China Evergrande set to unveil offshore debt restructuring proposal

HONG KONG (Reuters) – China Evergrande Group is set to unveil on Wednesday a restructuring proposal for its $22.7 billion offshore debt that could set the template for distressed peers and shape investor sentiment towards the country’s embattled property sector.

Two people with knowledge of the proposal said it would give creditors a basket of options to swap their debt into new bonds with extended maturity and equity in Evergrande’s two Hong Kong-listed units – Evergrande Property Services Group and Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group.

The new bonds will carry several tenors and coupons, the people said on condition of anonymity as the details are not public. One of them added the longest would be 8 years with around a 9% coupon.

Evergrande, once China’s top-selling developer but now the world’s most indebted property developer, declined to comment.

With more than $300 billion in total liabilities including offshore debt, Evergrande has been at the centre of a property debt crisis in which multiple Chinese developers defaulted over the past year, forcing many to enter debt restructuring talks.

Evergrande, which began one of China’s biggest debt restructuring processes early last year, said on Monday that a key bondholder group had agreed to its proposed terms and that it plans to publish the details on Wednesday.

The developer also said on Monday that it expected to sign a supporting agreement with general creditors by the end of March, with the restructuring to take effect from Oct. 1.

Sidley Austin and Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:) are Evergrande’s advisers, while Moelis (NYSE:) & Company and Kirkland & Ellis are the advisers of the group of bondholders.