Evergrande News: Chinese troubled property giant avoids another default

China Evergrande, the country’s indebted real estate giant avoided a formal default yet again after a bondholder said that the company made interest payment to the tune of $148 million on Wednesday, meeting the payment deadline.

Key takeaways (via NY Times)

“Evergrande owed investors interest payments totaling nearly $150 million on three bonds, with the grace periods for those payments set to expire on Wednesday.”

“On Wednesday, the company met its interest payment deadline for bonds that mature in 2022 and 2023.”

“The company has managed to leap from one deadline to the next, meeting its obligations at the last minute — but often without explaining how or even publicly disclosing that it had done so. “

Despite the upbeat news, S&P Global Ratings warned over rising contagion risks emanating from China’s residential property market.

“Huarong and Evergrande impact have been largely contained within China speculative-grade bonds, but headlines hit home buyer sentiment and is spreading contagion in the residential market,” S&P Ratings said on Thursday.