債權人申請查封佳兆業資產

Lenders to troubled Chinese developer Kaisa are pushing to freeze the company’s assets, raising the stakes in a case that has spooked Asian credit markets.

中國房地產開發商佳兆業(Kaisa)的債權人正在申請凍結該公司資產，從而讓這一令亞洲信貸市場人心惶惶的事件進一步升級。

More than a dozen Chinese financial institutions have filed pre-litigation asset preservation cases - or requests to have assets frozen - against Kaisa to a Shenzhen court, according to documents posted on the court website. The first three applications, by local branches of Citic Bank, Bank of China and China Resources were first reported by Caixin, a mainland business journal.

發佈在深圳一家法院網站上的文件顯示，十幾家中國金融機構已針對佳兆業向該法院申請訴前財產保全，要求查封其資產。據中國內地商業雜誌財新網(Caixin)率先發出的報道，最先提出這一申請的三家債權人是中信銀行(Citic Bank)、中國銀行(BoC)及華潤集團(China Resources)在當地的分公司。

Kaisa, which has already defaulted on one offshore loan, appears to have missed a payment on a US dollar bond, and faces calls from joint venture partners to return cash from two cancelled projects.

此前，佳兆業已經有一筆離岸貸款出現違約，而且該公司似乎已錯過了一筆美元債券的償付時間。此外，該公司還面臨着合資企業合作伙伴的還款要求，此前這筆資金被投資於兩個已被取消的項目。

Lin Yikang, a press officer for Kaisa, said on Monday that he was unaware of the Shenzhen court filings, adding that only senior management know the current state of affairs at the company.

佳兆業新聞官Lin Yikang週一表示，他對該深圳法院的文件並不知情，並補充說公司的現狀只有高級別管理人員才能知道。

The Hong Kong-listed developer, which has $2.5bn of offshore debt, was due to make an interest payment of $26m on its US dollar bonds on Thursday night. However, Mr Lin said he was unable to confirm whether the payment had been made, while telephone calls to the investor relations department went unanswered.

這家在香港上市的房地產開發商離岸債務的規模達25億美元。該公司本應在上週四晚上支付2600萬美元的美元債券利息。然而，Lin表示他無法確認這筆資金是否已經支付，而該公司投資者關係部的電話卻無法撥通。

Bondholders were pricing in a missed payment, with the debt in question — a $500m issue maturing in 2020 — dropping to around 29 cents on the dollar ahead of the coupon payment date.

在付息日之前，債券持有者們已經在按照無法及時付息爲佳兆業債券定價，2020年到期的5億美元有問題債券的價格已經跌至其票面價值的29%。

Even so, private banking clients have been snapping up the bonds as the price has fallen, said two bond traders, with some punting on a “white knight” rescue package.

儘管如此，兩位債券交易員表示，由於部分人把賭注押在了“白武士”營救方案上，私人銀行客戶一直在搶購該公司債券。

An analysis from Barclays suggested bondholders could expect to get back around 28 cents on the dollar if Kaisa were forced into liquidation.

巴克萊銀行(Barclays)開展的分析暗示，如果佳兆業被迫清盤，其債券的價格預計會重返票面價值的28%。

Shares in the company have been suspended since December 29, having fallen nearly 50 per cent during the month.

自12月29日以來，佳兆業股票始終處於停牌狀態。在那之前，該公司股票已在該月下跌了近50%。

On January 1, the Shenzhen-based developer said it had failed to pay back a $52m loan to HSBC, a requirement triggered by the resignation of Kaisa’s chairman last month.

1月1日，這家總部駐深圳的地產開發商曾表示，該公司未能向匯豐銀行(HSBC)償還一筆規模爲5200萬美元的貸款。匯豐銀行是在上個月佳兆業董事長辭職時，要求償還這筆貸款的。

Rating agencies responded by downgrading the company. Standard & Poor’s now gives Kaisa a credit rating of “SD”, meaning “selective default”, and has warned that it is likely to default on other forms of offshore debt.

評級機構對此的迴應則是降低該公司的評級。目前，標準普爾(Standard & Poor)對佳兆業給出了“選擇性違約”的信用評級，並警告說該公司很可能在其他形式的離岸債券上違約。

Offshore bondholders of Chinese companies are typically last in line for repayment in the event of default.

在出現違約時，中國企業的離岸債券持有者通常是最後一個償付對象。

Kaisa is just one of a host of Chinese developers to tap offshore markets for funding in the past two years. Its most recent bond sale was in May last year, when it raised $400m while paying a coupon of 9 per cent.

在過去兩年裏，佳兆業只是利用離岸市場獲取資金的衆多中國地產開發商之一。該公司最近一次發行債券是在去年5月份，當時該公司以票面價值9%的價格籌集了4億美元的資金。

Yields on bonds issued by Chinese developers without state backing have spiked in recent days, driving up average borrowing costs on Asian high-yield debt.

最近幾天，缺乏政府支持的中國地產開發商所發行債券的收益率曾急劇攀升，推高了亞洲高收益債券的平均借貸成本。

Problems at Kaisa arose at the start of December when the Shenzhen government imposed a sales ban at a number of new housing projects in the city, a move the company has said it cannot explain.

佳兆業的問題始於12月初。當時，深圳市政府對該市幾個新的住房項目推出了禁售令。佳兆業曾表示無法解釋深圳市政府的這一舉措。

Three board members including the chairman resigned last month, and two partner companies have demanded the repayment of $196m in fees related to joint venture projects.

上個月，包括佳兆業董事長在內的三名董事會成員辭職。目前，兩家合夥企業已要求佳兆業返還涉及其合資項目的1.96億美元費用。

Kaisa’s last public notice to the Hong Kong stock exchange was on January 7, in which it denied reports that its board had decided to wind up the group.

佳兆業上次向香港證券交易所發佈公開通知是在1月7日。當時，該公司否認了其董事會已決定破產重組的報道。