Chinese builder Fantasia to unveil new restructuring plan

[BEIJING] Chinese developer Fantasia Holdings Group plans to release a new restructuring plan in the coming weeks after previous attempts fizzled, people familiar with the matter said, underscoring the years-long struggle of builders to move past an unprecedented property crisis. 

The company has been working on the latest plan, which would enable it to deleverage further, with a key group of creditors, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. Details are still being finalised, they added.

It would be the latest proposal in a string of restructuring attempts by the firm, whose default on dollar debt in 2021 was a harbinger of China’s real estate crisis. The broader woes have led to record defaults among builders and are still weighing on housing demand.

While Premier Li Qiang recently pledged to stabilise the property market, home prices in June dropped 0.27 per cent from the prior month, the most in eight months.

Fantasia issued its first debt restructuring proposal in January 2023, only to release a revised version in April 2024 that included longer extension periods and lower coupon rates on new notes and other terms that were less favourable to creditors.

Fantasia’s total liabilities stood at US$11.7 billion as of the end of 2024, according to its latest annual report. BLOOMBERG