A financial disclosure has revealed that Chinese real estate company 'Vanke' failed to obtain approval from bondholders to extend the due date for a payment due today by one year, increasing the risk of default and renewing concerns about the real estate sector, which is in crisis in China. The setback for 'Vanke', a state-backed company and one of the leading real estate developers in China with projects in major cities, renews concerns about the real estate sector, as some of the country's top developers have defaulted on their debts in the past few years. The disclosure, sent to the National Association of Institutional Investors in the financial market, stated that the rejection came after a three-day voting that concluded late last Friday, and gives the company five business days to pay 2 billion yuan ($280 million) to domestic bondholders. Yao Yu, founder of the credit research firm 'Rating Dog', said that 'Vanke' may propose extending the period to 30 business days, adding: 'If bondholders agree, it will give the company more time to communicate with investors and reach an agreement'. 'Vanke' did not respond to a Reuters request outside of business hours. It is worth noting that the former giant company 'China Evergrande' was one of the most affected by the crisis in China's real estate sector, which began in 2021, after a court in Hong Kong ordered its liquidation, and it was delisted from the stock exchange this year after stricter regulations led to a liquidity crisis. Since then, the sector, which at one point accounted for a quarter of China's GDP, has been affected by slowing demand, as homebuyers' sentiment has been hurt by developers' troubles, negatively impacting the growth of the world's second-largest economy.
