On June 29, CIFI HOLD GP (Stock Code: 00884) released an announcement disclosing inside information, stating it has initiated further refinements and adjustments to its offshore debt restructuring plan. The goal is to establish a practical and sustainable capital structure. Concurrently, the company aims to sharpen its focus on its asset-light business lines to enhance financial flexibility and support a more sustainable business model.

Following the path of SUNAC (Stock Code: 01918), Agile Property, and Yuzhou Group, another distressed developer has entered the market's view by proactively seeking to optimize its restructuring plan after the initial offshore restructuring was implemented. According to institutional data, nearly 80 property developers have experienced debt defaults since 2021. By the end of 2025, over 60 had announced progress on debt restructuring, with more than 20 having completed debt restructuring or reorganization, resolving over 1.2 trillion yuan in liabilities.

However, the "completion" of a debt restructuring does not signify a fundamental improvement in the operational performance of distressed firms. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that from January to May 2026, national real estate development investment totaled 3.0356 trillion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 16.2%. Sales of newly built commercial housing reached 2.9366 trillion yuan, down 13.5%. The declines in both sales area and investment amount for the single month of May widened further compared to April. The real estate market remains in an adjustment period following a deep downturn, causing previously designed restructuring plans based on optimistic expectations to face widespread difficulties in execution. Further optimizing these plans has become a necessary task for distressed developers.

Market's Prolonged Downturn Challenges Offshore Debt Restructuring

In 2025, the real estate market experienced a period of low-level consolidation following a deep adjustment. Despite the intensive introduction of the "May 17 New Policy" and subsequent market-stabilizing measures, the overall market remained in the bottom range of an L-shaped trajectory. Data from CRIC shows that from January to May 2026, the total sales of the top 100 developers amounted to approximately 1.1707 trillion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 17.1%. Meanwhile, market divergence intensified further, with leading state-owned and central enterprises maintaining their lead, while most small and medium-sized developers faced significant operational pressure.

The initial restructuring negotiations for most distressed developers were concentrated between 2023 and 2024, a time when market judgments on the industry's recovery pace were relatively optimistic. The design of debt repayment arrangements was based on high expectations for future sales. However, with sales continuing to bottom out from 2025 into 2026, the original plans have become severely disconnected from reality.

In 2023, SUNAC completed its initial offshore restructuring. However, affected by persistently weak market conditions, the original plan could not be executed smoothly. In 2025, under pressure from a winding-up petition, SUNAC launched a second offshore restructuring plan, adopting a more thorough "full debt-to-equity swap" plan centered on MCBs (Mandatory Convertible Bonds), effectively clearing approximately $9.6 billion in offshore debt.

In fact, as SUNAC completed its second restructuring, more distressed developers that had already completed their first round of restructuring began re-evaluating their own debt pressures and repayment capabilities. Agile Property completed its first offshore restructuring in March 2024, involving $6.1 billion and a debt reduction of about 50%. Yet, less than a year after the restructuring was completed, due to persistently weak sales and an inability to pay due interest, it initiated a second round of restructuring in April 2026. Yuzhou Group completed its first restructuring in August 2025, involving $6.68 billion and a debt reduction of about 52%. Less than a year after the restructuring took effect, in May 2026, it began hiring financial advisors to advance a second round of restructuring.

Zhongliang Holdings, Kaisa Group, and Times China have initiated "consent solicitations" to creditors to adjust terms within their initial restructuring plans, aiming to secure a buffer period for debt repayment. After completing its first offshore restructuring in March 2024, Zhongliang Holdings launched a consent solicitation in June 2025, postponing its phased repayment plan by two years to 2029 and significantly lowering coupon rates. Kaisa Group, after completing its first restructuring in September 2025, applied for a consent solicitation in December of the same year to extend the payment of restructuring tail-end fees by six months, which was finally approved in March 2026 after multiple extensions. Times China, after completing its first restructuring in November 2025, faced cross-default risks from loans outside the restructuring scope and applied for a consent solicitation in March 2026.

