China’s Evergrande avoids default

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – China’s largest real estate developer Evergrande has reportedly avoided default after it successfully paid off overdue payments.

A report by Bloomberg quoting international clearing firm Clearstream said that "it received overdue interest payments on three-dollar bonds issued by Evergrande."

Two investors, the report added, also confirmed to have received the payments.

The largest debt-ridden developer had a 30-day grace period until Wednesday to pay off $148.1 million. Its liabilities amount to around $300 billion, of which $19 billion are international bonds.

Earlier, reports had emerged that Evergrande Group “officially announced that it had defaulted.” The reports were later retracted when the group made the payments.

The risk of any real estate debt crisis in China has raised concerns in the international market, however, Beijing has asserted that the group was an “individual case and it sees the real estate developer's spillover risks as manageable.”

In Washington, Federal Reserve has warned that “fragility in China’s commercial real-estate sector could spread to the US if it deteriorates dramatically.”

Authorities in the country have been pressing Evergrande founder Hui Ka Yan to repay the debts “with his personal wealth.”