Country Garden’s 2024 loss narrows amid initial recovery signs in China’s property sector

The loss attributable to shareholders stood at 32.8 billion yuan, compared with a record 178 billion yuan loss in 2023, according to an exchange filing.

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The headquarters of Country Garden Holdings in Foshan in southern China’s Guangdong province on January 27, 2024. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:51pm, 31 Mar 2025

Country Garden Holdings reported a narrower loss in 2024 as the defaulted property giant seeks to build creditor support for its debt restructuring plan.

The loss attributable to shareholders stood at 32.8 billion yuan (US$4.5 billion), compared with a record 178 billion yuan loss in 2023, according to an exchange filing on Sunday. The annual reading indicated a 20 billion yuan loss in the second half, widening from the 12.8 billion yuan loss in the first half.

The Foshan-based developer is continuing lengthy restructuring talks more than a year after defaulting on its debt. It made steep write-offs on properties under development and completed homes held for sale in 2023, laying the foundation for a smaller loss.

The company fell about 2 per cent in Hong Kong on Monday, underperforming the Hang Seng Index which dipped about 0.5 per cent as of 9.50am.

The construction site of Country Garden Holdings in Tianjin on August 18, 2023. Photo: Reuters.

“Profit warnings by more Chinese developers including Country Garden before their 2024 results announcements could be good news,” Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Andrew Chan and Daniel Fan wrote in a recent note. “Developers could be looking to clean up their accounts now and position themselves for a better financing cycle later on.”