[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Chinese major real estate company Hengda (Evergrande) reportedly averted an official default crisis once again by paying the dollar bond interest ahead of the grace period expiration on the 29th.
On the 28th (local time), The New York Times (NYT) quoted Hengda Group bondholders saying, "Hengda paid the dollar bond interest, which had its grace period ending on the 29th." Previously, Hengda failed to pay $45.2 million (approximately 52.8 billion KRW) in dollar bond interest to bondholders on the scheduled date of the 29th of last month, but announced it would pay within the grace period.
Since the contract stipulates a 30-day grace period for the dollar bonds, it was not considered an official default at that time. NYT reported that Hengda Group did not respond to requests for comments regarding the dollar bond interest payment.
Hengda Group is currently negotiating with major overseas bondholders to repay over $300 billion in debt. On the same day, Bloomberg News cited sources saying, "Hengda Group’s advisors, Houlihan Lokey and Admiralty Harbor Capital, signed a confidentiality agreement with overseas bondholders for future discussions, along with advisory teams including investment bank Moelis & Company and law firm Kirkland & Ellis."
Earlier, on the 14th of last month, Hengda Group selected US-based investment banks Houlihan Lokey and Admiralty Harbor Capital as advisors and began negotiations with overseas bondholders. Since mid-last month, Hengda’s overseas bondholders have been sending letters requesting accurate information about the company’s situation and reportedly demanded that offshore assets not be sold while debt resolution discussions are ongoing.
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