SINGAPORE — China Evergrande Group raised around $ 145 million in recent days by selling a chunk of its shares in a film production and internet-media company, scraping together more cash as additional bond-payment deadlines loom.
The property company sold a roughly 5.7% stake in Hong Kong-listed HengTen Networks Group Ltd. 136, +5.37% over the last three trading days, according to regulatory filings.
HengTen, which produces film and television programs and operates an online-streaming platform and other businesses, was majority owned by Evergrande at the start of this year before a series of share sales by the real-estate conglomerate. HengTen’s other big corporate shareholder is Tencent Holdings Ltd. 700, -0.39%
Evergrande 3333, , China’s largest issuer of junk-rated debt, with close to $ 20 billion in dollar bonds outstanding, has so far been able to avert a default by making overdue interest payments on its international bonds shortly before the expiration of their 30-day grace periods. The company made good on $ 128.5 million in coupon payments in October, the same month it sold two of its private jets to raise cash.
The cash-strapped developer faces another deadline on Nov. 11 to make overdue payments of $ 148 million on three other sets of bonds, according to debt research firm CreditSights. Evergrande also missed coupon payments that came due on Nov. 6 for two bonds, according to Lucror Analytics, which added “the company may again use the 30-day grace period to avoid a default.”
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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