Chinese developer Vanke’s bonds have been downgraded by Moody’s in the latest outbreak of stress across the country’s troubled property sector.Vanke, the second-largest developer in China by sales, is state-backed and had retained investment-grade ratings despite a wave of defaults in the sector since the 2021 collapse of China Evergrande.
The company has in recent weeks become the focal point of a property slowdown that has piled pressure on policymakers in Beijing seeking to boost confidence in the world’s second-largest economy.
Moody’s Ratings withdrew the company’s investment-grade issuer rating, downgraded other bond ratings and placed them on review for further downgrade on Tuesday evening. It said it expected the company’s “credit metrics, financial flexibility and liquidity buffer” to weaken over the next 12-18 months.