(March 20): China’s property-debt crisis has entered a new stage, as tensions have increasingly shifted to developers’ court battles with creditors over debt restructuring plans, and the once-unthinkable consequence of liquidation orders.

At least 23 Chinese builders or related companies have so far received wind-up petitions in Hong Kong from creditors since the beginning of the real estate crisis, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. So far, at least five of them have been ordered to wind up.

That includes China Evergrande Group, whose liquidation order sent shock waves through the sector, underscoring the legal risk of failing to assuage the concerns of key groups of creditors. Adding to the company’s troubles, the nation’s top securities regulator fined its main onshore unit for falsely inflating revenue by more than US$78 billion (RM369.68 billion) in the two years leading up to its failure.

Smaller peers, including Redsun Properties Group Ltd and Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd, will face hearings in the city in the coming weeks. The list of court battles is likely to expand: Chinese developers have defaulted on US$111 billion of onshore and offshore bonds since the nation’s real estate crisis began in 2021, according to Bloomberg-compiled data.

The following list includes key dates and the progress of offshore debt-restructuring efforts for China’s biggest defaulted developers by total liabilities. Debt figures are based on Bloomberg-compiled data and public filings. The estimated size of debt restructuring is based on debt-claim disclosures, existing offshore debt or offshore interest-bearing liabilities in public filings.

China Evergrande Group

• Total Liabilities: US$332 billion
• Estimated offshore debt restructuring size: At least US$38 billion
• Next to watch: Liquidation process, delisting risk
  • The developer could be delisted from Hong Kong’s stock exchange if its shares remain suspended for more than 18 months, after the clock started ticking in January with a judge’s liquidation order
  • Almost all of Evergrande’s assets are in mainland China, presenting potential legal hurdles for non-Chinese administrators

Country Garden Holdings Co

• Total Liabilities: US$189 billion
• Estimated offshore debt restructuring size: Unclear
• Next to watch: Court hearing on May 17
  • A unit of Kingboard Holdings Ltd, a Hong Kong laminates maker, filed a winding-up petition against the developer in February
  • The developer said the lawsuit won’t have a significant impact on its overall restructuring of overseas debt

Sunac China Holdings Ltd

• Total Liabilities: US$139.4 billion
• Estimated offshore debt restructuring size: About US$10 billion
• Next to watch: Restructuring payments
  • At least 2% of the interest must be paid in cash from the second year of the restructuring, according to the debt plan
  • For now, the developer could make paid-in-kind interest payments, a design that helps alleviate short-term cash pressure

Shimao Group Holdings Ltd

• Total Liabilities: US$71.1 billion
• Estimated offshore debt restructuring size: About US$12 billion
• Next to watch: Restructuring plan details
  • Shimao proposed a preliminary restructuring framework in December, aiming to deleverage by as much as US$7 billion
  • Key elements of the plan include exchanging existing debt for new notes backed by offshore assets and equity-linked instruments

Yango Group Co

• Total Liabilities: US$38.2 billion
• Estimated offshore debt restructuring size: Unclear
• Next to watch: Onshore restructuring process, offshore unit liquidation
  • The liquidators of the developer’s offshore unit, Yango Justice International, appointed in April, haven’t provided any public updates
  • The parent company was delisted in Shenzhen last year

China Aoyuan Group Ltd

• Total Liabilities: US$33.7 billion
• Estimated offshore debt restructuring size: More than US$6 billion
• Next to watch: Operations of the company
  • Aoyuan is allowed to make paid-in-kind interest payments in the first two years of the restructuring
  • Creditors have pushed the developer to continue with urban-renewal projects to support the restructuring plan, according to a filing

Kaisa Group Holdings

• Total Liabilities: US$32.7 billion
• Estimated offshore debt-restructuring size: More than US$12 billion
• Next to watch: Court hearing on April 29
  • At a March hearing, the original petitioner in Kaisa’s liquidation case asked to quit and an influential group of creditors with more than a third of its offshore borrowings sought a replacement
  • The developer earlier said a creditor group rejected parts of its debt plan and talks are continuing

Logan Group Co

• Total Liabilities: US$31.7 billion
• Estimated offshore debt restructuring size: About US$8 billion
• Next to watch: Signing agreement with creditors in April
  • The developer aims to sign support agreements with all creditor groups for its offshore debt restructuring plan by the end of April
  • Logan has offered a consent fee to bondholders who sign the deal before March 28

CIFI Holdings Group Co

• Total Liabilities: US$26.5 billion
• Estimated debt restructuring size: About US$7 billion
• Next to watch: Details of a restructuring plan
  • CIFI sold some property in Sydney in February, partially to raise funds to support its offshore restructuring, it said
  • The developer said it expects no haircut in its restructuring, and may propose an option to convert some debt to equity or convertible bonds

Sino-Ocean Group Holding Ltd

• Total Liabilities: US$26.5 billion
• Estimated offshore debt restructuring size: Unclear
• Next to watch: Details of a restructuring plan
  • The developer said in February that it would continue to work with advisers on a restructuring proposal
  • Earlier, a creditor group urged the developer to come up with a broad restructuring blueprint for all bondholders with the support of major shareholder China Life Insurance Co