Bankers Fearing Crisis at New World Sealed $11 Billion Loan Deal

Nobody wanted to be the banker who tipped Hong Kong’s fragile property market into crisis.

For New World Development Co., the real estate giant locked in monthslong negotiations over a record $11 billion refinancing, fear of what might happen if the package fell through was a major factor pushing lenders to agree on a deal that was finally closed on Monday.

The stakes were so high that some bankers pitched the deal to their credit committees not by emphasizing the strengths of the company but the ramifications of its failure. New World’s roughly $40 billion of Hong Kong assets ...