SHIMAO Group Holdings’ Hong Kong-listed shares yesterday surged after domestic media reported that the developer is seeking to sell its real estate projects and speed up sales of its assets.

Shimao has put on sale all of its real estate projects, including both residential and commercial properties, as the cash-strapped property developer accelerates asset disposals, financial media outlet Caixin reported over the weekend.

The report came after its subsidiary, Shanghai Shimao Jianshe Co., defaulted on a trust loan last week. The group has asked agents since late December to help seek buyers for its properties, Caixin reported.

Shimao Group is largely focused on residential property development, with Shanghai Shimao Construction being its main China business platform. Shanghai Shimao Co., controlled by Shimao Group, mainly develops commercial properties.

Shimao has struck a preliminary deal with a State-owned company to sell its Shimao International Plaza Shanghai, a commercial property on Shanghai’s Nanjing Road, for more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.57 billion), Caixin reported.

The property developer said last week that it has defaulted on a trust loan payment, while its unit Shanghai Shimao Construction has proposed extensions on maturities for two asset-backed securities (ABS) due this month.

Shimao has 34.2 billion yuan worth of outstanding ABS, as well as US$5.72 billion worth of dollar bonds, according to Caixin.

On Friday Shimao sought to dispel investors’ concerns about its debt, noting that it faced some liquidity pressure but hadn’t defaulted on any public market debt.

(SD-Agencies)