real estate Photo:Xinhua

China's Ping An Insurance Group said on Wednesday that the company has never received any requests from Chinese authorities to acquire cash-strapped property developer Country Garden and take over its debt, refuting a recent report by Reuters. 

Ping An said that the report is completely inconsistent with the fact, and the company has never been approached by any government or agency.

Reuters on Wednesday reported that Chinese authorities have asked Ping An to take a controlling stake in Country Garden, citing four people familiar with the plan. 

The report said that China's State Council, the cabinet, has instructed the local government of South China's Guangdong Province to help arrange a rescue of Country Garden by Ping An. The report added that the authorities want Ping An to take a stake of more than 50 percent. 

A Country Garden $15 million coupon payment was due on October 18, and the company said that it would not be able to fulfill all the overseas debt payment as scheduled, and the developer hoped to seek a holistic solution to solve the current difficulties faced by the developer to maintain continuous operation of the company which will benefit all parties, the paper.cn reported. 

Ping An also said that the company no longer owns any share of Country Garden by the end of the third quarter. 

Following the recently held central financial work conference, new initiatives to support property developers might come out, which will help promote the healthy development of real estate enterprises, Yan Yuejin, research director at Shanghai-based E-house China R&D Institute, said on Wednesday. 

The shares of Ping An, listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, closed with a decrease of 5.41 percent on Wednesday, while shares of Hong Kong-listed Country Garden closed, surging 12.16 percent in price.

Earlier in October, a number of Chinese property developers reportedly started to restructure their offshore debts, and some of them have made progress in their liabilities management. Observers said that the move showed that developers have made breakthroughs in the disposal of their debts, which will boost confidence in the property sector.

Global Times