COUNTRY GARDEN has announced significant progress in its debt restructuring efforts. The company's approximately $17.7 billion offshore debt restructuring plan has been formally approved by the Hong Kong High Court. Additionally, the restructuring plan for its last batch of onshore debt, totaling about 13.77 billion yuan, has been approved by bondholders, marking the completion of restructuring for all nine onshore debt tranches.
With both offshore and onshore debt restructuring largely concluded, COUNTRY GARDEN is entering a new phase of development. The company has also announced leadership changes: President Mo Bin has been reassigned as Co-Chairman, while Executive Vice President Cheng Guangyu, a 45-year-old Tsinghua University PhD graduate, has been appointed as the new President. Cheng will oversee the implementation of board strategies and daily operations.
This leadership transition had been anticipated since Yang Huiyan became Chairperson in 2023. Cheng, who joined COUNTRY GARDEN in 2007, has risen through the ranks and become one of Yang's most trusted executives. He previously served as CEO of COUNTRY GARDEN's property group during a major organizational restructuring in 2023.
The successful debt restructuring is expected to reduce COUNTRY GARDEN's overall debt by over 90 billion yuan, with repayment pressures significantly eased over five years. The restructuring will also lower financing costs for new debt instruments to 1%-2.5%, saving substantial interest expenses. Furthermore, the company anticipates recognizing over 70 billion yuan in restructuring gains, strengthening its financial position.
Looking ahead, COUNTRY GARDEN is focusing on quality development under China's 15th Five-Year Plan, with Yang Huiyan calling for a "second entrepreneurship." The company's "One Body, Two Wings" strategy, emphasizing property development alongside technology construction and project management services, aligns with current policy directions. Its technology construction arm has deployed 28 types of construction robots across 1,400 projects, while its project management business oversees 20 million square meters.
Yang emphasized the need to shift from rapid, large-scale development to refined operations in today's buyer's market, with customer-centric approaches embedded throughout all processes. With debt restructuring completed and strategic preparations in place, COUNTRY GARDEN's prospects for recovery in 2026 appear promising.
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