884 shares of CIFI Holdings (Group) Co;
A unit linked to a Chinese developer fell sharply on Wednesday following reports that it had missed a debt payment.
The stock fell as much as 29% and ended up 27% lower at HK$0.93. That puts the CIFI on track for its worst one-day decline ever.
The sale came after a widely circulated media report revealed that the CFI-controlled company had missed a debt product payment. Credit markets data provider Debtwire later reported, citing unnamed sources, that the CIFI was in talks to extend the Tuesday payment deadline for the trust product.
CIFI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In the year It is one of several developers approved by CIFI to sell new bonds in Beijing in 2021 after the liquidity crisis in China’s real estate industry worsened, and it has a reputation as a relative powerhouse in the sector. Any defaults by the CIFI would be a major blow to already weak sentiment in China’s real estate market, analysts say.
“This is very important, because CIFI has never missed a payment before,” said a Hong Kong-based property stock analyst. “The first secret is always important.”
If the reports of non-payment are true, it is an indication that even the best quality private developers are starting to face problems, he said.
Write to Yifan Wang at yifan.wang@wsj.com