Six years into a deep housing slump, some of China’s best-known real estate figures are facing court-imposed restrictions over unpaid debts.
Feng Lun, a co-founder of Wantong who started a property investment firm with Pan Shiyi in 1991, was recently banned from “high consumption.” The order stems from a private lending dispute involving Sanya Wantong Health Development Management, which failed to pay by the court’s deadline. As the company’s legal representative, Feng cannot fly, stay in star-rated hotels or buy real estate. He said on Weibo on Sept. 18 that the loan was arranged by a minority shareholder who used the seals of two controlled companies without approval from any company body.
Vanke was hit with a similar order on September 13 by a court in Changsha, Hunan Province, in a case involving about 4.98 million yuan ($736,000). Yu Liang, who retired as chairman eight months ago, is restricted because he is listed as the legal representative in the case file. He cannot travel by certain transport, stay in hotels, buy property or send his children to expensive private schools.
Country Garden peer Guangzhou R&F Properties disclosed on September 10 that it and chairman Li Sze Lim were newly restricted by a Guangzhou court. The company was ordered to pay roughly 429 million yuan ($63.4 million) in a financial loan dispute and reportedly failed to pay any of it.
Many developers have hit credit crises amid financing difficulties and weak sales. The worst fate has befallen Evergrande founder Xu Jiayin, once China’s richest man. He was sentenced to life imprisonment on August 20 on multiple charges, leaving behind 2.4 trillion yuan ($355 billion) in debt and more than 1.6 million unfinished homes, in what is regarded as the world’s largest property developer debt crisis.
Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), September 20, 2026
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202609200173.aspx