Oct 2 (Portal) – China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) Chairman Hui Ka Yan is under investigation on suspicion of transferring assets overseas as the debt-ridden real estate developer struggles to complete unfinished projects, the reported Wall Street Journal on Monday.
Evergrande has been trying to get creditors’ approval to restructure its offshore debt, but the process became more complicated last week when the company said it could not issue new debt due to an investigation into its main Chinese branch.
Adding to the troubles of the beleaguered project developer, it was reported on Friday that its chairman was under police surveillance and suspected of committing unspecified crimes.
[1/2]Hui Ka Yan, chairman of Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd, the country’s second-largest real estate developer by revenue, attends a press conference on annual results in Hong Kong, China, 29 March 2016. Portal/Bobby Yip/File Photo Acquisition of LICENSE RIGHTS
Portal reported last week that a group of offshore creditors planned to join a court petition to liquidate the developer if it does not submit a new debt restructuring plan by the end of October.
Evergrande did not immediately respond to a Portal request for comment during the week-long National Day holiday.
With more than $300 billion in liabilities, Evergrande has become the poster child of a debt crisis in China’s real estate sector, which accounts for about a quarter of the economy.
Trading in the shares of Evergrande and two of its units was suspended on Thursday after media reported that Hui was taken away by police and monitored at a certain location.
Reporting by Urvi Dugar in Bengaluru; Edited by Stephen Coates
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