Investors are confronting the growing possibility that Evergrande will default, a debacle that could cascade across global markets and has exposed the perilous state of China’s vast property sector.
The world’s most indebted property developer said last week it could fail to make good on its financial obligations, exacerbating a panic among investors, dealing a severe blow to its bonds and triggering trading suspensions in Shenzhen and Shanghai.
Fitch on Wednesday became the latest group to issue a warning, slashing Evergrande’s foreign currency credit rating from triple C plus to double C and saying that a default of some kind “appears probable”. This week, Moody’s downgraded the company for the third time in as many months, saying creditors had “weak recovery prospects” in the event of a default.