At least 20 Chinese companies have suspended planned bond sales worth Rmb15.5bn ($2.4bn) over the past week, as the high-profile defaults of three state-owned enterprises and questions about the solvency of a fourth unnerved investors in the world’s second-largest bond market.
Investors dumped bond holdings last week after Yongcheng Coal & Electricity, a state-owned enterprise based in Henan province, defaulted on a Rmb1bn bond. It was the second high-profile SOE default in recent weeks after Huachen Automotive Group, an industrial group whose assets include a stake in BMW’s China joint venture.
On Tuesday, Caixin, a Chinese financial publication, reported that Beijing-based semiconductor company Tsinghua Unigroup had failed to meet a bond payment. Tsinghua Unigroup was not immediately available for comment.