Shimao Default Notice Hammers Bonds, Stokes China Property Fear

Shimao Group until recently appeared largely unscathed even as junk-rated rivals including China Evergrande Group and Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd. defaulted.

(Bloomberg) — Shimao Group Holdings Ltd., a bellwether for financial contagion in China’s embattled property industry, suffered its biggest-ever bond rout Thursday after a creditor said one of the developer’s units defaulted on a local loan.

The Shimao unit failed to pay 645 million yuan ($101 million) of a total of 792 million yuan due by Dec. 25, according to a notice sent to investors by China Credit Trust Co. The trust firm had demanded early repayment by Dec. 25 after the developer failed to meet installment requirements, according to the notice.