While Kaisa did not disclose more details for the reason behind the suspension, it had said the previous day that it was facing “unprecedented pressure” on its finances.
Kaisa did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.
According to the report, Kaisa said that it was experiencing multiple headwinds, such as a challenging real estate market environment and the recent downgrading of its credit ratings by international agencies.
Those comments led the company’s shares to crash about 15% on Thursday. Its stock has already cratered by more than 70% this year.
Kaisa faced a setback last week as Fitch and S&P Global Ratings both downgraded the company, citing debt concerns.
In a report, S&P analysts wrote that they viewed “Kaisa’s capital structure as unsustainable given the company’s sizable near-term debt maturities, weakening liquidity, and inadequate free cash flow through 2022.”
They estimated that about $3.2 billion of the company’s offshore notes would come due over the year to October 2022, suggesting that it “will need to rely on asset disposals and successfully improving its capital structure to avoid defaulting.”
According to the Securities Times, Kaisa said Thursday that it had been “actively raising funds … and doing its best to solve its current problems.”
But news of the company’s woes rattled the sector on Friday. The Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index, which tracks mainland Chinese companies in the sector, fell 2.8% in Hong Kong, following weeks of pressure on those stocks.
But Evergrande faces yet another test Saturday, as another offshore bond payment comes due, noted Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst for Asia Pacfic at Oanda.
— CNN’s Beijing bureau contributed to this report.