Chuanfuli Real Estate Chairman Li Silian is restricted from leaving the country, facing over 30 billion yuan in debt as part of the former "South China Five Tigers" burden

Text | Yuan Xiaoli

Editor | Liu Peng

According to the Economic Observer, on March 11, sources revealed that around the Chinese New Year in 2026, Li Silian, Chairman of Guangzhou R&F Properties Co., Ltd. (2777.HK, hereafter “R&F Properties”), was intercepted while traveling abroad. Border inspection officials informed him that he was restricted from leaving the country by the Tianjin Third Intermediate People’s Court (hereafter “Tianjin Third Court”).

The Economic Observer separately inquired with Tianjin Third Court and R&F Properties for confirmation. Tianjin Third Court stated that the case is still under processing and they could not disclose further information; R&F Properties said that the issue has been reported to the group, and “no official notice has been received yet,” and as of press time, they had not provided further comments; R&F Properties’ Hong Kong office stated they were unaware of the situation.

Sources familiar with the matter revealed that, based on initial understanding, Li Silian’s restriction from leaving the country is mainly related to R&F Properties, but the specific reason remains unclear. It is believed to involve two aspects: first, some projects in Tianjin faced lawsuits from homeowners over delivery issues; second, R&F Properties became a judgment debtor due to debt disputes.

In fact, Li Silian had already been subject to consumption restrictions prior to this. According to court announcements, on February 5, 2026, Li Silian and Kuang Nian’en, legal representative of Chongqing R&F Yujing, were restricted from consumption by Tianjin Third Court. Additionally, in October and November 2025, Tianjin Third Court issued two enforcement rulings against R&F Properties and related companies, with enforcement amounts of 1.76 billion yuan and 8.156 million yuan, respectively.

Just before the news of Li Silian’s restriction from leaving the country broke, R&F Properties’ debt crisis also saw new developments.

Recently, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) published information about a non-performing loan transfer project by Shanghai Branch of Bank of Beijing in 2026, involving Shanghai Zhonghong Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. The transfer details show a debt amount of about 930 million yuan, including principal of approximately 799 million yuan, interest of 130 million yuan, and fees of 287,800 yuan.

The borrower of this debt, Shanghai Zhonghong Real Estate Development Co., Ltd., is a wholly owned subsidiary within the R&F Properties system, with the Shanghai R&F Global Center as collateral.

Industry insiders believe that when the borrower, R&F Properties, is unable to repay but the collateral still holds value, the public listing and transfer of bad debts by Bank of Beijing reflects an active effort to clear non-performing assets. If the transfer proceeds smoothly, it could also recover a certain proportion of cash, reducing losses.

Once a leading player among the “Five Tigers of South China,” R&F Properties is now deeply mired in debt. As of the end of June 2025, total liabilities reached 264.379 billion yuan, with only 688 million yuan in cash and cash equivalents.

As of December 31, 2025, the overdue principal debt within the company’s consolidated scope still totaled 36.81 billion yuan, involving various debt types such as credit bonds, bank loans, trusts, and financial leases. Although slightly down from 38.725 billion yuan at the end of November 2025, liquidity pressure remains severe.

Regarding debt restructuring, R&F Properties has made phased progress on its offshore debt restructuring. The offshore debt restructuring plan, involving approximately 5 billion USD, has received approval from statutory creditors and is progressing through legal approval processes. Domestically, for about 12.5 billion yuan of bonds, a restructuring plan including cash buybacks, asset swaps, and accounts receivable trusts has been launched. One bond restructuring of 1.68 billion yuan has already been successfully completed, with the remaining parts still in progress.