Exclusive-Country Garden submits offshore debt restructuring plan to creditors, sources say

By Xie Yu and Clare Jim

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Country Garden (HK:) submitted the preliminary terms of its offshore debt restructuring proposal to some creditors late last month, said five sources familiar with the matter, as the indebted Chinese property developer tries to avoid liquidation.

The restructuring proposal includes a revised cash flow projection, said two of the sources who have direct knowledge and another person familiar with the matter, a standard part of a debt restructuring process to show creditors the firm’s ability to meet its obligations.

The projection shows the developer expects a weaker cash flow in coming years compared with the estimates it had shared with some offshore creditors earlier this year, two of the sources said.

Details of the cash flow projection were not immediately known.

The sources declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

A spokesperson for Country Garden did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment.

Once China’s biggest developer, Country Garden defaulted on its $11 billion in offshore bonds late last year and is fighting a liquidation petition in Hong Kong. The next court hearing has been set for Jan 20, 2025.

Country Garden’s revised cash flow outlook comes after the government has rolled out a raft of measures over the past year to revive the property sector, which has slumped in recent years as developers succumbed to a mountain of debt.

China’s new home prices in October fell the most year-on-year since 2015, while property investment declined 10.3% in the first 10 months of 2024, official data showed on Friday, suggesting the support measures have had little impact so far.

The finance ministry last week introduced new tax incentives to further lower the cost of home purchases and spur demand — its latest support effort. China also cut benchmark lending rates by 25 basis points in October to try to boost demand.

At a hearing in July, Country Garden told the Hong Kong High Court that it expected to publish the term sheets for a revamp of its offshore debt to creditors in September and that it planned to seek approval from the court on that arrangement early next year. The company missed the September deadline.

If Country Garden can gain support from its key creditors for the restructuring proposal before the January court hearing, it would pave the way for the company to seek more time from the court to implement a restructuring plan.

PJT Partners (NYSE:), a financial adviser representing the main group of Country Garden’s offshore bondholders for the debt restructuring talks, did not immediately respond to request for comment.