Credit: CFP

BEIJING, January 17 (TMTPOST)—China’s private property developer Country Garden Holdings has vowed to deliver over 480,000 homes to buyers in 2024, 20% less than the 600,000 units it delivered in 2023.

Delivery, operation, and credit are the key focuses for Country Garden in 2024, and delivery is the bottom line that Country Garden “must firmly hold”, said Chairwoman Yang Huiyan during the company’s annual working meeting on Monday.

Country Garden, grappling with financial strain, defaulted on its $11 billion offshore bonds in October 2023 and sought extensions for repayments on its onshore notes. The company is part of an extensive roster of developers confronting a liquidity squeeze, a predicament triggered by the debt crisis that emerged in mid-2021.

Throughout 2023, Country Garden delivered over 600,000 housing units, covering an accumulated area of 71.62 million square meters, spanning 31 provinces and 249 cities in China. However, the 600,000 units fell short of Country Garden’s target of nearly 700,000 units for 2023.

As of December 31, 2023, 39 Chinese property developers that disclosed their combined delivery number of  over 3.458 million housing units throughout the year. Country Garden, with a delivery volume approaching the runner-up and the second runner-up combined, secured the top position in the industry once again.

For 2024, Country Garden has set a clear target of delivering over 480,000 units. The company acknowledged that delivery challenges must be tackled even more seriously. Adequate preparation is needed from the company's finance, resources, and personnel.

Country Garden President Mo Bin emphasized the significance of ensuring delivery at the meeting, saying “Ensuring timely delivery is not just a task but has evolved into a fundamental necessity for the company’s existence. Anchored in self-rescue and meticulous management, delivering each unit to our buyers is a matter of conscience. It stands as a mission for every individual involved, as long as the project is under our care.”

The restoration of confidence is crucial for the current market. Timely and high-quality deliveries play a huge role in propelling industry recovery and restoring confidence among home-buyers. For property developers, ensuring delivery becomes a key manifestation of fulfilling social responsibility and maintaining brand strength.

Throughout 2023, the real estate market recovery fell short of expectations, lingering in an adjustment phase. The top 100 developers in the industry suffered negative growth in their cumulative performance. However, recent policies unveiled have consistently conveyed positive signals, fostering sensible financing for real estate enterprises and bolstering market confidence. To adapt to these market dynamics, Country Garden systematically adjusted its corporate structure in 2023, ensuring stability within the core team.

Yang said she expected the market would “hover at a low level” in 2024, but the outlooks would significantly differ among various cities and between state-owned and private companies.

In terms of operational security, Yang emphasized that the New Housing Reform Plan and other policies have outlined precise demands for real estate positioning and future growth. With real estate returning to its residential focus, Country Garden is committed to crafting strategic plans, choosing and deploying exceptional teams to enhance competitiveness and cohesion.

Mo highlighted the significance of sales as the lifeblood of the company. In the context of the policy window, it is crucial to stay attuned to policy dynamics, capitalize on supportive opportunities, uphold the fundamental principle of ensuring delivery, effectively manage both existing and new sales, and consistently revive the company’s “blood supplying” capabilities.

The meeting also revealed that Country Garden is take measures to rescue itself, including cost cut, efficiency enhancement, sales promotion efforts, asset revitalization, exploration of financing avenues, and debt restructuring. At present, nine domestic bonds have been successfully extended, and the management of overseas debt is proceeding in an orderly manner.

Meanwhile, the company is making steady progress in technology infrastructure and agent construction. By the end of 2023, Country Garden had included 30 agent construction projects, valued at around 24.4 billion yuan (US$ 3 billion), spanning 20 cities nationwide.

Mo, said in an encouraging tone during the meeting, “The challenges the company confronts this year might be more daunting than anticipated, and we should approach them with composure. Maintain confidence, stand united, and there is no difficulty beyond our ability to overcome.”