Shares of Chinese developer Kaisa and units suspended as debt woes mount

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Kaisa’s troubles come amid concerns about a deepening liquidity crisis in the Chinese property sector, with a string of offshore debt defaults, credit rating downgrades and sell-offs in the developers’ shares and bonds in recent weeks.

A Hong Kong stock exchange filing showed Kaisa’s shares were suspended as of Friday. The exchange did not elaborate.

The Hong Kong-listed shares of Kaisa, which has a market value of about $1 billion, plunged more than 15% on Thursday to an all-time low.

The Shenzhen-based developer, which provides a guarantee for the wealth management product, said in a statement on Thursday it is facing unprecedented liquidity pressure due to a challenging property market and rating downgrades.

Kaisa has the most offshore debt coming due over the next year of any Chinese developer after embattled China Evergrande Group, which is reeling under more than $300 billion in liabilities.