Trading of shares of heavily indebted property developer China Evergrande suspended in Hong Kong
The Hong Kong stock exchange says trading of shares of heavily indebted Chinese property developer China Evergrande Group has been suspended
HONG KONG — Trading in shares of heavily indebted Chinese property developer China Evergrande Group was suspended in Hong Kong on Thursday, according to a notice on the Hong Kong stock exchange.
China Evergrande said in a notice on Thursday night that authorities had informed the firm that its chairman, Hui Ka Yan, had been subjected to “mandatory measures in accordance with the law due to suspicion of illegal crimes" and said that trading in the firm's shares was suspended until further notice.
The company didn't elaborate on the crimes that Hui was suspected of.
Evergrande is the world’s most heavily indebted real estate developer and is at the center of a property market crisis that is dragging on China’s economic growth.
The group is undergoing a restructuring plan, including offloading assets, to avoid defaulting on $340 billion in debt.
Shares of Evergrande closed at 32 Hong Kong cents on Wednesday. The company had resumed trading on Aug. 28 after a 17-month hiatus. Trading in two other units, China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group and Evergrande Property Services Group, was also halted Thursday.
Last week, Evergrande said in a filing that it had to delay a proposed debt restructuring meeting with creditors as “sales of the group have not been as expected by the company.”
On Friday, China’s national financial regulator announced it had approved the takeover of the group’s life insurance arm by a new state-owned entity.
Earlier in September, police in Shenzhen, a southern Chinese city, said they had detained some staff at China Evergrande Group’s wealth management unit.
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