(Yicai Global) May 26 -- Chinese commercial real estate developer Wongtee International Enterprise is seeking debt swap plans from financial institutions, including offshore debt, according to its board secretary.

Shenzhen-based Wongtee is looking for institutions to replace debt due, Wu Kai told Yical Global on May 24.

Wongtee’s key asset, Wongtee Plaza, was recently seized by a court over a debt dispute. Citic Trust filed a lawsuit to seize Wongtee Plaza’s real estate assets after Wongtee failed to repay a loan of CNY2.8 billion (USD438 million) due at the end of March, the latter said in a statement on May 19.

The property is almost Wongtee’s only source of profit. Last year, Wongtee reported a net loss of CNY292 million (USD45.6 million), while Wongtee Plaza had a net profit of CNY69.4 million.

After the debt is paid off, Wongtee Plaza will be unfrozen, Wu said in an interview.

“The seizure of Wongtee Plaza is not conducive to the company’s domestic bond issuance rating, but the project’s liquidity itself remains good,” he said. “Overseas debt issuance and financing should be easier.”

“Domestic financiers look at both a company’s main business and the project, while overseas financiers focus more on the project itself,” Wu said.

The current funding fundamentals at debt-ravaged Wongtee are not good. According to the company’s data, liabilities amounted CNY4.7 billion as of the end of the first quarter, while cash on the books was just CNY37 million, showing a huge debt repayment gap.

Wongtee once relied on commercial real estate leasing as its main revenue. Due to the sluggish performance of its main business, it began dabbling in the financial sector in 2015, obtaining multiple financial business licenses. Following a brief upturn, its performance soon fell into trouble again.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Peter Thomas