FILE PHOTO: The company logo of Chinese developer Country Garden is pictured at the Shanghai Country Garden Center in ShanghaiHONG KONG - Chinese property developer Country Garden, which missed two dollar interest payments last month, faces another deadline on Monday with two coupons totalling $66.8 million coming due.
China's property sector has been hit by a debt crisis since 2021. Companies accounting for 40% of Chinese home sales - mostly private property developers - have defaulted on debt obligations, leaving many homes unfinished. Beijing has rolled out a range of support measures in recent months to revive the sector, which makes up about a quarter of the world's second-largest economy.In a research note on Friday, UBS said property sales growth in major cities likely stayed weak in September, suggesting a limited rebound of sales despite more supportive measures to ease the property crisis.
In September, Country Garden won approval from its onshore creditors to extend yuan bond payments, and in the same month made coupon payments on the offshore markets in the last hours of end of a grace period.But the developer has not yet paid a $15 million coupon due Sept 17 and another $40 million coupon due on Sept 27, both of which have 30-day grace periods.This month, Costco members may wonder whether they should add gold to their shopping lists. Gold bars specifically, that is.