Property Firms Face Major Debt Squeeze in First Quarter

China’s troubled property firms face a tough first quarter, as they have to pay back a record amount of offshore bonds while new home sales are depressed and finding financing remains a challenge, analysts said.

In the first three months of 2022, developers face obligations to repay 117.7 billion yuan ($18.5 billion) in maturing offshore bonds, a record quarterly high, analysts at brokerage Huatai Securities Co. Ltd. wrote in a report last week.