developers including China Evergrande Group and Sunac China Holdings have already proposed debt restructuring terms.
China's Politburo, a top decision-making body of the ruling Communist Party, pledged in late July to adjust property policies in a timely manner, while omitting the often-repeated phrase used by officials that "houses are for living in, not for speculation", fuelling speculation more stimulus was on the way.
Industry executives and analysts said Country Garden's missed payments this week could prod regulators into rolling out stronger aid measures, but they had little faith such steps would turn the debt-laden sector around any time soon.
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The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 390bhp
Torque: 400Nm
Price: Dh340,000 ($92,579
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Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
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Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
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'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra
Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa
Rating: 4/5
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