CHINA Huarong Asset Management Co. has made the biggest bond payment since confidence in its financial health began plunging two months ago, adding to signs that the company still has access to near-term liquidity.

Huarong wired funds for a US$900 million dollar bond due June 3, a person familiar with the matter said. One of the company’s onshore units also paid a 500 million yuan (US$78 million) bond that matured Sunday, people familiar said.

While Huarong’s longer-dated bonds still trade at levels that imply a high risk of default, the company has yet to miss a payment since it spooked investors by failing to report annual results at the end of March.

Huarong has reached funding agreements with State-owned banks to ensure it can repay debt through at least the end of August, by which time the company aims to have completed its 2020 financial statements, people familiar with the matter said earlier last month.

The firm’s dollar notes were largely unchanged yesterday. Its 3.75 percent bond maturing 2022 is indicated at 75.8 cents on the dollar, while the firm’s 4 percent perpetual bond is at 57 cents.

Huarong has to repay or refinance about US$6.2 billion of local and offshore bonds this year, including the domestic note that matured Sunday and the dollar bond due June 3. The firm yesterday declined to comment on its debt payments.

(SD-Agencies)