Kaisa: Over $2 billion assets frozen by courts
Struggling Chinese property developer Kaisa Group (Hong Kong Stock Exchange: 1638-HK), said on Tuesday that assets frozen by courts to protect its creditors have risen to more than $2 billion, sending its shares sharply lower in early trading in Hong Kong.
Saying it is preparing a restructuring proposal for offshore creditors for early March, the company disclosed in a statement that assets ordered to be frozen by courts under 21 civil rulings increased to 12.8 billion yuan ($2.05 billion) as of February 16. A total of 63 applications requesting preservation of Kaisa's assets have been filed by onshore creditors so far.
The firm's shares slid as much as 9 percent in early trading in Hong Kong.
The developer disclosed on Monday that its debts now exceed $10 billion, of which it may have to repay more than half this year, and said it was in discussions with its creditors to try to restructure its borrowings urgently. It described a meeting with onshore lenders on Monday as positive.
Kaisa said its financial advisor Houlihan Lokey is in the process of identifying its offshore bondholders and has been in contact with a number of them.
