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☆ Exclusive: Country Garden aims to have offshore debt restructuring plan by year end
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Xie Yu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The company logo of Chinese developer Country Garden is displayed at a news conference in Hong Kong, China March 20, 2018. Country Garden, which has almost $11 billion of offshore bonds, declined to comment. The timeline for the company's debt restructuring plan has not been reported before. CreditSights said in a Nov. 2 research note that Country Garden had "formally defaulted" on its offshore bonds due to the missed payment. Sunac China Holdings Ltd (1918.HK) in October became the first to complete the debt revamp scheme for its $9 billion offshore debt after winning approval from creditors and courts.

Persons: Bobby Yip, Ping, CreditSights, CICC, Houlihan Lokey, Sidley Austin, Houlihan, China Evergrande, Hui Ka Yan, Xie Yu, Clare Jim, Sumeet Chatterjee, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Insurance Group, Ping An, Sunac China Holdings Ltd, HK, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, China, HONG KONG, HK, Beijing

☆ Top legal firms criticize law schools they hire from, accusing them of failing to address antisemitism on campuses
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

24 US law firms wrote to college deans, demanding that they tackle antisemitism on their campuses. The White House warned this week of an "alarming" rise in antisemitism on US college campuses. AdvertisementAdvertisementSome of the US' largest law firms have penned an open letter to law school deans, demanding that they address incidents of antisemitism on their campuses. This follows a call last month by a law professor from the University of California Berkeley who urged law firms not to hire students with antisemitic views. A number of Jewish college students are planning to sue several elite universities, including Cornell and Harvard, over a perceived inaction on antisemitism.

Persons: —, Kirkland, Latham, Watkins, Skadden, Sidley Austin, Morgan, Lewis, Gibson, Dunn, Patrick Dai Organizations: Service, University of California, Defamation, Cornell University, Cornell, Harvard, Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania Locations: University of California Berkeley, Israel, Gaza

[1/5] A view of the residential apartments in Country Garden's Forest City development in Johor Bahru, Malaysia August 16, 2023. The group hired PJT Partners (PJT.N) as financial adviser to lead discussions with Country Garden, two people with knowledge of the matter said. Ratings agency Moody's said on Thursday it could downgrade Country Garden's (2007.HK) 'corporate family rating' if the recovery prospects for its creditors weaken further. Moody's said Country Garden's senior unsecured rating of C was already at the lowest of its rating scale. Country Garden and Frasers did not immediately respond for a request for comment on that sale.

Persons: Edgar Su, PJT, Moody's, Frasers, Houlihan Lokey, Sidley Austin, Yeung Kwok Keung, Yang Huiyan, Yeung, Yang, Cao Jianglin, Garden's, China Evergrande, Scott Murdoch, Xie Yu, Clare Jim, Anousha Sakoui, Liz Lee, Lewis Jackson, Kim Coghill, Christopher Cushing, Jamie Freed, Lincoln, Miral Fahmy, Jane Merriman Organizations: REUTERS, HK, PJT Partners, Garden's, Australian Financial, Reuters, China International Capital Corporation, Finance, HSBC, China National Agricultural Development, SOE, Thomson Locations: Garden's, City, Johor Bahru, Malaysia, China HONG KONG, Garden's Australian, Melbourne, China, Shunde, Guangdong province, Sydney, Hong Kong, London, Beijing, Sydndey

☆ Explainer: Country Garden: What happens next?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Clare Jim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The company logo of Chinese developer Country Garden is pictured at the Shanghai Country Garden Center in Shanghai, China August 9, 2023. A non-payment is expected after Country Garden last week warned about its inability to meet offshore debt obligations. Country Garden has appointed Houlihan Lokey, China International Capital Corporation (CICC) and law firm Sidley Austin as advisers to carry out an offshore debt restructuring. Until this year, Country Garden was the largest Chinese developer by sales. Country Garden has said repeatedly that "home delivery" is its top priority.

