Country Garden, China’s largest private developer, has warned of a potential default on its international debts in a significant blow to the country’s embattled property sector.The company, which has about $200bn in liabilities and close to $10bn in dollar-denominated debt, said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange that it expects it “will not be able to meet all of its offshore payment obligations” when they are due.
“Such non-payment may lead to relevant creditors of the Group demanding acceleration of payment of the relevant indebtedness owed to them or pursuing enforcement action,” the company said on Tuesday.
The statement underscores a sudden deterioration in the financial health of Country Garden, which had so far this year withstood a sector-wide property cash crunch following the 2021 default of its peer Evergrande.