Jul 2, 2024
Builder Times China’s Wind-Up Hearing Delayed Amid Debt Talks
Bloomberg News
,![The flags of China, center, and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) fly above the Court of Final Appeal building as the Standard Chartered Plc building, from right, the HSBC Holdings Plc building, Cheung Kong Center, and the Bank of China Tower stand in Hong Kong, China, on Thursday, June 4, 2020. HSBC and Standard Chartered, the two British institutions that dominate Hong Kong's banking system, backed Beijing in the standoff over a proposed new security law, joining Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd. and some of the city's biggest developers in wading into the political minefield of the former colony's future. Photographer: Roy Liu/Bloomberg, Bloomberg The flags of China, center, and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) fly above the Court of Final Appeal building as the Standard Chartered Plc building, from right, the HSBC Holdings Plc building, Cheung Kong Center, and the Bank of China Tower stand in Hong Kong, China, on Thursday, June 4, 2020. HSBC and Standard Chartered, the two British institutions that dominate Hong Kong's banking system, backed Beijing in the standoff over a proposed new security law, joining Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd. and some of the city's biggest developers in wading into the political minefield of the former colony's future. Photographer: Roy Liu/Bloomberg](/polopoly_fs/1.2092318.1719991945!/fileimage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_620/the-flags-of-china-center-and-the-hong-kong-special-administrative-region-hksar-fly-above-the-court-of-final-appeal-building-as-the-standard-chartered-plc-building-from-right-the-hsbc-holdings-plc-building-cheung-kong-center-and-the-bank-of-china-tower-stand-in-hong-kong-china-on-thursday-june-4-2020-hsbc-and-standard-chartered-the-two-british-institutions-that-dominate-hong-kong-s-banking-system-backed-beijing-in-the-standoff-over-a-proposed-new-security-law-joining-jardine-matheson-holdings-ltd-and-some-of-the-city-s-biggest-developers-in-wading-into-the-political-minefield-of-the-former-colony-s-future-photographer-roy-liu-bloomberg.jpg)
(Bloomberg) -- A Hong Kong court adjourned the first winding-up hearing of Times China Holdings Ltd. to July 31, to give the petitioner more time to consider the defaulted builder’s debt proposal, according to a judge.
The liquidation petition was filed by Hang Seng Bank Ltd. in connection with financial obligations of about $173.2 million and HK$731.4 million ($93.6 million), respectively, Times China said in a statement in April.
The Guangdong-based real estate firm said in a Friday exchange filing that it has put forward key commercial terms to an ad-hoc group of offshore creditors that holds or controls more than 25% of the principal of six dollar bonds. In previous cases, showing progress in restructuring has been a key factor in avoiding a liquidation order.
Times China intends to restructure a total principal amount of $2.9 billion of offshore debt, including existing bonds and some loan facilities. It offered creditors three options in the latest proposal, including a combination of upfront payment, short-term notes and new ordinary shares in the company. Investors can also choose to receive mandatory convertible bonds and medium-term notes.
Ahead of the hearing, negotiations between the company and major creditors quickened, with talks occurring almost daily, Bloomberg reported last week. The residential builder reached out to the petitioner last Thursday with the latest term sheet, the bank’s legal representative said during Wednesday’s hearing.
Times China has joined a growing list of Chinese property defaulters facing liquidation demands from creditors in Hong Kong over the past few years. A major state-backed property firm, Sino-Ocean Group Holding Ltd., received a winding-up petition last month.
(updates with total amount of debt being restructured in the fourth paragraph)
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