New | Kaisa wins relief after HSBC issues waiver on HK$400 million loan

Troubled mainland property developer Kaisa Group has won some breathing space in its battle to clear debts after HSBC said it would waive demand for immediate repayment of a HK$400 million loan after the terms of its issue were breached.

Kaisa said in an exchange filing that HSBC had granted the waiver to allow it time to devise “viable repayment proposals and related options” of a loan that was deemed to become due upon the resignation of chairman Kwok Ying Shing.

Kaisa also announced it was in discussions to appoint a financial adviser to provide strategic advice on its capital structure, including its debt and other obligations. It said a further announcement would follow, but gave no further details.

According to the same exchange filing, the Shenzhen-based firm had bank holdings worth HK$900 million frozen by court order and saw a 1.2 billion yuan (HK$ 1.49 billion) sale of a Shanghai venture to China Vanke fall through last week.

The firm is already in technical default on a US$500 million 10.25 per cent senior bond issued last year after failing to make an interest repayment worth US$23 million due January 8th. It is the subject of a reported 28 mainland court filings from creditor institutions including Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and China Merchants Bank.

Kaisa also said it had received a court ruling freezing the assets of a group subsidiary amounting to 651.2 million yuan. The announcement did not identify the subsidiary or the assets.