Persons: Aly, Houlihan Lokey, Sidley Austin, Evergrande, Clare Jim, Anne Marie Roantree, Sonali Paul Organizations: Shanghai Country Garden, REUTERS, HK, China International Capital Corporation, WHO, China Evergrande, Evergrande, Regulators, Beijing, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, HONG KONG, Beijing

☆ Country Garden: What happens next?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Clare Jim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

☆ Country Garden's entire offshore debt to be in default if Tuesday payment not made
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Clare Jim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsHONG KONG, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Country Garden's (2007.HK) entire offshore debt will be deemed to be in default if China's largest property developer fails to make a $15 million coupon payment on Tuesday, the end of a 30-day grace period. Lack of payment - which is expected after Country Garden last week warned about its inability to meet offshore debt obligations - would make the firm the latest in scores of Chinese developers who have defaulted. Country Garden has also missed other offshore payments in the past few weeks though those payments still have not seen their 30-day grace periods lapse. Country Garden declined to comment. With nearly $11 billion of offshore bonds and $6 billion of offshore loans, a default by Country Garden would set the stage for one of China's biggest corporate debt restructurings.

Persons: Edgar Su, Houlihan Lokey, Sidley Austin, Clare Jim, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, HK, China International Capital Corporation, Kingboard Holdings, JPMorgan, Thomson Locations: Garden's, City, Johor Bahru, Malaysia, HONG KONG, China, Hong Kong

The company logo of Chinese developer Country Garden is pictured at the Shanghai Country Garden Center in Shanghai, China August 9, 2023. Country Garden, China's largest private property developer, has not defaulted so far, but has missed coupon payments on some dollar bonds since last month and faces the end of 30-day grace periods for making payments from next week. In a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday, Country Garden said that its sales and financing were facing "significant challenges", and its available funds have continued to decrease. Country Garden was due on Monday to pay $66.8 million in coupons on 2024 and 2026 dollar bonds, although the payments have a 30-day grace period. ($1 = 7.8284 Hong Kong dollars)Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Sydney and Xie Yu in Hong Kong; additional reporting Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru and Clare Jim in Hong Kong; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Lincoln Feast, Jamie Freed and Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Aly, homebuyers, Houlihan Lokey, Sidley Austin, Jeff Zhang, Sandra Chow, CreditSight's, Scott Murdoch, Xie Yu, Rishav Chatterjee, Clare Jim, Rashmi Aich, Lincoln, Jamie Freed, Kim Coghill Organizations: Shanghai Country Garden, REUTERS, HK, Hong, China International Capital Corporation, Asia, China Evergrande, Investment, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, HONG KONG, Hong Kong, Beijing, Sydney, Bengaluru, Clare

The company logo of Chinese developer Country Garden is pictured at the Shanghai Country Garden Center in Shanghai, China August 9, 2023. Companies accounting for 40% of Chinese home sales - mostly private property developers - have defaulted on debt obligations since a liquidity crisis hit the sector in 2021, leaving many homes unfinished. The developer had been working towards announcing a restructure of its offshore debt, Chinese media reported on Monday. Country Garden faces another big test next week when its entire offshore debt could be deemed in default if it fails to pay a $15 million September coupon by Oct. 17. "The difficult situation shows that Chinese developers face severe liquidity pressure from weak home sales, and repayment to bondholders is still a lower priority," said Gary Ng, senior economist at Natixis Corporate and Investment Bank.

Persons: Aly, Houlihan Lokey, Sidley Austin, Morningstar, Jeff Zhang, Sandra Chow, CreditSight's, Gary Ng, Scott Murdoch, Xie Yu, Rishav Chatterjee, Rashmi Aich, Lincoln, Jamie Freed 私 Organizations: Shanghai Country Garden, REUTERS, Garden Holdings, HK, Hong Kong Stock Exchange, China International Capital Corporation, Asia, Natixis Corporate, Investment Bank Locations: Shanghai, China, HONG KONG, Hong Kong, Sydney, Bengaluru

☆ China funds look to Mideast cash as US investments wane
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Summer Zhen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Seven China equity funds, including hedge funds and mutual funds, running more than $500 billion in combined assets, told Reuters they visited the Middle East this year to raise money, three of them for the first time. The search for new capital could affect Asia's hedge fund scene, where China firms account for more than half the market. "In the past perhaps the holy grail of capital raising was the U.S.," said Effie Vasilopoulos, co-Leader of law firm Sidley Austin's Asia-Pacific investment funds group. So that dynamic is leading many of our clients to the Middle East." However, sovereign funds in the Middle East have been large buyers.

