S&P and Moody’s Assign First-time “B” and “B2” Ratings respectively to Datang

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 22 April 2021 – Chinese property developer ─ Datang Group Holdings Limited (“Datang” or the “Company”; together with the subsidiaries, the “Group”; HKEx stock code: 2117) is pleased to announce that S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) has assigned a “B” long-term issuer credit rating to the Group with a stable outlook and Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s) has assigned a “B2” corporate family rating to the Group with a stable outlook. These are the first-time ratings granted to the Group by authoritative international rating agencies.

S&P

S&P says the rating reflects Datang’s progress in its ambitious plan to expand beyond its home markets, transforming from a small operating scale mainly focused around lower-tier cities. The Company’s good market position and sales execution in its home market Nanning and improving geographic diversification temper its risks.

S&P forecasts Datang’s 2021 contracted sales to be RMB47 billion to RMB49 billion based on a sell-through rate of 65%-68%, in line with 66% in 2020. In S&P’s view, the Company made solid progress in contracted sales in the first quarter of 2021 because its sales of RMB93.5 billion already accounted for about 19% of its full-year estimate. As the Company increases its presence in the Yangtse River Delta, S&P expects a gradual increase in sell-through rate. S&P also believes Datang will maintain a satisfactory cash collection rate of around 90% for the next 12 months, as the company has seen a solid rebound in cash collection in the first quarter of 2021.

The stable outlook reflects S&P’s view that Datang will maintain steady sales growth, while expanding into the Yangtze River Delta region. S&P also expects the Company to sustain solid revenue growth over the next 12 months on the back of its adequate sold but unrecognized revenue.

Moody’s

Mood’s says the rating reflects the Company’s growing operating scale and good execution capability in its key markets of Guangxi and Fujian provinces. It also considers Datang’s comparable credit metrics with its B2-rated peers, as well as its adequate liquidity.

Moody’s points out that Datang has over ten years of property development experience in China with a focus on Guangxi and Fujian provinces. Solid housing demand in the key cities that the Group operates, such as Nanning and Zhangzhou will continue to support the Datang’s contracted sales. In addition, Datang has identified the Yangtse River Delta region as a strategic growth area in the coming years. The affluent economy in this region will support housing demand and thereby Datang’s sales growth.

Moody’s expects Datang’s gross contracted sales to grow by 20% and 15% in 2021 and 2022 respectively. Such solid sales will support the company’s liquidity and revenue growth in the next 12 to 18 months.

The stable rating outlook reflects Moody’s expectation that Datang will maintain sufficient balance sheet liquidity and grow its scale as planned, while maintaining a disciplined approach to land acquisitions.

Mr. Wu Di, Chairman of the Group said, “The ratings granted by S&P and Moody’s served as a proof that the Group’s efforts in improving its capital structure paid off since its listing on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in December last year. We are encouraged by the capital market’s recognition of the Group’s sound business strategy and the capital market’s confidence in the Company’s improving credit profile. Looking ahead, Datang will continue to broaden financing channels of domestic and overseas capital markets, increase cooperation with financial institutions, and expand credit scale. Meanwhile, we will reasonably control the debt scale and continue to maintain a stable growth under the Three Red Lines.”