Chinese property developer Country Garden denies talk its founder and chairman have left China, says they are ‘working as normal’

Embattled property developer Country Garden issued a statement on Thursday morning rejecting talk, which it said was spread across several social media platforms, that its founder and chairman had both left China.

The company said the talk has had “adverse effects”, adding that its founder, Yeung Kwok-keung or Yang Guoqiang in Mandarin, and his daughter Yang Huiyan, who is also the company’s chairman are still “working as normal” in China.

Country Garden, once the largest Chinese home builder by sales, also said it reserves the right to “pursue responsibility for malicious rumour mongering”.

The news comes as the Chinese property developer, on Wednesday, reportedly missed US$15 million in coupon payments without explanation, triggering concerns that the group could face its first-ever default on its offshore debt, which could lead to one of China’s largest corporate restructurings at a time when the country’s property crisis is escalating.

Country Garden did not confirm if it had failed to meet its US$15 million offshore debt obligations, but said it is seeking a “holistic” solution to its challenges. Last week, it warned it would not be able to service all of its offshore borrowings on time.

“Due to deep readjustments within China’s property sector, the company’s sales are under constant pressure,” a Country Garden spokeswoman said in a text message. “As stated in a previous notice, the company expects to be unable to fulfil all of its offshore debt obligations, and is seeking a holistic solution to address its challenges, and only when the company maintains a going concern status, can we restore the most value to stakeholders.”