\n
![](\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/GettyImages-2165903581-e1724143085161.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/p>\n [ad_1]
\n<\/p>\n
Chinese property developer Kaisa has reached an agreement with creditors for partial repayment of its debt, the company said Tuesday, a positive development as it battles to avoid liquidation.<\/p>\n
Real estate once served as a vital growth engine for the world\u2019s second-largest economy, undergoing two decades of dazzling expansion as living standards rose across the country.<\/p>\n
But the sector has faced unprecedented headwinds in recent years, with major firms failing to follow through on projects and a clampdown on property market speculation by Beijing.<\/p>\n
Many industry juggernauts are now either on the verge of bankruptcy or in dire financial straits.<\/p>\n
Shenzhen-based Kaisa, which has nearly 17,000 employees, in 2015 became the first Chinese real estate group to default on dollar-denominated bonds before charting a financial recovery.<\/p>\n
But the property crisis of recent years again weakened the firm, whose total debt was estimated at 226.4 billion yuan ($31.7 billion) at the end of 2023.<\/p>\n
Kaisa announced Tuesday that it had entered into a \u201crestructuring support agreement\u201d with creditors for a partial repayment of its debt, according to a stock exchange statement in Hong Kong, where it is listed.<\/p>\n
The firm is now committed to issuing new bonds totalling $5 billion.<\/p>\n
The deal comes as other Chinese property giants including Evergrande and Country Garden struggle for survival.<\/p>\n
Country Garden\u2014a private developer long considered financially sound before buckling under major debt \u2014faces a hearing at a Hong Kong court in January 2025.<\/p>\n
Unless a plan for restructuring is reached before then, the company could be ordered into liquidation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n