Kaisa channels its inner white knight

The first Chinese property company to default on its offshore debt sealed its return to the fold on Friday with the completion of an exchange offering and new bond deal that has put its operations back on a normal footing again.

Ever since it defaulted on a dollar-denominated issue in January 2015, Kaisa has been a poster child for the overleveraged Chinese property sector and the weak bargaining position of offshore bondholders with no direct claim on assets.

There was plenty of talk about potential white knights riding in to save the day, including fellow property developer, Sunac. In the end, it was bondholders and banks...