19-02-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Sino-Ocean wins court approval to pursue US$6 billion debt workout plan
Published: 4:01pm, 19 Feb 2025
Sino-Ocean Group has taken another big step to resolve its liquidity crisis after a Hong Kong court approved its US$6 billion debt workout plan, joining a handful of mainland Chinese developers that have managed to stave off hostile offshore creditors.
The High Court gave its nod to the state-backed company's plan to settle its overdue debt involving several tranches of loans governed by Hong Kong law, according to a judgment on Wednesday. No creditors or lenders opposed the workout plan during the hearing.
The developer, which counts state-backed China Life Insurance and Dajia Insurance among its top shareholders, earlier this month won approval from a London court to proceed with its plan to settle with investors holding seven dollar-denominated bonds governed by UK law. Sino-Ocean has proposed to reorganise its finances after reneging on its obligations in September 2023 as China's housing market crisis deepened. The Beijing-based developer defaulted on syndicated loans totalling US$249.8 million and HK$12.2 billion, as well as US$3.72 billion of bonds, according to its stock exchange filings.
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Rally cry by Xi sets economic priorities for Chinese officials, absolves them of mistakes Rally cry by Xi sets economic priorities for Chinese officials, absolves them of mistakes The developer unveiled its restructuring plan in July, in which it offered to repay creditors with long-term bonds and a combination of new mandatory convertible notes and perpetual securities. Most of its lenders consented, while some bondholders opposed it.
