Evergrande debt woes are manageable, China central bank official says

PHOTO: The China Evergrande Centre in Hong Kong, 15 September 2021. Photo: AFP

The spillover effect of China Evergrande Group’s debt problems on the banking system is controllable, a central bank official said on Friday, in rare official comments on a liquidity crisis at China’s No. 2 developer that has roiled global markets.

Chinese authorities are urging Evergrande to step up asset disposals and the resumption of projects, Zou Lan, head of financial markets at the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), told a briefing, adding that individual financial institutions did not have highly concentrated exposure to Evergrande.

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“In recent years, this company did not operate and manage itself well. It failed to conduct prudent operations according to changing market conditions, and it blindly diversified and expanded its business,” Zou told the briefing in Beijing.

Chinese officials and state media have been largely silent on the crisis at Evergrande, which has missed a series of bond interest payments and has $US300 billion in debt, making it the world’s most indebted developer.

Zou also said property firms that have issued bonds overseas should actively fulfil their debt repayment obligations.