Sinic becomes first mainland Chinese developer to be delisted in Hong Kong, as debt-laden firm is unable to set house in order
- Shares of Sinic Holding Group, which had been suspended since September 2021, will be delisted from April 13
- Trading in 23 mainland Chinese developers has been halted, with nine facing the risk of delisting by September
Sinic Holdings Group will be delisted from the Hong Kong stock exchange next week, becoming the first mainland Chinese developer to face such a fate after failing to fulfil the conditions required to lift the suspension.
Sinic’s listing will be cancelled from April 13, according to an announcement from bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing on Thursday night. Sinic missed the deadline to resume trading by March 19, as it failed to address the problem in accordance with the guidelines set by the exchange.
Trading in the shares of the company, which once was one of the top 50 developers by sales in China, had been suspended since September 20, 2021, after it failed to pay 38.7 million yuan (US$5.6 million) interest on two domestic financing arrangements on September 18.
The exchange’s rules stipulate that it may cancel the listing of any company that does not resume trading in its shares after 18 months of suspension.
The Shanghai-based company’s shares debuted at HK$3.98 on November 15, 2019. At the time of its suspension, the stock had slumped to HK$0.5, giving it a market value of HK$1.8 billion (US$229.3 million).
Sinic is the first Chinese developer to be delisted from the Hong Kong stock exchange, following a crisis in China’s property sector that started in late 2021. The crisis has seen dozens of developers default on debts, after Beijing introduced its “three red lines” policy in mid-2020 to rein in overleveraged real estate firms.