China’s state-owned Peking University Founder Group missed a bond payment, despite its a high credit rating, citing a liquidity crunch as the major reason.
The firm, controlled by top school Peking University, missed payment on a 270-day, 2 billion yuan ($283 million) domestic bond. The firm was «actively seeking funding through various channels and strengthening operations» to ensure repayment of the bond, said an «SCMP» report, citing exchange filings.
The default was made all the more surprising as Founder Group, which includes businesses spanning across software development, securities trading and real estate, was rated as AAA, the highest level by domestic agencies.
Onlookers cast a gloomy outlook on China due to an ongoing slowdown that has been marred by historical high in defaults. According to Fitch Ratings, the country had already matched 2018’s full count of defaulted issuers in the first three quarters of 2019 and expects the figure to continue rising.
Also in this week, Tunghsu Optoelectronic Technology missed an interest payment on a 1.7 billion yuan (US$241 million) onshore bond.
