(Yicai Global) March 1 -- Major Chinese property developers have more than CNY600 billion (USD95.1 billion) of debt maturing this year, Yicai Global calculated based on figures from a number of sources.

The peak will come in this month to June, when 170 homebuilders have US dollar- and Chinese yuan-denominated bonds totaling CNY180.9 billion (USD28.7 billion) coming due.

After losing the means to issue new notes to repay old debt, only by striving for sales and selling quality assets can Chinese developers weather the crisis, according to real estate data cruncher China Real Estate Information Corporation.

“The real estate industry will be exposed to risks unless sales recover to the level of the first half of last year,” a person in high-yield debt investment said.

“If sales only recover to a 30 percent decline from a 50 percent one, it will not be enough for companies to relieve debt pressure,” the person said, adding that sales are picking up.

January is usually the peak month for Chinese developers’ bond sales. But this January, they issued less than CNY50 billion (USD7.9 billion) worth, as investors lacked confidence, down 63 percent from the same period in 2020. The figure had exceeded CNY100 billion in the past three years.

Bonds sold by 100 major developers last month had reached only CNY15 billion as of Feb. 18, according to incomplete figures from CRIC.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione