Shares in embattled Chinese developer Evergrande Group and its two subsidiaries were all suspended from trading in Hong Kong on Thursday, after fears grew about its ability to restructure its mammoth debt and stave off a liquidation of the business.
The world’s most indebted real estate developer, which has total liabilities worth $328 billion at the end of June, did not indicate a reason for the suspension in a filing to the stock exchange.
Its woes deepened this week, after the company warned on Sunday that its offshore debt restructuring plan may be in trouble because of a regulatory probe into its main subsidiary in mainland China.
Two of the group’s subsidiaries, China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group and Evergrande Property Services Group, also halted trading, they said in separate filings without giving reasons for the suspensions.
The announcements came just weeks after news emerged that Chinese police had launched their first criminal probe into Evergrande since it defaulted on its debt nearly two years ago.
Hengda Real Estate, Evergrande’s flagship unit in mainland China, said in a statement on Monday that it was still working with all parties to resolve the debt risks, after it missed payments on a 4 billion yuan ($547 million) bond.
Last month, investors breathed a small sigh of relief when Evergrande reported a significant narrowing in its losses for the first half of the year. That was thanks to a rise in revenue because of a “short boom” in China’s property market earlier this year, the company said.
But the news since has been relentlessly negative, and a growing number of investors are reportedly seeking to wind up the company if it is unable to come up with a new survival plan soon.
Previously China’s second biggest real estate company, Evergrande’s default in 2021 ignited a crisis in the property sector that continues to weigh on the wider economy.
Evergrande has been trying to implement a government-supervised restructuring of its debts. It unveiled a multi-billion dollar plan to make peace with its international creditors and recently filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States as part of the process.
If the offshore debt restructuring fails, and Evergrande is unable to reach a new deal with its creditors, it could face liquidation, where its assets are sold and it stops all operations.
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