Bonds issued by a subsidiary of China’s Shimao Group Holdings – rocked recently by concerns over the developer’s financial health – jumped as much as 12% in Shanghai on Thursday, after local media reported that the city’s regulators have offered to help the embattled industry.
A Shanghai Shimao bond that matures in January 2022 rose 11.7%, making it the top gainer on Shanghai Stock Exchange’s corporate bond market on Thursday.
It is still trading at 73.5 yuan though, compared with a face value of 100 yuan, as the market prices in the chance of a default.
Most of Shimao’s other bonds in Shanghai also rose sharply, while Shimao Group shares rebounded more than 6% in morning trading in Hong Kong.
Rumours that the People’s Bank of China had discussed a potential lifting of restrictions on its policies controlling developers’ leverage has led to a jump in stocks and offshore bonds of Shimao and other developers, such as Country Garden, Sunac China Holdings, Yuzhou Group and China Aoyuan.
“Volatility and wild price swings remain the norm in a market susceptible to rumour,” Stephen Aldred of Reorg, a credit intelligence provider in New York, said.
Meetings with Regulators
Regulators in Shanghai, including local branches of the People’s Bank of China and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, held meetings with some real estate firms on Wednesday and on December 9, local media reported.
The regulators urged developers to assume their repayment obligations, while offering to help meet developers’ rational funding needs to help the firms manage their difficulties, according to the reports.
Chinese developers have been under enormous strain during the year, with many grappling with a liquidity crunch as Beijing has pursued a relentless regulatory quest to reduce leverage of the heavily-indebted sector.
Shimao Group’s shares and bonds had been roiled recently by signs of liquidity strains.
- Reuters with additional editing by Jim Pollard
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