The Shanghai-based firm is seeking approval from offshore creditors for a restructuring plan, according to a filing made to the Hong Kong stock exchange late on Monday, as part of its latest efforts to avoid liquidation.

Investors remain bearish about China’s embattled property sector as the weakening economy and elevated default rates sours risk appetite.

Shimao, China’s 22nd biggest developer by sales in the first half, was once considered one of the country’s stronger developers, but had been trading at distressed levels in the dollar bond market for months now.

Anxious to avoid the civil unrest that would almost certainly follow a collapse in the housing market, local authorities are relaxing their stranglehold on the property sector. But will it be enough?

China’s April new home prices grew at a slightly slower pace from a month earlier as lockdown kept homebuyers away.

The resignations may reignite concerns about the financial transparency and accountability of China’s highly leveraged property developers, with US$33 billion of debt maturing offshore, according to Fitch Ratings.

Shanghai Shimao’s slump in contracted sales piles further pressure on parent Shimao Group Holdings, which faces US$3.2 billion of debt repayments this year.

Six of the 13 property chairmen attending the meetings will be representing developers that have either officially defaulted on their debts or have asked creditors for more time.

Zhenro and Jingrui are seeking to delay repayment on US$1.2 billion of bonds maturing in March. They are also seeking default waivers on a long list of bonds to stave off a chain of cross-default events.

Shimao Group Holdings is seeking buyers for nearly 40 projects to shore up liquidity, as 20 billion yuan (US$3.1 billion) of bond repayments loom this year.

Beijing may be preparing to loosen some of its restrictive measures that have constrained borrowing by property developers, but the beleaguered housing sector could face more pain in the coming months as sentiment remains challenged.

Lower loans rate gives developers much-needed relief, while a cheaper mortgage rate attracts buyers and rekindles transactions in a property market that has gone into deep freeze after five years of clampdown.

The new rules would help developers meet debt obligations, pay suppliers and finance operations by letting them use the funds in escrow that are controlled by municipal governments with no central oversight.

Shimao is seen as one of China’s more conservative borrowers, in a property industry where most developers rely on bank loans to finance their land purchases and constructions, amid a tight cap on prices and sales.

The start of 2022 has been turbulent for Chinese developers as mountains of debt come to maturity, adding to their financial woes.

Melbourne-headquartered Victory closed its 25,000 sq ft space on the 76th floor of The Center last week.

As the threat of Covid-19 infection keeps more people indoors, indebted developers are increasingly relying on the so-called butler services of their property management units to bring in some much-needed cash.

A stop on the ancient Silk Road, the tiny province in northern China aims to once again become an important link with Middle Eastern economies.

After turning an abandoned quarry in Shanghai into the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland Hotel, Jason Hui Sai-tan has set his sights on what is expected to be China’s tallest building, a 700-metre office tower in Shenzhen.

Buyers are starting to have second thoughts on flats, which some analysts say could signal a turn of sentiment in a market that has become used to ever-growing prices, cheap loans and stiff competition for tight supply

New owners of The Center say they want new tenants who will pay higher rents when global investment bank Goldman Sachs’ lease expires in December.

A venture led by Shanghai-based Shimao Property Holdings outbid five Hong Kong developers to win the government tender for a hotel site in Tung Chung for HK$1.83 billion, in line with the range of analysts' estimates.