Chinese Property Developer Sinic Halts Trading After Sinking 87%

(Bloomberg) -- Sinic Holdings Group Co. has halted trading after an 87% slump in its shares Monday afternoon. 

The Shanghai-based developer didn’t give any reason for the trading halt in Hong Kong. The sudden selloff in the last two hours leading up to the suspension was accompanied by a surge in trading volume that was about 14 times its average in the past year, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. 

The company has a 9.5% $246 million bond due on Oct. 18 and Fitch Ratings revised its outlook to negative last week. The Monday share plunge has slashed its market value to just under $230 million, which is tiny for a listed developer in the city. An officer at the firm’s Hong Kong office said there’s no one to attend to media inquires. 

“It’s the same story as everywhere else -- investors are concerned about the liquidity,” said Philip Tse, director and head of Hong Kong and China property research at Bocom International Holdings Co Ltd. “I think there are most likely some margin calls on some of the major shareholders” by looking at Sinic’s stock price pattern this afternoon.  

The move comes as Hong Kong’s property gauge dropped the most since May 2020 amid growing investor angst about China’s real estate crackdown and worries that Beijing may tighten grip on the city’s property sector in its “Common Prosperity” campaign. 

Risk-off sentiment in financial markets was widespread on Monday. Junk-rated Chinese dollar bonds slid by as much as 2 cents. The Hong Kong dollar fell to the lowest level this month. 

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.