China

Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the launch of a 1.5 billion yuan ($232.47 million) fund on Tuesday to support biodiversity protection in developing countries. Xi was virtually addressing the COP15 biodiversity summit in Kunming, China, where diplomats, scientists, and conservationists are meeting with the aim of forging a global agreement to halt and reverse the destruction of nature. "Developing countries need help and support and solidarity must be strengthened to allow developing countries to benefit in a fairer way," Xi said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is zeroing in on the ties that China’s state banks and other financial stalwarts have developed with big private-sector players, expanding his push to curb capitalist forces in the economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. Xi, who started his campaign late last year with a regulatory assault on private technology giants, is launching a sweeping round of inspections of financial institutions.

Chinese developer Sinic Holdings said on Monday it would likely default on bonds worth $250 million, as it does not have enough financial resources to the make payments by their maturity date, Reuters reported. The case highlights the impact of China Evergrande Group , which is struggling under $305 billion in debt, on the rest of the high-yield sector as liquidity dries up and sales slow.

China Evergrande Group offshore bondholders are concerned that it is close to defaulting on debt payments and want more information and transparency from the cash-strapped property developer, their advisers said, Reuters reported. Evergrande, which could trigger one of China's largest defaults as it wrestles with debts of more than $300 billion and whose troubles have already sent shockwaves across global markets, missed payments on dollar bonds, worth a combined $131 million, that were due on Sept. 23 and Sept. 29.

Creditors have yet to receive repayment of a dollar bond they say is guaranteed by China Evergrande Group and one of its units, in what could be the firm’s first major miss on maturing notes since regulators urged the developer to avoid a near-term default, Bloomberg News reported. Some investors hadn’t received the principal payment for a note that matured Oct. 3 as of Thursday in Hong Kong, according to people with knowledge of the situation who asked not to be named discussing private matters. As Oct. 3 was a Sunday, the effective due date was Monday.

Growing worries about defaults at Chinese property developers triggered a rout in their shares and bonds on Tuesday with fresh credit rating downgrades and uncertainty about the fate of cash-strapped China Evergrande Group sapping investor sentiment, Reuters reported. Once China's top-selling developer, Evergrande is facing one of the country's largest-ever debt restructurings as it wrestles with more than $300 billion in liabilities, including nearly $20 billion in offshore debt.

As China Evergrande Group edges closer to a massive restructuring, Beijing has stepped up efforts to limit the fallout, signaling it’s willing to prop up healthy developers, homeowners and the real estate market at the expense of global bondholders, Bloomberg News reported. In the last week alone, Chinese authorities have dispatched top financial regulators to nudge the country’s massive banks to ease credit for homebuyers and support the property sector. They also bought out part of Evergrande’s stake in a struggling bank to limit contagion.

Chinese property developer Fantasia Holdings Group Co Ltd missed a debt payment deadline on Monday in the latest sign that distress is spreading from embattled China Evergrande and through the real estate sector, Reuters reported. Fantasia said that $206 million was due on Oct. 4 and that it did not pay, in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange. The company had said as recently as Sept. 20 that it had "sufficient working capital and no liquidity issue." With a market value of $415 million, Fantasia is a minnow.

Trading of China Evergrande Group shares was suspended in Hong Kong, along with those of its property management unit, as the property giant contends with a deepening cash crisis, Bloomberg News reported. No reason was given for the trading halts, which also affect all structured products relating to the company, a stock exchange filing showed on Monday morning. Evergrande shares have plunged 80% this year, and its bonds have tumbled to levels that suggest investors are bracing for a default.

China Evergrande Group missed paying bond interest due on Wednesday, two bondholders said, its second unpaid offshore debt obligation in a week, although the cash-strapped company on Thursday made a partial payment to some of its onshore investors, Reuters reported. The company, reeling under a debt pile of $305 billion, was due on Wednesday to make a $47.5 million bond interest payment on its 9.5% March 2024 dollar bond, after having missed $83.5 million in coupon payments last Thursday.