China braces for Evergrande Group downfall: Wall Street Journal report

China is preparing for the downfall of debt-ridden China Evergrande Group, according to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report. According to the WSJ report, the step has been characterised as getting ready for the possible storm by the officials. The officials said local government authorities and state-owned enterprises have been directed to move in only at the last minute should China Evergrande Group fail to manage its affairs in an orderly manner, the WSJ reported. The officials said that the local-level authorities have been tasked with preventing unrest and decreasing the ripple effect on home buyers and the broader economy. Debt-ridden China Evergrande Group has dollar-bond interest payments of $83.5 million due on Thursday on an offshore bond of $2 billion and a $47.5 million dollar-bond interest payment due the following week. If China's second-biggest property developer, Evergrande, fails to pay the interest within 30 days of the scheduled payment dates, both bonds will default. As Beijing tightened rules in its property sector to rein back debt levels and speculation, the company, which epitomised the borrow-to-build business model, ran into trouble over the past few months. Investors are concerned that a downfall could reach creditors including banks in China and abroad. Image SourceAlso read: China’s Evergrande: On a brink of collapse Also read: China’s Evergrande Group records 70% fall in stocks in a year