Sunac Shares Tumble as Lenders Scrutinize Its Funding Operations
Xu Wei
DATE:  Jul 18 2017
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
Sunac Shares Tumble as Lenders Scrutinize Its Funding Operations Sunac Shares Tumble as Lenders Scrutinize Its Funding Operations

(Yicai Global) July 18 -- Following its recent acquisition of Wanda hotels and 'cultural tourism cities,' Sunac China Holdings Ltd.'s [HK:1918] aggressive business style and mounting debts sparked alert among financial institutions. As a result, its share price slumped today.

China Construction Bank has shelved a product it previously approved to be sold by Sunac on consignment. It has also canceled a CNY1.5 billion (USD222 million) loan for a Sunac trust project, Jiemian.com reported today, citing a source at the bank's head office.

"CITIC Bank [SHA:601998], Credit Fund of Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of Beijing Co. [SHA:601169] told us that they received a notice, so we've stopped it too," said a source at a financial institution.

The 'notice' refers to an internal document issued by a commercial bank calling on its head office and financial business department to investigate into risk disclosures of HNA, Wanda, Fosun and Sunac as well as their affiliates. It is similar to the one that China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) reportedly distributed a while ago, which required commercial banks to examine foreign debts owed by Wanda and Fosun.

"The biggest pressure now comes from regulators," noted a source at Sunac following the announcement of the partnership between Wanda and Sunac. "If your company is heavily leveraged, they'll limit the amount of lending you can get. Wang Jianlin has already felt the pressure, and we fear that Sun Hongbin might be the next," he said.

The only thing that Sunac can do now to offset risks is to ramp up sales. The company's future depends on its ability to deleverage fast enough in the second half. If it manages to sell CNY300 billion worth of products this year, then it should be enough to lower its financial leverage to a safe level. After all, the firm is well known for its strong sales performance.

Sunac's share price closed 10 percent lower at HKD15.48 (USD1.98) as of 10.40 a.m. today, after recovering from the lowest point of HKD14.96.

Follow Yicai Global on
Keywords:   MSCI,Regulator,Loan,Credit,Leveraging,Financial,Institution,Risk Disclosure