Ping An refutes claims that it receives China's order to acquire Country Garden

Ping An Insurance has refuted claims by Reuters that it was requested by the Chinese government to acquire Chinese real estate developer Country Garden and assume its debts.  

According to an official statement by Ping An, the company declared that the Reuters story is untrue and that it has not received such requests from any relevant government departments or agencies.  

“The company has clarified its position upon receiving the relevant enquiries from Reuters. The company expresses its deep regret that Reuters still insists on publishing the relevant untrue story,” the statement reads.  

This comes after Reuters published a story on 8 November that Chinese authorities have requested Ping An Insurance Group to take a controlling stake in Country Garden. 

In light of Country Garden’s liquidity problem, the report said that China's State Council has ordered the local government of Guangdong province to conduct due diligence on and secure a rescue plan for Country Garden by Ping An.  

Chinese authorities and Ping An’s executives have been in talks since late August, according to the report.  

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Country Garden for a statement.  

Most recently, Country Garden said it may not be able to repay all its offshore debt, which is worth HK$470m, according to CNBC. According to its interim report 2023, Yang Huiyan, chairman of the group said that the group’s total interest-bearing debts decreased to RMB257.91 billion while its net gearing ratio was 50.1% as of 30 June 2023, which was still at low levels in the industry.

"Although the company had already tried its best to arrange for the payment of the principal and interest of the financing which had been raised onshore and offshore, the company’s available cash balance kept decreasing due to the deteriorating sales performance and the weak environment for refinancing in the year. As a result, the Company is facing phased liquidity pressure."

Meanwhile, the company will consider adopting various debt management measures to resolve the phased liquidity pressure, thus maintaining the stable condition of its business operation, better preserving the value for its investors and protecting their interests. Furthermore, Yang will lead a special task force to strengthen the organisation and leadership of the group in the special situation, with the goal of steering the Company as a cohesive team through this very difficult time.

Related articles:

Ping An Health names new CEO and chairman
Ping An Group's fintech arm picks Happy Marketer for social duties