Chinese tycoon Chen Hongtian is in discussions with lenders to retrieve assets worth HK$10 billion (US$1.27 billion) after a ‘short-term liquidity issue’ forced him to miss mortgage payments.

China Evergrande Group, one of the world’s most indebted property developers, sees progress in its debt recast plan after it announced sweeteners but analysts worry about additional funding needs in the next three years.

Evergrande seeks better stock market valuation for its electric car segment by improved focus and specialisation amid the group’s proposal to swap its deeply distressed offshore bonds for shares of some of its affiliates, such as Evergrande NEV.

Shenzhen-based Evergrande’s latest regulatory lapse underscores the company’s existential crisis, as it grapples with almost US$290.4 billion in liabilities.

The debt-laden Chinese developer said creditors representing 75 per cent of its US$9.1 billion offshore debt have agreed to restructuring terms, an outcome ‘everybody should be happy with’, according to one analyst.

An Evergrande unit has been pulled up by the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourse operators for failing to publish its accounts after almost a year past the deadline. It will not object to impending disciplinary action.

Sunac’s shares slumped as much as 59 per cent in Hong Kong as the 12-month suspension was lifted after the company met the Hong Kong stock exchange’s conditions, including publishing its long-delayed results.

A turnaround in China’s housing market appears to be under way, but recovery will be slow and uneven amid income insecurity and consumer reluctance to trust indebted developers, according to analysts.

A debt agreement covering US$19.15 billion of its offshore borrowing is being termed as ‘a substantial milestone’ by Chinese property behemoth Evergrande.

Chen Hongtian’s company, Cheung Kei Group, cites defaults on ‘several big-ticket accounts receivable’ and ‘abnormal obstacles’ for loss of control over assets including house on The Peak.

China’s expected economic revival will leave fallen property tycoons behind, missing the crucial liquidity train. The window to reorganise their offshore debts may be closing, as talk about another recession persists.

A day after China Evergrande Group unveiled its long-awaited restructuring plan for as much as US$19.15 billion in offshore debt, its EV unit says it will not survive if it cannot tap new financing.

The heavily indebted developer told a Hong Kong court it had the support of its overseas creditors for the proposed restructuring, and will publish the term sheets as early as Wednesday.

The company, which led the market in sales last year, maintains it is stable and committed to delivering new homes to buyers.

Dozens of potential buyers have inquired about the house, of which over 60 per cent are local ultra-rich families and tycoons.

Some of China’s biggest real estate moguls, saddled with billions of dollars of unpaid debts, may get the chance to plead for breathing space and friendlier property policies in the Great Hall of the People this weekend.

China’s central bank said on Friday that the country’s real estate sector is on the mend, after development loans jumped and property developers raised more capital through the sale of debt in the final quarter of 2022.

One of the biggest Chinese junk-bond investors believes the rally has to pause for now after a breathtaking 80 per cent surge from late October. New catalysts are needed to back up sentiment, Value Partners says.

The CSRC on Monday launched a pilot programme that allows the creation of fixed-asset PE investment funds to invest in residential and commercial real estate and infrastructure projects.

The developers raised 227.1 billion yuan (US$33.08 billion) in 2022, a decline of 66 per cent from the previous year, according to mainland Chinese real estate consultancy CRIC.

An internal commitee criticised the stricken developer’s governance and barred three senior executives previously forced from their jobs from returning.

China’s efforts to rein in its housing crisis have proved costly for everyone, from huge developers like Evergrande to workers with slim chance of ever getting on the property ladder.

The offer includes a US$1.3 billion debt-to-equity swap and conversion to new longer-term, lower-coupon offshore bonds, according to a stock-exchange filing.

About 22 per cent of Asia’s US-dollar notes due in 2023 are either junk grade with lower than BBB- equivalent scores or do not have any credit ratings, according to Bloomberg-compiled data.

The 100 largest property developers in China ended 2022 with 7.6 trillion yuan (US$1.1 trillion) in sales, down 41.3 per cent from a year before, according to a report by the China Index Academy (CIA).

Evergrande founder Hui Ka-yan has pledged to repay creditors and deliver projects this year in a letter to his employees, saying the company can fulfil its mission if they work together.

China Evergrande Group delayed releasing a much-anticipated restructuring plan again, missing a self-imposed deadline and disappointing creditors seeking to salvage investments.

The receivers are hoping stronger buyers will emerge to snap up the trophy building, as they add value by bringing in new tenants and extending current leases.

Two stalled China Evergrande Group projects in Kunming, the capital of China’s southwestern Yunnan province, are on track for completion after a takeover by Kunming Green Star Construction Development.