China Huarong Securities Unit Delays Release of 2020 Results

(Bloomberg) -- Huarong Securities Co. delayed release of its 2020 annual results beyond an April 30 deadline as speculation swirls around the financial health of its parent, China Huarong Asset Management Co.

The firm said the postponement is due to a deal related to its parent company and reiterated that its operations are normal and all bonds are paid on time, according to an exchange filing late Friday. It will make repayments strictly according to the agreed time and manner, it said in the filing.

China is considering a plan that would see the central bank assume more than 100 billion yuan ($15 billion) of assets from China Huarong, helping the state-owned company clean up its balance sheet and refocus on its core business of managing distressed debt, people familiar with the matter have said.

As of Friday, Huarong’s dollar bonds were still pricing in longer-term worries about the firm’s financial health, triggering concerns about refinancing risk. The state-run bad debt manager and its subsidiaries have a total of $7 billion worth of bonds maturing this year.

Another unit of Huarong, Huarong Jinshang Asset Management Co., also earlier this week postponed the release of its 2020 and first-quarter earnings reports.

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