Big news from Hong Kong – Evergrande Group, the property giant drowning in debt, got the nod for liquidation on Monday, according to reports from Chinese media.
The court’s decision came after Evergrande and its global creditors couldn’t come to terms on how to deal with the company’s massive debt load. The court has another meeting scheduled for the afternoon, aiming to “regulate order,” and there’s talk of appointing a liquidator for Evergrande.
Hailing from Shenzhen, Evergrande has been the face of China’s property crisis since 2021, carrying a mind-boggling $328 billion in total liabilities as of June last year. To add drama, its founder, Xu Jiayin, faced suspicion of “crimes” and got detained by the police last September.
Once a real estate powerhouse, Evergrande’s default on its financial commitments to creditors at the end of 2021 set off a property sector crisis, casting a long shadow over the broader economy. A curious tidbit: a former Chinese official spilled the beans last year, claiming China has enough empty homes to house its entire 1.4 billion population.
