(Yicai Global) April 20 -- E-House Enterprise Holdings has defaulted on a US dollar bond worth USD300 million, China’s largest real estate service provider said, adding that so far creditors are not chasing advance payment of its 2023 notes.

E-House, which counts e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding as its second largest shareholder, has failed to repay a US dollar bond due this month with a balance of USD300 million, the firm said on April 18. The bond was issued in October 2019 at a coupon rate of 7.625 percent.

No reason was given for the missed payment but the Shanghai-based company is encountering some setbacks. Last year its losses outstripped revenue at CNY8.89 billion (USD14 billion) compared to CNY8.84 billion, according to its latest earnings report. E-House is assessing the impact of the default and has suspended trading of notes for next year, it said.

There has been a string of defaults in the real estate sector in the past year because of the impact of tighter regulation, financing difficulties and a cooling real estate market. Yango Group warned in February that it is in danger of defaulting on debt, Kaisa Group was unable to repay CNY300 million (USD46.9 million) of wealth management products in November last year, China Evergrande Group missed a bond payment last December, to name a few.

In February, US credit rating agency S&P Global downgraded E-House’s long-term issuer credit rating and long-term issuer of senior unsecured notes rating to CCC from B amid concerns that the firm’s working capital is likely to remain tight amid current market conditions. E-House has another foreign bond worth USD300 million due in the first half next year.

E-House’s share price [HKG:2048] was trading down 1.23 percent at HKD0.80 (USD0.10) as of 2:30 p.m. China time today.

Editor: Kim Taylor