China's Modern Land Misses Bond Payment

Modern Land missed a bond payment, the latest Chinese property developer to do so, adding to worries about the wider impact of the debt crisis at behemoth China Evergrande Group and dragging on shares in the sector, Donny Kwok and Andrew Galbraith reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: Modern Land is the latest Chinese property developer to miss a bond payment.

Modern Land (China) Co. Ltd said in a filing that it had not repaid principal and interest on its 12.85% senior notes that matured on Monday due to "unexpected liquidity issues."

The bond has an outstanding principal of $250 million.

Separately, China's state planner said it and the foreign exchange regulator met with companies in "key sectors", which a source said included property firms, over their foreign debt holdings, asking them to "optimize" offshore debt structures and prepare to repay interest and principal on foreign bonds.

Modern Land's missed payment comes days after the company, a smaller developer, scrapped plans to seek investor consent to extend the maturity date of its bond by three months, saying doing so was not in the best interests of it and its stakeholders.

Ratings agency Fitch earlier this month cut Modern Land's rating to "C" from "B" over the consent solicitation to change bond terms, saying it considered the move a distressed debt exchange. Tuesday's missed payment prompted ratings downgrades by Fitch and Moody's.

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