appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Salina Li

Indebted Chinese developer Country Garden Holdings has proposed restructuring terms that aim to reduce its offshore debt by up to US$11.6 billion while providing creditors with multiple options including converting debt into cash or accepting extended maturity periods.
The developer said it had reached an understanding on key terms of the restructuring proposal with a committee comprising seven banks that are long-term business partners, according to a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Thursday night.
The proposal offers five options: converting debt to cash, receiving mandatory convertible bonds maturing in 3.5 years, and extending maturity by 7.5, 9.5 or 11.5 years alongside choosing new debt instruments, including mandatory convertible bonds, notes and loan facilities.
In addition, the controlling shareholder of the company is considering converting its existing shareholder loan, which has an aggregate outstanding principal amount of US$1.1 billion, into shares of the company or its subsidiaries, the company said.
The restructuring proposal would enable the group to achieve “significant deleveraging, with a targeted reduction of indebtedness up to US$11.6 billion”, Country Garden said. “As a result, the group will have a more sustainable capital structure, allowing it to focus on delivering housing units, continuing its business operations, preserving asset value, and implementing a business and asset disposal strategy which it believes has the best potential to maximise value for all stakeholders.”
As of December 31, Country Garden had total offshore attributable interest-bearing liabilities of US$16.4 billion.
The company provided the update on its restructuring ahead of its liquidation hearing on January 20. It comes after the home builder recorded a 50 per cent year-on-year decline in contracted sales to 3.42 billion yuan (US$467 million) in December, according to an exchange filing on Tuesday.
Country Garden pledged to deliver homes to buyers on time and maintain good communications with authorities and stakeholders, as the troubled developer struggles to reorganise US$35.4 billion of debt and shake off legal troubles.

Yang Huiyan, the company’s chairwoman and controlling shareholder, called on top managers in December to guarantee the quality and quantity of its business. It also promised to pay wages on time, especially to migrant workers, with less than two months before the Lunar New Year.
China’s property sector, once the pillar of economic growth, has been in the doldrums since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic struck and Beijing slammed the brakes on highly geared developers to prevent risks to the financial system, sparking a liquidity crisis.
Once China’s biggest player in the housing sector, Country Garden fell into a liquidity crunch last year when it failed to repay its offshore creditors and later sought debt relief through a restructuring process.
Country Garden was given a reprieve of almost six months in July when a Hong Kong court adjourned a winding-up hearing and asked it to come up with a restructuring blueprint.
Justice Linda Chan adjourned the case until January 20 after hearing a litigation by Ever Credit, a unit of Hong Kong-listed laminates and chemicals producer Kingboard Holdings. It was the second time that the court adjourned the hearing after Ever Credit filed a petition in February to liquidate the firm and recover a HK$1.6 billion (US$206 million) loan and the interest accrued on it.


Housing prices surge near new Huanggang Port as buyers eye ‘dual-city’ lifestyle

Will fresh incentives give China’s housing market more than a short-lived rebound?

Will AI adoption shrink office space? Asia-Pacific firms are on the fence in survey

China’s worsening retail slowdown bolsters case for stimulus

China property

Chinese builder Country Garden details offshore debt restructuring

Condominiums under construction in Beijing by Country Garden Holdings in February 2024. Photo: Kyodo

A housing complex under construction by Country Garden in Tianjin in June. Photo: AFP

Country Garden pledges to deliver homes on time amid debt restructuring, litigation

A Beijing condominium developed by Country Garden in February 2024. Photo: Kyodo

Yang Huiyan. chairwoman and controlling shareholder. Photo: Weibo

Hong Kong developer NWD’s shares slump amid slow progress on cutting debt

New World Development, which is controlled by one of Hong Kong’s richest families, has made a flurry of asset disposals over the past year. Photo: Reuters

NWD sold its stake in Kai Tak Sports Park to its parent Chow Tai Fook Enterprises for HK$416.7 million in November. Photo: Nora Tam

Shimao slashes Hong Kong Sheraton hotel price by 25% to speed up restructuring

Sheraton and Four Points by Sheraton Tung Chung, with more than 1,200 rooms, is the second-largest hotel complex in the city by room inventory. Photo: Handout

Shimao founder Hui Wing Mau pictured in March 2018. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Business

News

Property

Developer claims it has understanding with key creditors on deal to reduce debt by up to US$11.6 billion


Developer claims it has understanding with key creditors on deal to reduce debt by up to US$11.6 billion.


Chinese builder Country Garden details offshore debt restructuring

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Developer claims it has understanding with key creditors on deal to reduce debt by up to US$11.6 billion

Developer claims it has understanding with key creditors on deal to reduce debt by up to US$11.6 billion