Persons: Aly, Effie Vasilopoulos, Sidley, Steven Luk, Erin Wu, Wong Kok Hoi, Wong, Summer Zhen, Tom Westbrook, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: REUTERS, Seven, Reuters, FountainCap Research & Investment, OP Investment Management, POLITICO, Big U.S, ' Pension, California State Teachers, APS, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, Shenzhen, China, HONG KONG, Seven China, U.S, Asia, Pacific, Europe, Australia, Hong Kong, Texas, Singapore, Middle Eastern

☆ China’s Country Garden warns of default again as property sales plunge
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The deepening woes at Country Garden offer more evidence that China’s all-important property market is languishing in a persistent downturn, which poses a major threat to the country’s growth prospects. Country Garden was one of the few major private developers still standing after a liquidity crisis engulfed China’s property sector two years ago. The news shocked investors, triggering a broad sell-off in China’s property stocks. Significant uncertaintyOn Tuesday, Country Garden reported that its sales plunged further in September, down 81% from a year earlier. If confirmed, a debt restructuring for Country Garden would be the latest for a Chinese home builder.

Persons: “, Houlihan Lokey, Sidley Austin, Xu Jiayin Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Stock Exchange, CNN, China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Securities, Country Locations: China, Hong Kong, Beijing

☆ China's property crisis just keeps getting worse — property giant Country Garden just warned it may default on its debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

China's Country Garden warned on Tuesday it could default on its offshore debt payments. Country Garden is the latest high-profile Chinese real-estate giant ensnared in a liquidity crunch. On Tuesday, embattled property giant Country Garden signaled that it may be facing its first default ever, in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. However, Country Garden has around 3,000 unfinished projects — which is around four times that of Evergrande's 800 projects that are still being built. Country Garden shares were down 9.5% at 76 Hong Kong cents at 3.34 p.m. local time.

Persons: —, Evergrande —, it's, Houlihan Lokey, Sidley Austin Organizations: HK, Service, Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Hong, Bloomberg, China International Capital Corporation, Garden Locations: Hong Kong, China

"We're definitely seeing a bit of a soft open in the IPO market", said Lizzie Reed, global head of the ECM syndicate desk at Goldman Sachs. Arm and Instacart shares briefly fell below their issue price, suggesting there is still some way before the IPO market fully recovers. Medical glass producer Schott Pharma (1SXP.F) debuted on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on Thursday, with shares closing 16% above the IPO price. Klaviyo's shares are now trading at a 21% premium to their IPO price. "For the IPO market to open more broadly in the first quarter in 2024 ... we need the 2023 IPO cohort to continue to perform well," said Josh Weismer, head of U.S. ECM, Mizuho Americas.

Persons: Lizzie Reed, Goldman Sachs, IPOs, Robert Stowe ,, Suneel Hargunani, Schott, ThyssenKrupp, Hidrolectrica, Ross Devor, ”, Samir A, Gandhi, Stephane Gruffat, SoftBank, Josh Weismer, Echo Wang, Pablo Mayo, Anousha Sakoui, David Holmes Organizations: Bankers, ECM, Arm Holdings, Barclays, Citigroup, Schott Pharma, Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Thoma Bravo, Deutsche Bank, Nvidia, Apple, Qatar Investment Authority, U.S, Mizuho, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Thomson Locations: United States, Europe, British, New York, U.S, IPOs, East, Africa, Romanian, Qatar, Mizuho Americas, London

The Treasury Department subsequently kicked off a rule-making process to implement the order, and financial firms have been rushing to meet a Sept. 28 to provide input. "It could apply to companies that are outside of China but are subsidiaries of Chinese companies or controlled by a Chinese person." While the U.S. already has restrictions on some Chinese investments in the U.S. and U.S. investments in China, the order creates a new program. The program proposes exempting publicly traded securities and index and mutual funds, but financial firms want those securities to be more tightly defined. Financial firms say they support the administration's national security goals but worry about increased liability and the economic costs of restricting capital flows.

