HONG KONG (Reuters) – The founding family of Country Garden recently loaned the embattled Chinese property developer $300 million interest free, and the family was also trying to sell its private jet, a Chinese online news outlet, The Paper, reported on Friday.
Citing insiders, The Paper said the family was seeking to support liquidity for China’s largest private property developer, which has missed coupon payments on some dollar bonds since last month, but has not defaulted.
Another online news outlet, Cailianshe, reported earlier that founder Yeung Kwok Keung had already sold a new jet and was trying to sell another.
Country Garden declined to comment.
The company this week warned of its inability to meet offshore debt obligations, potentially joining a growing list of Chinese developers that have defaulted and setting the stage for one of the country’s biggest debt restructurings.
Country Garden’s 30-day grace periods to make the missed coupon payments will start expiring next week.
A video posted on Country Garden’s official Wechat account on Friday showed Yeung and president Mo Bin inspecting a development site close to its headquarters in Shunde, Guangdong province, two days ago.
The Wechat post also cited company chairperson Yang Huiyan, Yeung’s daughter, saying in a monthly internal meeting this week that Country Garden has to ensure home completions and business operations, and also enhance its business in high-tech construction.
(Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
