Country Garden Faces Grim Outlook as Sales Slump Deepens in June
Monthly contracted sales at the Foshan-based company dropped 35% from a year earlier to 2.81 billion yuan ($392 million), according to Bloomberg calculations based on a Friday filing. The decline was from an already low base, and was steeper than the 23% drop in new home sales for China's top 100 developers.
Falling prices in China are eroding corporate profits and employee income, leading to suppressed demand for housing purchases, just as the effects of a stimulus blitz last September start to wear off. Premier Li Qiang last month pledged more action to revive the market, which analysts say is necessary to boost consumption and offset a threat to exports from US tariffs.
Country Garden has been counting on a turnaround in sales as it seeks to restructure its debt after a default more than a year ago. Yet its efforts to win backing for a $14.1 billion offshore restructuring are running into resistance as a key group of banks said failure to accept some of their demands would be a 'deal breaker,' according to a court hearing last month.
The builder needs support from three-quarters of debt holders among two individual groups — bank lenders and bondholders. It has said that it has backing from holders of 70% of bonds, but even if it gets more from that class, it still needs bank creditors to get on board to pass the plan through a 'scheme of arrangement' procedure. It has been given a few months' reprieve from its liquidation petition hearing, with the next one set for Aug. 11.
Country Garden has said it aims to implement the proposed restructuring by the end of 2025 and wants to reach an agreement with its major creditors on the terms 'as soon as practicable.'
--With assistance from Foster Wong.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
37 minutes ago
- Time of India
Another indigenous warship joins Navy
NEW DELHI: Another indigenous multi-role stealth frigate, Himgiri, was delivered to the Navy Thursday that will boost country's blue-water combat capabilities. This is the second such stealth warship to be handed over to the force this month. The 6,670-tonne Himgiri has been built by the Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), while her predecessor Udaygiri was handed over by the Mumbai-based Mazagon Docks (MDL) on July 1. Both the warships are slated to be commissioned together towards end-August. The 149-metre long Himgiri is the third of the seven frigates being constructed under Project-17A, four at MDL in Mumbai and three at GRSE in Kolkata, at an overall cost of Rs 45,000 crore. The first was commissioned as INS Nilgiri in Jan, while the remaining four are to be progressively delivered by end-2026. All these multi-mission frigates are packed with advanced sensors and weapons, including the BrahMos supersonic precision-strike cruise missiles whose range has been extended to 450-km from the original 290-km, and "designed to address current and future challenges in the maritime domain", an officer said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like No annual fees for life UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo For air defence, the frigates are equipped with Israeli-origin Barak-8 surface-to-air missile system, with an interception range of 70km against fighters, helicopters, drones and cruise missiles, among other weapons. "These frigates reflect a quantum leap in naval design, stealth, firepower, automation and survivability, and are an admirable symbol of aatmanirbharta (self-reliance) in warship building," the officer said. Overall, the 140-warship Navy has 58 ships and vessels under construction in Indian shipyards for over Rs 1.2 lakh crore, while another 31 warships are in the planning stage. This naval expansion is crucial to tackle the maritime collusiveness between Pakistan and China, which is making major strategic inroads into the Indian Ocean Region with the world's largest naval force of 370 warships.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
Brigade Hotel Ventures shares drop over 5 pc in market debut trade
Shares of Brigade Hotel Ventures Ltd on Thursday ended with a discount of over 5 per cent against the issue price of Rs 90. The stock began trading at Rs 82, down 8.88 per cent from the issue price on the BSE. During the day, it tumbled 9.45 per cent to Rs 81.49. Shares of the firm ended at Rs 85.40 apiece, a decline of 5.11 per cent. On the NSE, the stock started trading at Rs 81.10, a discount of 9.88 per cent. Shares of the firm ended at Rs 85.32, down 5.2 per cent. The company's market valuation stood at Rs 3,243.86 crore. The initial share sale of Brigade Hotel Ventures Ltd fetched 4.48 times subscription on the closing day of bidding on Monday. The initial public offering (IPO) had a price band of Rs 85-90 per share. Brigade Hotel Ventures' IPO was entirely a fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 759.6 crore with no offer-for-sale (OFS) component. Proceeds from the issue to the tune of Rs 468.14 crore will be used for the payment of debt, Rs 107.52 crore will be utilised for the purchase of an undivided share of land from the promoter, BEL, and the remaining funds will support acquisitions, other strategic initiatives, and general corporate purposes. Brigade Hotel Ventures Ltd is a subsidiary of Bengaluru-based real estate company Brigade Enterprises Ltd (BEL). BEL entered into the hospitality business in 2004 with the development of its first hotel, Grand Mercure Bangalore, which commenced operations in 2009. The company has a portfolio of nine operating hotels across Bengaluru, Chennai, Kochi, Mysuru, and the GIFT City (Gujarat) with 1,604 keys. The hotels are operated by global marquee hospitality companies such as Marriott, Accor and InterContinental Hotels Group.
Mint
2 hours ago
- Mint
MercadoLibre's Galperin to Focus on AI Projects After CEO Change
(Bloomberg) -- Marcos Galperin, co-founder of MercadoLibre Inc., said he'll focus on artificial intelligence projects after stepping down as CEO, as part of a leadership transition at the e-commerce and financial technology giant. Galperin, who has led Latin America's most valuable company for more than two decades, said he remains 'as excited as ever' about the company's future, especially as it explores AI. 'AI makes it extremely intellectually satisfying to work in a company like ours,' Galperin said on the company's podcast, released Monday. Ariel Szarfsztejn, who has been an executive at the company since 2017 and is taking over the CEO role at the start of 2026, said his goal is to build on the company's momentum. 'This is a story of continuity and not drastic changes,' he said. 'My challenge is to continue on the priorities that we have on our list.' Those include deepening e-commerce adoption in Latin America, where just 15% of retail sales are currently online, growing the company's advertising business, and expanding access to digital financial services. Both Galperin and Szarfsztejn see AI as a tool to grow its business across e-commerce, advertising and financial services. From improving credit risk models to optimizing delivery routes and powering smarter product recommendations, AI is already being embedded across the company's platforms. The leadership transition has been in the works for years, Galperin said, describing it as one of the most difficult challenges for a founder. 'It would never be the right time because as a founder it's emotionally very difficult,' he said. 'But what made the click for me was when I realized I needed to stop thinking about this as a personal decision regarding what's best for me and instead think about what's best for the company.' Galperin added that he will remain deeply involved in strategic decisions, including in capital allocation, and support Szarfsztejn over the coming years, while dedicating more time to AI and innovation. MercadoLibre, which is scheduled to report earnings on Aug. 4, will select Szarfsztejn's replacement as head of e-commerce from within the firm. 'These types of transitions create many opportunities for many people at the company,' Galperin said. 'This is a rapidly changing industry, and I believe it's one where younger management makes a lot of sense.' More stories like this are available on
