The Chinese real estate giant Evergrande Group has become the first company to default on its debt to global investors.
The Evergrande Center office building is in China.
Barcroft Media is a part of the same company.
The New York Times reported that Evergrande has not yet filed for Chapter 11 but that it has been demoted to arestricted default by the credit ratings firm.
The developer failed to respond to its request for confirmation of two bond payments that were worth $82.50 million combined and due for payment last month, with a 30-day grace period ending on Monday.
Some bondholders have not received their payments.
Evergrande stated in a regulatory filing last week that it plans to engage with offshore creditor on a restructuring plan.
Yi Gang, the governor of the People's Bank of China, said on Thursday that the Evergrande crisis won't cause long-term damage to the market. Yi said that companies issuing bonds overseas and their shareholders will be urged to properly handle their debt issues and meet their debt obligation in accordance with law and market principles. It should be handled in a market-oriented way.
The key background.
Evergrande, China's second largest property developer, disclosed in June that it had amassed a massive $300 billion in debt to help fund its portfolio of lofty projects. This week's debt default could lead to a restructuring of the company. The Chinese government has previously refused to bail out the developer, so any restructuring plan would need their approval.
A ratings firm says that China Evergrande is in default.
Evergrande is the face of zombies in China.
