Sweden’s worst slump in home construction in more than three decades is over for now, a gauge of housing starts in the largest Nordic nation suggests, Bloomberg News reported. An indicator from data provider Byggfakta published Wednesday was largely unchanged in March, signaling that activity in the sector is stabilizing following two years of sharp declines from August 2021. “The housing indicator is making it increasingly clear that construction starts have bottomed, and even recovered somewhat in the last six months,” Tor Borg, head of analysis at Byggfakta said in a statement.
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Sweden
The Swedish construction industry is facing a severe downturn, with an increase in bankruptcy filings signaling a broader economic turmoil within the sector, according to PressKraft.se. Credit reference agencies have observed a significant uptick in the number of companies seeking bankruptcy protection. Data from January indicated a 47% increase compared to the same period a year prior, with 622 companies filing for insolvency. This surge in bankruptcies is symptomatic of a deeper crisis affecting builders and has notable repercussions for the Swedish economy at large.
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Sweden’s Riksbank asked lawmakers to restore its equity after the central bank posted large losses on bonds amassed during a period of slow inflation, Bloomberg News reported. The central bank needs a capital injection of 43.7 billion Swedish kronor ($4.1 billion) to bring its equity to the basic level required by law, according to a proposal it submitted on Tuesday. The need for a recapitalization comes as central banks around the world have seen assets bought as part of quantitative-easing programs lose value.
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Cerberus Capital Management LP and Intrum AB are considering a more extensive partnership as the Swedish debt collector explores options to address its borrowings, Bloomberg News reported. The U.S. alternative investor is looking at further ways to invest in Intrum and its assets after buying a portfolio from the company earlier this year, said people familiar with the matter. Talks are preliminary and might not yield any outcome, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the details are private.
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Multiple bidders have put in offers to buy the business and assets of bankrupt Swedish textile recycler Renewcell, the company’s bankruptcy trustee said Thursday, BoF reported. The process has been closely watched by many in the industry, keen to see a business that represented one of fashion’s most advanced prospects to meet increasing demand for circular fibres revived. The nature of the bids and the names of the bidders were not disclosed. A final closing is expected mid-April following a review process.
SAS AB (“SAS” or the “company”) and its relevant subsidiaries undergoing voluntary chapter 11 proceedings in the U.S. will imminently submit monthly operating reports to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, Travel and World Tour reported. These reports, to be filed on a monthly basis, will encompass financial data spanning from November 1, 2023, to February 29, 2024.
Scandinavian airline SAS said yesterday that a U.S. Bankruptcy Court had approved its chapter 11 reorganization plan, Reuters reported. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Wiles approved SAS AB’s bankruptcy restructuring at a court hearing in Manhattan, clearing the airline to move ahead with a restructuring that includes a $1.2 billion investment from a consortium of bidders, including the Danish government. The deal will provide up to $325 million in value to the airline’s junior creditors through a combination of cash and equity in the reorganized company.
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SBB, the landlord at the center of Sweden’s property crisis, saw its credit rating cut two notches by Fitch Ratings and may face another cut to “selective default” by S&P Global Ratings, Bloomberg News reported. Fitch downgraded the senior unsecured debt rating of Samhallsbyggnadsbolaget i Norden AB, as it is otherwise known, to CCC+ from B due to increased property disposals and tight liquidity, the credit evaluator said in a statement on Tuesday. S&P placed the company on watch for a possible downgrade to selective default, according to a separate statement.
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Sweden's DSAM Sverige has withdrawn its bankruptcy petition against rival real estate company Oscar Properties after receiving confirmation that its claims had been paid, the Stockholm District Court said on Monday, Reuters reported. Shares in Oscar Properties were up about 40% to 0.58 Swedish crowns ($0.0567) at 1217 GMT after the court's announcement on Monday, but are still trading at a fraction of their historical highs reached in 2017. Oscar Properties was not immediately available for comment.
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Swedish bankruptcies jumped 29% in 2023 to the highest level since the 1990s, when the bursting of a property bubble crippled the Nordic nation’s banking system, Bloomberg News reported. This may just be the tip of the iceberg in the wake of persistently high inflation and interest rates, according to UC, a credit reference agency that compiled the data. In December, bankruptcies increased overall by 23% from a year earlier, it said.
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