SUNAC Shows Positive Operational Recovery After Offshore Debt Clearance

In December 2025, SUNAC took the lead in completing its second offshore debt restructuring, becoming the first major developer in the industry to essentially "clear" its offshore debt. The core objective of SUNAC's second restructuring was to thoroughly eliminate financial risks and rebuild a sustainable operational capital base. Its most notable feature was using MCBs as the core consideration, supplemented by innovative tools like equity stabilization plans, creating an "interest community" among creditors, shareholders, and management. This transformed confrontation into cooperation, with all parties betting on the restoration of the company's fundamentals.

After the basic clearance of offshore debt, the positive effects of debt resolution on SUNAC's operations gradually became apparent. In 2026, SUNAC made positive progress on multiple projects, with developments like Chongqing Bay, Tianjin Meijiang One Palace, and Wuhan Optics Valley One Palace being revitalized and selling well. The virtuous cycle where debt resolution drives project revitalization, which in turn promotes sales, has been validated in SUNAC's case.

SUNAC's success demonstrates that when market recovery falls short of expectations, mere debt extensions are not a fundamental solution. Restructuring plans involving substantive debt reduction, particularly debt-to-equity swaps, are necessary to fundamentally repair a company's balance sheet and completely resolve offshore debt risks. Such plans also send a positive signal to the market, homebuyers, financial institutions, and partners that the company is "thoroughly overcoming difficulties and moving towards renewal."

CIFI Announces Optimization of Offshore Restructuring Plan, Focusing on Asset-Light Transition

In a similar move, CIFI HOLD GP recently announced the initiation of optimizations to its offshore restructuring plan. Reviewing CIFI HOLD GP's restructuring journey, from the announcement to commence offshore debt restructuring in November 2022 to the formal effectiveness of the plan in December 2025, the process spanned over three years. During this period, the industry underwent a deep adjustment. CIFI HOLD GP also made strenuous self-rescue efforts, delivering nearly 300,000 new homes across 76 cities nationwide, achieving a delivery rate as high as 99%. Against the backdrop of frequent delivery crises, CIFI HOLD GP upheld its social responsibility under extreme pressure and completed the task of ensuring deliveries.

However, the completion of delivery tasks does not signify a fundamental turnaround in operations. The path to restoring normal business operations remains arduous. Looking at sales, CIFI HOLD GP's figures declined from 124.03 billion yuan in 2022 to 70 billion yuan in 2023, 33.68 billion yuan in 2024, and approximately 16.1 billion yuan in 2025. From January to May 2026, sales further contracted to 3.93 billion yuan. With continuous sales decline and no new supply additions, the coverage of rigid expenditures by operational cash inflows has persistently weakened.

Regarding asset disposal, since late last year, CIFI HOLD GP has announced several transactions: selling 100% equity in a Tianjin project to a Ping An affiliate while acquiring 50% equity in a Ningbo project, with the consideration for the two transactions offsetting each other; selling 50% equity and shareholder loans in Luoyang Zhuofa, aiming to avoid subsequent development costs; transferring the No. 1 plot of the Shenyang Bocheng Times project to a district-level state-owned enterprise for a total consideration of 350 million yuan, of which 205 million yuan was used to repay project mortgage loans, with the remaining 145 million yuan invested in project operations and repaying general creditors.

From the perspective of revitalizing existing projects, CIFI HOLD GP is constrained by risk transmission from partners, has limited deployable resources, and sales proceeds must be prioritized to repay project-level debts, contributing very little to improving cash flow at the listed company level.

It is precisely under these circumstances that CIFI HOLD GP announced the optimization of its offshore debt restructuring plan. It plans to use a more pragmatic restructuring approach to propel the company to completely escape the pressures of continuous debt negotiations and repayments, reshape a truly sustainable capital structure, and achieve a genuine "standing up." Focusing on the asset-light transition means CIFI HOLD GP will enhance overall synergy across all business lines and the listed company, building a more sustainable business model, increasing the company's overall value, and achieving a win-win outcome with creditors.