Clock Ticks for Evergrande as $7.4 Billion of Bonds Due 2022

(Bloomberg) —The clock is ticking for China Evergrande Group to raise cash and pay back $7.4 billion of bonds coming due next year.

Evergrande’s dollar notes plunged to record lows last week after the developer warned that it risks defaulting on its debt. A measure of the company’s ability to repay short-term borrowings deteriorated in the first half as cash and equivalents plunged to a six-year low, its earnings report showed.

Pressure on Evergrande’s liquidity may intensify if it can’t smoothly sell assets and extend borrowings, China’s biggest credit rating firm said when downgrading onshore bonds Sept. 2. Some non-bank creditors have demanded immediate loan repayments, Bloomberg reported, potentially further squeezing available cash to bondholders.

Evergrande’s yuan bonds are no longer accepted as collateral in the country’s key funding market. Its notes were absent from a list of securities accepted in return for cash in so-called repurchase agreements on Shenzhen’s exchange. They also couldn’t be pledged for cash on Shanghai’s exchange, according to a notice posted by the clearing house late Friday.

While Chinese regulators have urged the company to resolve its debt woes, the government has so far stayed silent on whether it will provide financial support.

Evergrande has been offering steep discounts on its properties to entice buyers and raise cash. Even so, contracted sales fell 26% in August from a year earlier, according to a filing late Friday.

Contact editor Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com)

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