(Yicai) Sept. 15 -- Shares of Sino-Ocean Group Holding plunged after the Chinese developer said it had suspended the payment of all its offshore debts to carry out a thorough restructuring of its offshore debts, as it faces unprecedented liquidity pressures.

Sino-Ocean's shares [HKG: 3377] closed 12.1 percent down at 58 Hong Kong cents (7 US cents) in Hong Kong today.

As of the launch of the debt restructuring, Sino-Ocean had not committed any breach and is still actively fulfilling its obligations as normal, the Shanghai-based firm announced yesterday, adding that it will concentrate efforts on raising funds to deliver existing projects and accelerate the sale of properties under construction and those already completed.

The trading of Sino-Ocean's eight outstanding offshore bonds set to mature between next year and 2030 was suspended today. Among them, there are guaranteed notes with a 6 percent interest rate due next year, some with a 5.95 interest rate due in 2027, and others with a 4.75 percent rate due in 2030.

Sino-Ocean also remitted the wire transfer for its 18 Sino-Ocean 01 onshore debt yesterday.

Sino-Ocean fell into the red last year for the first time since listing. It had an annual net loss of CNY15.7 billion (USD2.2 billion), after a first-half loss of CNY1.1 billion (USD150.8 million). In the first six months of this year, it logged a CNY18.4 billion loss and a CNY20.8 billion revenue, down 11 percent from a year earlier.

China Life Insurance, Sino-Ocean's largest shareholder, has injected about CNY10 billion into the developer since 2022. However, the efforts did not help Sino-Ocean get out of its difficult position.

In June, Sino-Ocen's two major shareholders -- China Life Insurance and Dajia Insurance -- established an investigation team to join Sino-Ocean and hired China International Capital to conduct due diligence.

China Life Insurance and Dajia, two state-backed insurers, hold 29.6 percent and 29.6 percent, respectively, of Sino-Ocean.

Editor: Futura Costaglione