Latham Advises on Zhongliang Holdings Group Debt Restructuring

Latham & Watkins has advised the ad hoc committee of offshore bondholders with respect to Zhongliang Holdings Group, a high-profile Hong Kong-listed Chinese real estate developer, on the restructuring of its 5 series of USD guaranteed bonds with face value of circa US$929 million, as well as other private loans of the company.

The holistic restructuring of the company’s offshore indebtedness, which resulted in the issuance of new senior notes as well as new convertible bonds to existing creditors, was implemented by way of a Hong Kong scheme of arrangement and was completed on March 20, 2024. The transaction represents one of a handful of Chinese real estate restructurings which successfully completed since the start of the developers’ defaults in 2021.

The Latham team was led by Hong Kong restructuring partner Howard Lam and counsel Flora Innes, with associate Anthony Chan. Advice on debt capital market and structured finance matters was provided by Hong Kong partners Ji Liu and Derek Chua, with Singapore counsel Jeremy Wang and associate Ming Wei Loo. The Latham team also worked alongside Alvarez & Marsal as the ad hoc committee’s financial advisors.