China Vanke Shares Fall After Bondholders Reject Debt Extension Proposal

By Jiahui Huang

China Vanke's shares fell sharply after its bondholders rejected a proposal to extend a bond payment, fueling fears that authorities may not offer support to keep the developer afloat.

The company's shares fell 3.8% in Hong Kong to 3.54 Hong Kong dollars as of midday Monday, equivalent to 45 U.S. cents, while its Shenzhen-listed shares fell 2.2% to 4.91 yuan.

The property developer said early Monday that it failed to secure bondholder support for a one-year extension of a bond payment due Monday.

Vanke, one of China's largest real estate companies, said its three proposals to extend bond payments were rejected. The proposal to extend principal and interest payments was rejected, with 76.7% of holders rejecting it. Two other proposals that included credit-enhancement measures won some backing but all three were short of the over 90% threshold support needed.

"It's a sign that the Chinese government may have decided to give up on rescuing Vanke," Daiwa analyst William Wu said, adding that the outcome has been priced in by markets.

A lot of Vanke's bondholders are state-owned, Wu said, adding that the developer's largest shareholder, Shenzhen Metro, also faces cash flow pressures.

The three-day vote ended Friday, with Vanke given a grace period of five working days to pay 2 billion yuan, equivalent to US$283.5 million, on the onshore bond, according to a filing on Monday to the National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors.

Vanke said Monday that it will hold a bondholder meeting on Thursday to discuss next steps for the 2 billion yuan note.

Vanke's bondholders may demand more credit enhancement or earlier repayment of some principal for the bonds due Dec. 15, said Morningstar analyst Jeff Zhang. That is close to being approved, "so we are hopeful that a deal could be reached in the next five days," Zhang said.

The developer had been the outlier among its privately owned peers that have undergone restructuring or liquidation since the yearslong downturn in China's property sector began. It had managed to stay afloat with the support of state-owned Shenzhen Metro.

In early November, Vanke said it could borrow up to 22 billion yuan from Shenzhen Metro before June 30, 2026, with 2.29 billion yuan still available for withdrawal.

Industry watchers have long viewed Vanke as a barometer of how much pain Chinese authorities could tolerate amid the real-estate slump.

However, officials' stance toward the property sector seemed to have cooled somewhat following the implementation of stimulus last year, while stronger-than-expected exports have supported the economy's around 5% growth target.

"Policymakers have this year pivoted back to a relatively cool stance towards the sector, even downgrading property from a growth driver to a livelihood issue in their 'recommendations' for the next five-year plan," Gavekal Dragonomics analyst Xiaoxi Zhang wrote in a recent note.

Vanke's bondholders rejecting its proposal isn't necessarily a bad thing for the property sector, Daiwa's Wu said.

"In the medium term, it may remind policymakers that the property sector still needs some kind of policy support," he added.

Write to Jiahui Huang at jiahui.huang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 15, 2025 00:32 ET (05:32 GMT)