Evergrande begins repaying property investors in wealth products

BEIJING, Sep 19 (Reuters) – Insolvent developer China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) has begun repaying investors in its real estate wealth management products, a unit of its main unit, Hengda Real Estate Group Co Ltd, said.

Evergrande, with over $ 300 billion in debt, is in the midst of a liquidity crisis that has led it to raise funds to pay its many lenders and suppliers. A bond coupon payment of $ 83.5 million is due Thursday.

The company said in a WeChat post on Saturday that investors interested in redeeming wealth management products for physical assets should contact their investment advisors or visit local offices.

Financial news agency Caixin reported Sunday that an estimated 40 billion yuan ($ 6 billion) of Evergrande wealth management products are outstanding. Such products are typically held by retail investors.

Specific payment methods and details are subject to local conditions, a customer service representative told Reuters on Sunday.

According to a proposal previously seen by Reuters that Evergrande failed to confirm, wealth management product investors can choose between discounted housing, offices, retail space or parking for repayment.

Earlier this month, a stock market filing showed that Evergrande had repaid 219.5 million yuan in overdue debt to supplier Skshu Paint Co Ltd (603737.SS) in the form of apartments on three unfinished real estate projects.

On September 10, Evergrande vowed to repay all mature wealth management products as quickly as possible.

($ 1 = 6.4655 Chinese yuan renminbi)

Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru and Min Zhang and Tony Munroe in Beijing; Adaptation by William Mallard

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