China property stocks tumble as Evergrande drops 25% on debt restructuring roadblock

Hong Kong-listed shares of embattled Chinese real estate firm Evergrande tumbled as much as 25% on Monday, after the company said that it would delay a debt restructuring meeting due later today.

Shares of other major Chinese property stocks in Hong Kong also fell as the sector saw a sell-off.

The Hang Seng Mainland Properties index slid just over 4% on Monday, while other real estates stocks took a beating. Country Garden was down 7.69%, Logan Group fell 7.95%, while R&F Properties was down 6.62% on Monday.

Shares of Evergrande traded as low as 41 Hong Kong cents on Monday.

To be clear, Evergrande shares have plunged as much as 87% after resuming trade on Aug. 28, turning it into a penny stock. Trading was suspended in March last year.

In a filing with the Hong Kong exchange late Friday, Evergrande said “the sales of the Group has not been as expected by the company” since its March debt restructuring announcement.

As such, Evergrande “considers it necessary to re-assess the terms of the proposed restructuring to meet the company’s objective situation and the demand of the creditors.”

In August, Evergrande had applied for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in a U.S. court, which allows a U.S. bankruptcy court to intervene in cross-border insolvency cases involving foreign companies that are undergoing restructuring from creditors.

Tianji Holdings, an affiliate of Evergrande, and its subsidiary, Scenery Journey, also filed for Chapter 15 protection in Manhattan bankruptcy court, according to the filing.

Evergrande, the world’s most indebted property developer, defaulted on its debts in 2021, and its shares were suspended from trading in March 2022.