(Reuters) -Chinese property developer Country Garden ( CTRYF ) said on Friday it had reached an agreement with creditors holding nearly 30% of its existing offshore bond debt and was close to finalising terms with another group of bank creditors.

The company is now in a restructuring process that aims to cut its $16.4 billion of offshore debt by 70%. Creditors holding 29.9% of $10.3 billion in bonds had agreed to the plan, it said.

The embattled developer, which had secured a reprieve from potential liquidation until May 26, was also close to finalising a deal with a lender group made up of seven banks who hold three syndicated loans with an outstanding principal amount of $3.6 billion.

   The real estate firm has offered five restructuring options to its creditors including extending the maturity by as much as 11-1/2 years alongside choosing mandatory convertible bonds and new debt instruments.

The proposed restructuring covers the aggregate outstanding principal amount of $14.07 billion of its existing debt, Country Garden ( CTRYF ) said.

In a separate relief for the crisis-hit firm, its controlling shareholder, Chairperson Yang Huiyan, has agreed to convert her $1.15 billion shareholder loan.

Huiyan will buy a 60% stake in the company's Malaysian unit Country Garden Pacificview, for $50 million and use the balance to subscribe to more shares in the company.

The chairperson held a 52% stake in Country Garden ( CTRYF ) as of the end of 2023, according to data compiled by LSEG. Her shareholding will reduce to not less than 40% after the debt restructuring is completed, the company said.

Country Garden's ( CTRYF ) downturn in fortunes, culminating in an $11 billion default after its reign as China's top developer by sales, intensified a debt crisis that was already gripping rivals such as Evergrande.

In March, it said its net loss attributable narrowed to 32.8 billion yuan ($4.48 billion) in 2024, down from a record loss of 178.4 billion yuan for 2023, even as it battles a liquidation petition brought by Ever Credit, a unit of Hong Kong-listed Kingboard.

($1 = 7.3140 Chinese yuan renminbi)