Evergrande: Chinese firm and founder fined over $78bn fraud claims

The troubled Chinese property developer Evergrande and its founder have been fined over allegations that they fraudulently inflated its revenues by $78bn (£61.6bn) in the two years before it began missing debt repayment deadlines. Beijing’s stock watchdog fined the company about $580m for allegedly falsifying its revenue, among other violations, as it conducts a deep clean of the country’s embattled financial sector. The company said in a release to mainland Chinese stock exchanges late on Monday that its chair, Hui Ka Yan, was fined $6.5m and banned from China’s markets…

Evergrande collapse means foreign investors in China face even greater uncertainty

As China’s most embattled – and indebted – property developer is ordered to liquidate, the effects that Evergrande’s collapse will have on investors, debt holders and the hundreds of thousands of homebuyers who have paid deposits for homes remains uncertain. Evergrande, the Chinese property developer, was worth just $275m on Monday, down 99% from its peak in 2017. It owes more than $300bn to various creditors, according to its most recent financial report. In a scathing judgment delivered in Hong Kong’s high court on Monday, Justice Linda Chan said “enough…

Evergrande collapse: Hong Kong court orders liquidation of China property giant

Embattled Chinese development company, Evergrande, has been ordered to liquidate by a Hong Kong court after an 18-month long hearing. Evergrande, which holds the ignominious title of the world’s most indebted property developer with about $300bn in liabilities, failed to convince the court that it had a viable restructuring plan, after having been given seven extensions since court proceedings were first brought in June 2022. However it can still appeal. Justice Linda Chan delivered the ruling on Monday morning, saying “it is time for the court to say enough is…

Xi Jinping says Chinese business having ‘tough time’ in new year message

China’s president, Xi Jinping, acknowledged in his new year’s message that “some enterprises had a tough time” in 2023 as data showed a weakening of factory production deepened this month, but he vowed to step up the pace of the economy’s recovery. Speaking on TV, Xi said: “Along the way, we are bound to encounter headwinds. Some enterprises had a tough time. Some people had difficulty finding jobs and meeting basic needs.” The world’s second-biggest economy’s recovery remains sluggish, held back by a severe property slump, lacklustre global demand and…

China’s Evergrande wins more time to restructure debts

The property developer Evergrande has been granted an extension until late January to try to restructure its debts and avoid liquidation in one of the most high-profile cases in China’s long-running property crisis. Evergrande was once China’s biggest property developer, but a default on offshore debt obligations in 2021 started a lurch from one crisis to another. It has reported debts of more than $300bn (£237bn), much of it to individuals whose properties were never built. The company is facing the prospect of liquidation after a creditor, Top Shine Global,…

Evergrande, the ‘runaway’ developer that could become a wrecking ball for China’s economy

The saga of China’s second-largest development firm has escalated from a financial crisis to a potentially criminal one with the investigation and detention of Evergrande chairman and founder, Hui Ka Yan. The company resumed trading on Tuesday after it was suspended last week in the wake of media reports of Hui’s apprehension. But analysts say signs point to a potential liquidation of the company, which could have drastic ramifications for China’s economy too. “The Chinese government clearly intended its actions regarding Evergrande to be helpful to the real estate market,…

Evergrande shares soar as trading in crisis-hit China firm resumes

Shares in the embattled Chinese property developer Evergrande jumped after trading resumed in Hong Kong after their suspension last week. Shares soared more than 40% early on and were later 20% ahead. Trading in Evergrande and its property services and electric vehicle subsidiaries was suspended on Thursday, after a Bloomberg report that the company’s billionaire chairman and founder, Hui Ka Yan, was under police surveillance. On Friday, the company said he was being investigated over suspected “illegal crimes”. “There is currently no other inside information in relation to the company…

Evergrande founder ‘being investigated for suspected crimes’

The founder of China’s Evergrande is being investigated over suspected “illegal crimes”, the group has said, as creditors become increasingly concerned about the prospects of the world’s most indebted property developer. Evergrande Group, which has more than $300bn in total liabilities, did not say whether Hui Ka Yan was still in a position to run the company, or what crimes he was being investigated for. The news came hours after trading in shares of the company was suspended following a report that Hui had been placed under police surveillance. Evergrande…

Evergrande halts share trading as woes mount for China’ property giant

Embattled Chinese property giant Evergrande has suspended share trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange only a month after it resumed trading after a 17-month suspension. Trading in its two other units – the property services and electric vehicle groups – also stopped at 9am on Thursday, according to notices posted by the stock exchange. The halt in trading comes a day after reports that the chair of Evergrande had been put under police surveillance. Hui Ka Yan, who founded Evergrande in 1996, was taken away earlier this month and…

Evergrande arrests: China police detain staff at property giant’s wealth management arm

Police in China have arrested several employees at a subsidiary of Evergrande, the troubled property giant that is struggling under debts running into the hundreds of billions of dollars. Employees at Evergrande’s financial subsidiary, Evergrande Wealth Management, were arrested, police in the southern city of Shenzhen said in a statement, without specifying the number of employees or the charges against them. Police in the statement also urged the public to report any cases of suspected fraud to the authorities. Evergrande’s enormous debt has contributed to the country’s deepening property market…