torsdag 16. september 2021

What could an Evergrande debt default mean for China and beyond?

China Evergrande Group is deeply in the red – to the tune of $300bn. And concerns are mounting that if it defaults on its debt, it could spell disaster for China’s property market and send shock waves through the world’s second-biggest economy.

A reckoning appeared even closer on Wednesday after Bloomberg News, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that the real estate developer may not be able to make the interest payments on some of its $300bn in liabilities next week and could also miss a principal payment on at least one of its loans. It’s the latest development in the real estate behemoth’s saga, which is being closely watched in China and around the globe.

Evergrande is currently the world’s most indebted real estate developer. The central question is whether Chinese authorities plan to allow Evergrande’s creditors to suffer major losses or whether the country’s communist government, which prizes stability and control, will intervene in some way to avoid a messy default and the damaging ripple effects it could trigger.