Persons: Florence Lo, Joe Biden, Timothy Keeler, Mayer Brown, Jen Fernandez, Sidley Austin, Jay Clayton, Sullivan, Cromwell, Keeler, Peter Matheson, Fernandez, Pete Schroeder, Carol Mandl, Michelle Price, Deepa Babington Organizations: REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Treasury Department, Foreign Investment, Treasury, Former Securities and Exchange, DE, Financial, U.S, Securities Industry, Financial Markets Association, Thomson Locations: China, U.S, United States

☆ Sino Ocean: China property woes deepen as a big developer suspends debt payments
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —A major Chinese property company has suspended offshore debt payments, deepening turmoil in the beleaguered sector. Property sales by floor area dropped 7.1% in the January to August months, compared to the first eight months of 2022. On Thursday, Moody’s downgraded its outlook for the overall sector, citing a downturn in residential sales and continued jitters about the health of the industry. In June and July, nationwide property sales fell around 20% compared to the same period a year before, it said in a report. This reversed “the 11.9% growth for the first five months, reflecting renewed weakness in residential property,” the agency added.

Persons: Houlihan Loukey, Sidley Austin, Moody’s, — CNN’s Juliana Liu Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Hong, National Bureau, Statistics, China SCE Group Locations: China, Hong Kong, Sino, Beijing

The hectic pace of activity comes after private credit funds targeting Asia jumped 76% last year to a record $11.2 billion, driven by both regional and India-dedicated strategies, according to Global Private Capital Association. As large global sponsors continue to invest into multi-billion dollar Asia-focused credit funds such as Apollo, Blackstone and KKR, the Asian private credit industry is set for further boom, Robert Wright, partner in law firm Baker McKenzie, said. The string of new private credit funds come against the backdrop of startups facing the threat of having down rounds. Nevertheless, alternative financing such as private credit does not come cheap, industry experts warned. Private credit firms usually arrange loans, with assets secured, on a floating rate basis.

Persons: GPCA, Singapore's SeaTown, Europe's 21yield, Nicholas Mairone, Robert Wright, Baker McKenzie, SeaTown, Rakshat Kapoor, Camille Krejci, Parthiv Rishi, Sidley Austin, Siew Kam Boon, Yantoultra Ngui, Sumeet Chatterjee Organizations: Asia, SINGAPORE, Global Private Capital Association . Industry, Silicon Valley Bank, Blackstone, KKR, Reuters Graphics, Bain Capital, India's, Mahindra Bank, Hong Kong's ADM, SoftBank Investment Advisers, Reuters, Prosus NV, Thomson Locations: Asia, India, Singapore, United States, North America, Silicon, Pacific, Japan, Hong Kong

☆ 4 things 'Succession' gets wrong about business
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

HBO's hit show "Succession" airs its series finale Sunday night, with Waystar Royco's future in the balance. It captures the spirit of boardroom drama, but takes some liberties with corporate law, experts said. On HBO's hit show "Succession," the beats of a proxy fight are sometimes just as intense as a scheming betrayal from a once loyal lackey. Over four seasons, the show has laid out a thesis about the all-encompassing gravitational force of Logan Roy, the media mogul behind the fictional news and entertainment conglomerate Waystar Royco. "But the failure of the board to engage in any succession planning at all, is a first thing to note," she said.

☆ Former FCC Chair Newton Minow, who called 1960s TV 'vast wasteland', dies at 97
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Bill Trott | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

On May 9, 1961, he addressed the National Association of Broadcasters convention and had some stark criticism for television executives. "When television is good, nothing - not the theater, not the magazines or newspapers - nothing is better," Minow said. "I can assure you that what you will observe is a vast wasteland," he said. The speech draft had referred to a "vast wasteland of junk" but Minow excised "of junk" so as not to offend his audience too deeply. Minow headed the FCC for two years and in 1965 became a partner at the Chicago law firm of Sidley Austin.

☆ Future-Proofing the Board of Directors
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +29 min

Governance structures and practices should position the board to provide objective judgment and active oversight supported by board leadership, which is separate from and independent of company management. The board should design governance structures and practices that support it in determining board priorities, agendas, and information needs. The board should create governance structures and practices that ensure that directors are competent, committed, and diverse and that board and committee composition align with the company’s changing needs. Developing and supporting a positive and ethical corporate culture (see Corporate and Board Culture below). Corporate and Board CultureA strong board and corporate culture is imperative for a company’s success.

