Shimao Group Holdings Ltd. has put 34 projects across China up for sale, as the embattled developer seeks to raise billions of dollars amid mounting debt repayment pressures, Caixin reported.
The assets are residential, office, commercial and hotel projects in 17 cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou and in the Greater Bay Area in southern China, Caixin cited documents as saying.
Shimao is asking for 42.2 billion yuan (US$6.7 billion) for 15 of the projects, the report said. The remaining 19 are either joint ventures or projects in an initial investment stage in which the developer has invested a combined 32.5 billion yuan, it said.
Representatives for Shimao weren't immediately available to comment when contacted by Bloomberg.
Shimao's 4.75 per cent note due July 3 jumped 9.5 cents on the dollar to 71.1 cents, on course for its highest price in three weeks, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. The company's Hong Kong-listed stock ended 1.3 per cent lower after morning strength, dragged down by weakness for equities in both the financial center and mainland China.
Shimao is among Chinese developers that are selling assets to pay bills during a liquidity crunch following a government crackdown on excessive borrowing and speculation in the housing market. It's one of China's largest issuers of bonds in the offshore debt market among developers, with some US$5.7 billion in outstanding dollar notes.
"Accelerating asset sales would be the key to keeping Shimao afloat," Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Kristy Hung wrote in a note. "The developer is set to continue offloading its quality assets."
The group and its subsidiaries have US$2.2 billion of local and offshore bonds due through this year. It faces a 1 billion yuan payment on a local note due March.
The developer agreed to offload a stake in a joint venture company to state-owned China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. for 1.84 billion yuan, Shimao said in a filing late Monday. It reached a 1.06 billion yuan deal to sell a property management unit to a state-owned enterprise, according to a Friday filing.
Shimao Chairman Hui Wing Mau has put two office floors in Hong Kong up for sale for about HK$1.5 billion (US$193 million), Bloomberg reported earlier this month.
Separately, the group's Shanghai-listed unit said it plans to change auditors. It's hiring Zhongxingcai Guanghua after being served by Shanghai Certified Public Accountants for 27 years. - Bloomberg
