Local construction firms scramble for funds as massive debt matures

They need to pay off $6.4b of bonds next year.

Singapore’s builders are entering 2016 with another wall of debt coming due, falling confidence and declining earnings, according to a report by Bloomberg.

After a record S$9.6 billion ($6.8 billion) of bonds were repaid this year, the industry faces S$6.4 billion of maturities next year, S$2.3 billion in 2017 and S$7.4 billion in 2018, according to Bloomberg-compiled data.

For instance, contractors Ley Choon Group Holdings Ltd. and Swee Hong Ltd. are restructuring their debt with lenders, while Tat Hong Holdings Ltd. is asking bondholders to ease financial covenants in its July 2018 notes, according to stock exchange filings. Five Singapore home builders classified by Bloomberg have an average debt-to-equity ratio of 48 times.

Read the full report here.