China Builder Agile Defaults for First Time on Dollar Bonds

Agile Group Holdings Ltd., a Chinese developer of villa apartments and high-rise homes, defaulted for the first time on publicly issued dollar bonds, underscoring lingering distress amid the nation’s unprecedented property crisis.

The company, based in the southern province of Guangdong, hasn’t paid interest within a grace period that ended May 13 on dollar bonds due 2025, it said in a filing. The builder will engage an external financial adviser and legal adviser to assist in evaluating the capital structure and liquidity.

Some of the firm’s notes — already trading at deeply distressed levels around 9 cents — ...