☆ Office Doom Loop: Landlords Face a Reckoning As Companies Move to Fancy Offices
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Daniel Geiger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

The Gas Company Tower in downtown Los Angeles has a sterling pedigree, but even that can't save it from the doom loop facing many older office towers. A huge swath of America's office market is vulnerable to these twin threats of being under-equipped with amenities and underwater financially. This behavioral shift has deeply cut into demand for office space. The amount of sublease space nationally more than doubled from 118.5 million square feet at the end of 2019 to 242.8 million square feet at the end of 2022, Colliers stated. Lenders are often reluctant, he said, to seize office buildings because of the costs and expertise required to operate the properties.

HONG KONG, March 22 (Reuters) - China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) on Wednesday announced plans for the restructuring of its $22.7 billion in offshore debt, which could set a template for distressed rivals and shape investor sentiment on the country's embattled property sector. The world's most indebted property developer gave creditors a basket of options to swap their debt into new bonds and equity-linked instruments tied to two Hong Kong-listed companies, Evergrande Property Services Group (6666.HK) and Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group (0708.HK). With more than $300 billion in total liabilities including offshore debt, Evergrande has been at the centre of a property debt crisis in which multiple Chinese developers defaulted over the past year, forcing many to enter debt restructuring talks. "The proposed restructuring will alleviate the company's pressure of offshore indebtedness and facilitate the company's efforts to resume operations and resolve issues on shore," Evergrande said in the filing. Evergrande, which began one of China's biggest debt restructuring processes early last year, said on Monday that a key bondholder group had agreed to its proposed terms.

☆ China Evergrande set to unveil offshore debt restructuring proposal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, March 22 (Reuters) - China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) is set to unveil on Wednesday a restructuring proposal for its $22.7 billion offshore debt that could set the template for distressed peers and shape investor sentiment towards the country's embattled property sector. Two people with knowledge of the proposal said it would give creditors a basket of options to swap their debt into new bonds with extended maturity and equity in Evergrande's two Hong Kong-listed units - Evergrande Property Services Group (6666.HK) and Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group (0708.HK). Evergrande, once China's top-selling developer but now the world's most indebted property developer, declined to comment. With more than $300 billion in total liabilities including offshore debt, Evergrande has been at the centre of a property debt crisis in which multiple Chinese developers defaulted over the past year, forcing many to enter debt restructuring talks. Evergrande, which began one of China's biggest debt restructuring processes early last year, said on Monday that a key bondholder group had agreed to its proposed terms and that it plans to publish the details on Wednesday.

HONG KONG, March 20 (Reuters) - Embattled developer China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) plans to publish on Wednesday an offshore debt restructuring term sheet agreed with a key offshore bondholder group, the firm's lawyer told a Hong Kong court. The step paves the way for the world's most indebted property developer to restructure offshore debt of $22.7 billion, as part of liabilities of more than $300 billion. Once China's top-selling developer, Evergrande has been at the centre of a property debt crisis in which multiple developers defaulted on offshore debt obligations over the past few years, forcing many to enter into debt restructuring talks. The two units are Evergrande Property Services Group (6666.HK) and Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group (0708.HK). In a court hearing last November, Evergrande said it aimed to win creditors' approval for its debt restructuring proposals by the end of February.

☆ Streamers are spending big on sports rights from soccer to MMA, and a surge in Spanish-language viewing has 'opened up a whole different market'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Fox scored 16.7 million viewers for the World Cup final in November; Peacock had 9 million for its Spanish-language coverage. Soccer's UEFA Champions League offers the next big Spanish-language rights opportunity. "The World Cup has opened up a whole different market for Spanish-language rights," said one sports exec. That gives Peacock Spanish-language streaming rights to this year's FIFA Women's World Cup along with the men's World Cup in 2026, which is being co-hosted in Canada, Mexico, and the US. "Spanish-language rights have been going up consistently," Irwin Raij, the co-chair of law firm Sidley Austin's entertainment, sports, and media group, told Insider.

☆ The next big prize in sports streaming will be Spanish-language rights to soccer and more — here's why NBCUniversal's Peacock has a running start
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

They had hoped to represent a much larger class of artists who filed termination notices with UMG. A provision of U.S. copyright law allows artists to terminate agreements to transfer their copyrights and reclaim them after decades in some circumstances. Kaplan said Friday that the musicians could not represent a broader class of artists who sent termination notices to UMG with effective dates between 2013 and 2031. A related lawsuit filed against Sony Music by musicians including former New York Dolls singer David Johansen has been paused since 2021 for settlement discussions. The UMG case is Waite v. UMG Recordings Inc, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No.

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