• protist
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      16
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      When you actually read the article:

      Soho China reported a net profit of 13.61 million yuan for the first six months of the year, down 93% from a year earlier.

      Soho China also warned of “material uncertainty” over its future due to an unpaid tax bill at a subsidiary that manages Wangjing Soho, its main office and retail property in central Beijing.

      The subsidiary received a notice from the local tax authority in August 2022 ordering it to pay 1.73 billion yuan in land appreciation tax by Sept. 1 of that year…1.98 billion yuan, including surcharges, remains outstanding.

      The local tax authority could add extra penalties equivalent to between 50% of and five times the outstanding amount due. The tax collection law also allows the local authority to seize and sell those properties.

      If Soho China is deemed to have defaulted on the tax payment, a portion of the company’s bank borrowings with a total principal and interest value of 4.24 billion yuan will become due immediately, under cross-default arrangements.

      The developer’s total borrowings stood at more than 16 billion yuan at the end of June, while its unrestricted cash and cash equivalents came in at 627.25 million yuan. The company has entered into supplemental agreements with its major lenders to revise repayment terms for a total principal of 7.27 billion yuan, including a missed principal repayment of about 60 million yuan that was due in December 2022.

      Soho said there is “no indication” that the banks involved in the cross-default arrangement will demand immediate repayment, based on their latest communications, but the company noted "the existence of a material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt about the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern" in the Friday filing.