© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The company logo of Chinese developer Country Garden is pictured at the Shanghai Country Garden Center in Shanghai, China August 9, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) – When China’s largest developer Country Garden first skipped debt payments in August, its shares tumbled 14%, marking a reversal of fortunes: from industry poster child to another troubled property company struggling to pay its creditors.
The same month, Chinese authorities quietly started talks with Ping An asking the insurance group to take a controlling stake in the developer, according to a Reuters report that was denied by Ping An.
Interviews with contractors, workers and home buyers, as well as a review of lawsuits involving Country Garden, show that for months before its problems became public, the company was struggling to deliver homes and pay contractors on time.
Until the middle of this year, the company was seen by most investors and home buyers as a beacon of strength in a real estate sector grappling with ballooning debt, tighter regulations and slumping sales. It was one of the few developers able to issue state-guaranteed onshore bonds…
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