China Evergrande Is Said to Explore Listing of Tourism Business
China Evergrande Is Said to Explore Listing of Tourism Business
(Bloomberg) -- China Evergrande Group is exploring the prospect of listing its tourism business, according to people familiar with the matter, as the world’s most indebted developer seeks to convince investors it can generate enough cash to pay down borrowings.
The company has held preliminary talks with advisers on a potential initial public offering for the unit, the people said, requesting not to be named because the matter is private. A share sale could happen as soon as next year, the people said.
Considerations are at an early stage and there’s been no final decision on details including valuation and venue, the people said. A representative for Evergrande didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Evergrande has tourism operations in provinces including Hubei, Shaanxi and Guizhou, according to its latest annual report. It plans to start rolling out theme park Evergrande Fairyland in 15 Chinese cities from next year, targeting children and teenagers, its website shows. The company also owns a project called Ocean Flower Island in Hainan province, which includes theme parks, shopping malls, hotels as well as a hot spring and convention and exhibition center.
Evergrande is facing a loss of confidence among investors amid a slew of reports about wary banks and overdue payments to suppliers. With $302 billion in liabilities last year, Evergrande has been offloading assets, cutting back debt and offering blitz sales discounts to raise money and appease regulators’ requirement that it meet so-called “Three Red Lines” metrics.
The developer is also considering whether to list its bottled water business known as Evergrande Spring, Bloomberg News reported this month. The unit, in which Evergrande holds a 49% stake, is planning to raise several hundred million dollars, the people familiar with the matter have said. Shares in Evergrande rebounded as much as 11.5% on Thursday after it said it has settled a dispute with China Guangfa Bank Co. which had frozen its deposits.
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