On Tuesday, Chinese property giant Country Garden Holdings disclosed in its filings to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that the company has failed to make a due-to-Monday offshore debt payment of 470 million Hong Kong dollars (48,98 million GBP), further highlighting that they might not be able to pay off all of Country Garden’s current debt.

Country Garden’s shares fell by 10% in Hong Kong overnight.

Country Garden avoided default in September by getting an extension on offshore private bond debt payments. Nonetheless, a sector-wide crisis in China has been hurting Country Garden’s liquidity position and heightening the risk of default.

In its filings with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the company further stated that, amid the crisis, they are uncertain they would be able to meet other payments due in the coming periods.

Many Chinese property giants have been defaulting as the result of an inability to pay off debt.

Evergrande, another major Chinese property company, currently has an outstanding debt of $31.7 billion in bonds, repurchases, and collateral obligations. Their shares also fell overnight.

Convenience food producer Greencore said profit was set to exceed prior expectations for the 2023 full year as revenue jumped 13%.

Greencore shares were 15% higher on Tuesday after the group said they saw adjusted operating profit in a range of approximately £74m-£76m.

The strong performance has provided Greencore with the opportunity to expand recent share buybacks with an additional £15m. Net debt is estimated to fall £25m to £155m by the end of the year.

“The Greencore team has delivered a strong second half performance in what was a difficult seasonal comparative period and against the backdrop of inflation and a challenging consumer environment,” said Dalton Philips, Chief Executive Officer, Greencore.

“We continue to drive operational improvements across the business underpinned by our commitment to quality and customer service. While macro-economic uncertainty remains, we are pleased with the expected FY23 outcome and are committed to driving an improved financial performance in the period ahead.”

Capital Metals shares jumped on Tuesday after the company confirmed Sri Lanka had expelled a minister at the heart of the decision to cancel Capital Metals mining licenses.

Capital Metals shares were 58% higher at the time of writing on Tuesday.

The Supreme Court in Sri Lanka has determined the expulsion of Naseer Ahamad from the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress to be legally valid and he will lose his parliamentary seat and position as Minister of Environment overseeing the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau.

Ahamad was the minister involved in cancelling Capital Metals’ Industrial Mining Licences. Both Mr. Ahamad and the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau Chairman he appointed are now under investigation for alleged misappropriation.

Capital Metals is disputing the cancelled licences and the expulsion signals a potential shift in approach by Sri Lankan authorities to mining activities.

Greg Martyr, Executive Chairman of Capital Metals, commented:

“This is a positive development resulting in the removal from office of the minister we believe to be primarily responsible for the illegal interference with our licences. This, together with the recently approved change in mineral licensing procedures, which transfers certain responsibilities to the Board of Investment, should bode well for our situation but also more generally for the country as it takes steps to improve governance.

“We continue to await the outcome of our statutory appeal against the attempted cancellation of our licences which was heard by the Secretary of the Ministry of Environment two weeks ago and are confident of a positive outcome.”

The FTSE 100 closed flat on Monday after a weekend of despicable violence in Israel spilt over into financial markets.

The human tragedy unfolding in Israel and Gaza Strop has heightened geo-political concerns and provided support for oil prices.

Brent oil was trading up around 3% at $86.98 per barrel. Brent has been trading closer to $100 in recent weeks. Elevated oil prices feed through to higher share price for BP and Shell who were central to the FTSE 100’s rise on Monday.

“The FTSE 100 was steady on Monday after the shocking events in the Middle East over the weekend, with the index supported by its oil heavyweights BP and Shell,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“As it nearly always does, an escalation of tensions in the region has helped push up oil prices. This is inevitable given how much of the world’s crude reserves and production are centred there.”

London’s listed airline companies were among the top fallers on Monday with FTSE 100 IAG sinking 5%. Fears are that prolonged war in Israel will dampen tourist demand across Europe as higher fuel prices erode profits.

Elsewhere, Aviva shares continued to benefit from takeover speculation after reports last week the insurer was being eyed by multiple parties.

Helium One shares fell again on Monday after the company announced last week their operations in Tanzania had suffered a setback.

Helium explorer Helium One Global has suspended drilling at its Tai-3 well in Tanzania after a component failure occurred in the Predator 220 drilling rig on Wednesday evening last week.

Helium One shares were down 1% to 4.65p at the time of writing on Monday.

The necessary repairs will require mechanical parts to be brought in from outside the country, causing an estimated two-week delay before drilling can resume.

The rig malfunction happened just as Helium One was starting to drill the 8.5″ hole section, following the successful installation of 13 3/8″ casing. Prior to the failure, drilling had been on schedule and was expected to reach the target depth this weekend.

Once repaired, the company is confident drilling can restart per the original program. The Tai-3 well is Helium One’s first in Tanzania as it explores the potential for major helium resources in the country.

The Tanzania programme had been delayed earlier in the year after the company faced difficulties securing a drill rig.

Metro Bank shares jumped on Monday as the banking institution avoided catastrophe by raising £925m in debt and equity to help bolster its balance sheet.

The £925m was substantially more than the £600m amount reported by the Times last with £325m equity raised and £600m debt.

The equity raise was led by Spaldy, Metro Bank’s largest shareholder who contributed £103m to the raise. Splady is now a Metro Bank controlling shareholder.

“Another crisis in the banking sector has been averted… for now. Metro Bank’s fundraising agreement is important on two counts. First, it avoids any panic and a run on the bank, something that could have feasibly happened if it had not raised a significant amount of cash over the weekend to shore up its balance sheet. Second, it provides breathing space for the company to conclude talks on asset sales,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“The value of the company’s bonds and shares shot up on the fundraising plan as they were previously priced as if the company was in serious trouble. The fundraising now removes a lot of the risks, yet existing shareholders who do not participate in the equity raise will suffer significant dilution. Bondholders also get a big haircut.

“The past week will have been extremely damaging for the company’s reputation and there will undoubtedly be customers who may still prefer to shift their money to a different bank.”

Metro Bank shares were 26% higher at the time of writing on Monday.