HONG KONG :Shares of Chinese property giant Country Garden plunged more than 10 per cent early on Friday after it forecast a steep loss for the first half of this year.
The debt-laden firm said on Thursday it expected a net loss of up to $7.6 billion in the first half, and that it would take measures to meet its debt obligations and fix operational issues to get the company back on track.
Country Garden, China's largest property developer before this year, told Reuters this week that it had not been able to make $22 million in dollar coupon payments, triggering a selloff in its shares and bonds and deepening contagion worries in the sector that has already seen many company defaults since late 2021.
Ratings agency Moody's on Thursday downgraded Country Garden's corporate family rating (CFR) to Caa1 from B1, citing heightened liquidity and refinancing risk after the company missed bond payments.