Sale of missing CEFC Chinese oligarch’s Manhattan pad, Hong Kong office and global real estate triggered by bond default

Unit 78B of the 90-storey Trump World Tower in Manhattan offers breathtaking views of the East River and the United Nations plaza through floor-to-ceiling windows in its living and dining areas.

The two-bedroom apartment, available for rent since early May, is decorated with a mix of chinoiserie and minimalist chic. Half a dozen taishiyi, or Ming dynasty-style grandfather chairs, are spread around a home office in the 2,870 square feet (267 square metres) apartment, while a gold-on-black calligraphy scroll adorns the dining area.

Ye, who just turned 41 last month, has been missing from public view since the start of Lunar New Year celebrations on February 16. Although he hasn’t yet been charged with any crime, Ye is believed to be under detention to help Chinese regulators with unspecified investigations into the debt incurred by his China Energy Finance Corp (CEFC).

Fall from grace: China’s acquisitive conglomerates under a cloud axed from Fortune 500 list

A creditors’ committee led by China Development Bank (CDB), China’s biggest state-owned policy bank and CEFC’s biggest creditor, has taken over the decision-making, stripping it bare to service 98.3 billion yuan (US$14.5 billion) of outstanding debt, including 30.8 billion yuan of bonds.

The list of assets, valued at a combined 21.64 billion yuan (US$3.19 billion) as of March 1, include the Upper East Side apartment, a mountainside villa in Lisbon, Wan Chai offices, luxury flats at Hong Kong’s Cyberport and CEFC’s corporate headquarters in the former French Concession in Shanghai, according to an inventory obtained by the South China Morning Post.