Evergrande Admits to $127B in Defaults and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, China Evergrande documents the extent of its massive liabilities in a stock filing, Dalian Wanda’s offshore bonds get a boost as creditors avoid playing hardball, and a report places fugitive financier Jho Low and his cronies in Macau.

Evergrande Details $127B Pile of Liabilities as Debt, Bills, Lawsuits Mount

China Evergrande Group said Monday evening that its overdue debt, unpaid bills and payments involved in lawsuits have piled up to nearly RMB 900 billion ($127 billion), revealing the depth of the debt and legal woes the mainland Chinese developer faces amid its restructuring struggle.

The embattled developer said its overdue debts, excluding onshore and offshore bonds, amounted to around RMB 272.5 billion as of April, according to a Shenzhen Stock Exchange filing concerning its major litigation and failure to repay due debts. Its overdue commercial bills amounted to RMB 246 billion. Read more>>

Wanda Bond Prices Hit New High as Creditors Refrain From Seeking Early Repayment

Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda’s dollar bonds jumped to a new high Monday after it said creditors of loans worth $1.3 billion had not demanded early repayments following the failed initial public offering of unit Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management Group.

Wanda’s $400 million 6.875 percent dollar bond due on 23 July was indicated at 87.271 cents on the dollar Monday, its highest level in two weeks, rising from 77.875 cents on Friday, according to Bloomberg data. Read more>>

1MDB Fugitive Jho Low Placed in Macau as Associates in Spotlight

Malaysian financier Jho Taek Low is arguably the most wanted “white-collar criminal” on earth.

The man who allegedly masterminded the theft of more than $4.5 billion from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund 1MDB disappeared in 2016 as authorities from Singapore to Australia and the US closed in on the massive fraud. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission said in a written response to questions from Al Jazeera that it “believes the individuals wanted for the 1MDB case, especially Jho Low, are hiding in Macau”. Read more>>

Chinese Developer Wuzhong Sells Melbourne Residential Site

The build-to-rent revolution sweeping Australia’s property sector is picking up momentum, with local group Novus picking up a site overlooking Melbourne’s Botanical Gardens that was to house a luxury tower scheme promoted by a Chinese developer.

Novus has instead bought the undeveloped property from Wuzhong International, with the Chinese firm dumping plans to debut in the Australian housing market with a A$160 million ($104 million) apartment development called Bowen & Queens in South Melbourne. Read more>>

Japanese Megabanks May See Bad-Loan Ratio Rise Amid High Interest Rates

Japan’s three megabanks may face pressures on their asset quality as borrowers struggle to repay loans due to higher interest rates and slower global economic growth damps demand for credit.

“I forecast that (nonperforming loan) ratios (at the megabanks) will rise. Nominal GDP growth is slowing overseas while nominal interest rates overseas have yet to decline,” said Michael Makdad, a senior analyst at Morningstar. “In Japan, default rates are rising slightly.” Read more>>

One of China’s Biggest Cities Is So Cash-Strapped It’s Calling in Debts

Wuhan, the largest city in central China, has publicly demanded that hundreds of local companies repay their debts, in an extremely rare move that highlights the dire financial situation facing many of the country’s municipal governments amid economic uncertainty.

The city’s finance bureau said in a Friday statement published by the official Changjiang Daily newspaper that a total of 259 companies and entities owed it more than RMB 100 million ($14 million) combined. It urged them to pay their overdue debts as soon as possible. Read more>>

IMF Warns of Corporate Distress in Asia as South Korea Raises Alarm

The International Monetary Fund has warned that Asian companies’ debt burdens are soaring amid high interest rates, raising the possibility of default.

In South Korea, the share of corporate debt that is likely to default among total corporate debt has far exceeded the global average, raising alarm bells. Read more>>

Wyndham Signs Licence Deals for Two Bangkok Hotels

Wyndham has signed two licence agreements with Fulcrum Ventures Asia for two hotels in Bangkok.

Expected to officially rebrand in June, the 183-room Ramada by Wyndham Bangkok Sukhumvit 11 and the 91-room Ramada by Wyndham Bangkok Ten Ekamai Residences will be Wyndham’s 21st and 22nd hotels in Thailand and eighth and ninth within Bangkok itself. Read more>>

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