China Evergrande crisis: world’s most indebted developer misses overhaul proposal deadline amid creditor talks
- China Evergrande Group once again fell short on its promise to announce its offshore debt-restructuring plans by the end of 2022
- The world’s most indebted developer is facing a winding-up lawsuit in Hong Kong
China Evergrande Group delayed releasing a much-anticipated restructuring plan again, missing a self-imposed deadline and disappointing creditors seeking to salvage investments.
The world’s most indebted developer has yet to announce its offshore debt-restructuring plans, falling short on its promise to do so by the end of 2022. Evergrande did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment during non-business hours.
With about 1.97 trillion yuan (US$286 billion) of liabilities, the company is facing a winding-up lawsuit in Hong Kong, while sitting at the heart of a property crisis that has triggered a flurry of defaults and caused home construction halts across the country.
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Evergrande’s fate has broader implications for China’s US$58 trillion financial system, and could send ripples across banks, trusts and millions of homeowners. It would likely be among the country’s biggest-ever restructuring efforts.
The sheer size has left investors worried that any collapse may spark financial contagion and curb growth in the world’s second-largest economy, which depends on the housing market for about a quarter of gross domestic product.
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The company previously failed to come up with a “preliminary restructuring plan” it promised by the end of July.
It met an ad-hoc group of its dollar bondholders in early December to formally discuss a proposal, Bloomberg reported earlier.
It expected to receive support from offshore creditors by the end of February or early March, the developer’s legal representative said during a winding-up hearing in late November.
Evergrande was urged by the judge of the winding-up case to present “something more concrete” during the next hearing on March 20.
