By Clare Jim
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Cash-strapped Chinese developer Kaisa Group said a lockdown in Shenzhen had meant audit work has not been completed and it would not be able to publish its financial results by March 31, sending its shares tumbling.
Due to the delay, its shares will be suspended from trade from April 1 as required by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s listing rules, it said in a filing late on Tuesday.
The shares were down 4% in Wednesday morning trade, compared to a 1.5% rise for the main Hang Seng Index.
Kaisa, the second-largest dollar bond issuer among China’s property developers after China Evergrande Group, is restructuring its $12 billion offshore debt after defaulting on some bonds last year.
In the filing, the firm said it has been working with its legal and financial advisors in the past few months to formulate a solution “for the benefit of all stakeholders” and ease its current liquidity issues.
It has also entered into “constructive dialogue” with its creditors, it added.
(Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
