Seeing “China Evergrande Group” trending on global search engines is the last thing Xi Jinping needs as 2023 goes awry for Asia’s biggest economy.
News that exports plunged 14.5% in July year on year was the latest blow to China’s hopes of growing its targeted 5% this year. It’s the biggest drop since February 2020, when Covid-19 was sledgehammering trade and production worldwide.
Yet the default drama at Country Garden Holdings is a reminder that the call for help is coming from inside China’s economy.
This week, Country Garden was trending in cyberspace as it faced liquidity troubles akin to those of the humbled China Evergrande in 2021.
The whiff of trouble that tantalized markets in recent weeks proved true amid reports noteholders failed to receive coupon payments due on August 7.