By Clare Jim and Scott Murdoch
HONG KONG/SYDNEY (Reuters) -Debt-laden Chinese developer Country Garden aborted a $300 million share placement at the last minute on Tuesday saying it had not reached a ‘final agreement’ for the deal to go ahead.
A message from JPMorgan, the sole bookrunner for the sale, was sent early Tuesday saying Country Garden had decided against going ahead due to “various internal considerations” even though enough buyers had committed enough interest to cover the book, a person with direct knowledge said.
Shares of Country Garden shed 7% in the afternoon session Tuesday, having rebounded 25% from July 24 after a meeting of China’s Politburo had raised hopes of support for the troubled property sector.
“Because communications were not totally aligned, (we) did not enter into final agreement for the suggested deal. Moreover, we are not considering the suggested deal at this stage,” the firm said in a statement to Reuters.
JPMorgan declined to comment.
Country Garden added it has been actively discussing financing plans with intermediary agents to diversify its fundraising channels in face of all the uncertainties in the market.
It also made a similar statement to the stock exchange, saying “no definitive agreement has been entered into with respect to the proposed transaction”.
The developer had aimed to sell 1.8 billion shares at HK 1.30 per share, representing a 17.7% discount to Monday’s closing price, a term sheet seen by Reuters showed on Monday.
Last month, liquidity concerns over Country Garden resurfaced, and investors were worried about the potential for contagion as the property sector came under renewed pressure.
A debt crisis erupted in China’s property sector in mid-2021, and many developers have defaulted while others have struggled to repay their debt and complete home constructions.
Smaller peer Agile Group on Monday said it planned to raised HK$387.2 million ($49.66 million), by placing 346 million shares at HK$1.13 apiece, representing a discount of 18.1% to Monday’s close, to repay debt including perpetual capital securities.
JPMorgan and BNP Paribas were the placing agents.
After Agile announced it had raised $50 million through the share sale, its shares plunged over 18% on Tuesday, reflecting the discount paid.
The Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index dropped 2%, with Shimao Group and Kaisa Group down 29% and 10%, respectively.
“Chinese developers are in desperate need of cash,” said Conita Hung, an independent equity commentator based in Hong Kong. “Shares in property sector gained a lot last week, there will be more share placement coming.”
She added because property stock prices were already at very low levels, the fundraising value would only be small and enough to repay some interest and principal but would not help operation.
($1 = 7.7969 Hong Kong dollars)
(Reporting by Clare Jim, Scott Murdoch and Summer Zhen; Editing by Kim Coghill and Simon Cameron-Moore)
