Hong Kong court orders liquidation of China property group Evergrande

A Hong Kong court has ordered the liquidation of the world's most indebted company, embattled Chinese property developer Evergrande.

The court rejected Evergrande's claim that it had a viable plan to restructure its operations in the face of the the world's biggest debt pile of $300bn .

Justice Linda Chan delivered the ruling on Monday morning, saying “it is time for the court to say enough is enough”. Evergrande can still appeal the decision.

The liquidation petition was lodged by investor Top Shine in June 2022, which claimed the developer had failed to honour an agreement to repurchase shares it had bought in subsidiary Fangchebao.

It comes two years after the company’s official default, which triggered a crisis in China's property development sector that is still weighing on the world’s second-largest economy.

Evergrande is listed in Hong Kong, but almost all of its assets and the majority of liabilities are held in China. Justice Chan's order will allow a liquidator to attempt to take control of Evergrande’s assets outside China, including Hong Kong-listed subsidiaries included in restructuring talks.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com