China property firm says ‘has lost touch’ with company it gave $300m

BEIJING: A Chinese property company said Thursday that it cannot get in touch with a money management firm that it gave over $300 million for investment, the latest example of the country’s debt-crippled real estate sector’s woes.

China Fortune Land Development said in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange that it had recently “lost contact” with China Create Capital after handing over the money in 2018.

There was “no way to judge” how the missing cash would affect Fortune Land’s current and future earnings, the filing said.

China’s heavily indebted property firms have struggled to keep their heads above water since Beijing last year launched a sweeping crackdown on excessive leverage in the sector.

Real estate behemoth Evergrande — drowning in $300 billion in debt — has been the highest-profile firm to become ensnared in the crisis, defaulting last week on more than $1.2 billion of bond debt.