China Evergrande Group

35 / f, evergrande center, no. 1126, Hyde road, nanshan district, shenzhen

Listings (0)
Projects (0)
Reviews (0)

No listing found.

0 Review

Sort by:

Leave a Review

About China Evergrande Group

Summary

China Evergrande Group was a Chinese property developer, founded in 1996 by Hui Ka Yan (Xu Jiayin) in Guangzhou and incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Headquartered in Shenzhen, it was once the second-largest property developer in China by sales, selling primarily to upper- and middle-income buyers. In 2018, it became the world’s most valuable real estate company, but by 2021 it faced severe financial difficulties, triggering the Chinese property sector crisis. Its debts were estimated at hundreds of billions of dollars.

Evergrande raised US$722 million in a Hong Kong IPO in 2009. In 2021, missed debt payments caused market instability, and restructuring attempts followed. In 2022, it relocated its headquarters to Guangzhou and resumed some project construction, but liabilities remained around US$300 billion. In 2023, it reported large losses for 2021 and 2022, and in August filed for U.S. Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection.

In January 2024, a Hong Kong court ordered liquidation, appointing Alvarez & Marsal as liquidators. In March 2024, China’s securities regulator found the company had significantly overstated revenue in 2019 and 2020, issuing a fine of 4.2 billion yuan.

Evergrande’s operations extended beyond real estate into multiple sectors. In automotive, it invested in Faraday Future, developed the Hengchi EV brand, and acquired NEVS. In health, it ran the Evergrande Health Valley and Boao Evergrande International Hospital. In entertainment, it formed HengTen Networks with Tencent. In finance, it owned Evergrande Life and held stakes in Shengjing Bank. It also ventured into mineral water, agriculture, and sports, owning Guangzhou Evergrande F.C., building a major football stadium, and running a football school.

Evergrande held extensive real estate assets across over 170 cities in China, including Ocean Flower Island in Hainan. Its collapse left most assets tied up in mainland China, pledged to domestic creditors or frozen by banks.

History

China Evergrande Group was founded in 1996 by Hui Ka Yan (Xu Jiayin) in Guangzhou, initially under the name Hongda Group. The company was established during a period of rapid urbanisation in China and focused on developing residential properties, primarily for upper- and middle-income buyers. Evergrande was incorporated in the Cayman Islands and headquartered in the Houhai Financial Centre in Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province.

In October 2009, Evergrande raised US$722 million through an initial public offering on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. Over the following decade, the company expanded significantly, becoming one of China’s largest property developers. By 2018, it had become the most valuable real estate company in the world by market capitalisation.

In 2021, the company’s large debt repayments became a key factor in triggering the Chinese property sector crisis. Evergrande’s total debts were estimated in the hundreds of billions of U.S. dollars. The crisis contributed to declines in stock markets on 20 September 2021. At the end of 2021, reports indicated that the Chinese government was working on restructuring Evergrande’s debts. On 7 January 2022, the group sought a moratorium from bondholders to delay early repayment on one of its yuan-denominated bonds.

In 2022, Evergrande announced it would move its headquarters from Shenzhen to Guangzhou to reduce costs. In April 2022, construction resumed on many of its projects, although liabilities remained at around US$300 billion.

On 17 July 2023, Evergrande disclosed net losses attributable to shareholders of 476 billion yuan (US$66.3 billion) for 2021 and 105.9 billion yuan (US$14.7 billion) for 2022. The group’s total liabilities as of 31 December 2022 stood at 2.43 trillion yuan (about US$340 billion). Restructuring hearings were planned in Hong Kong and the Caribbean. On 17 August 2023, Evergrande filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 15 of the U.S. bankruptcy code. Trading in its Hong Kong-listed shares resumed on 28 August 2023 after a 17-month suspension, with the stock price falling by 79 per cent. In September 2023, reports confirmed that Hui Ka Yan was placed under police control, and former senior executives, including Xia Haijun and Pan Darong, were detained.

On 29 January 2024, a Hong Kong court ordered the liquidation of Evergrande due to the absence of a viable restructuring plan. The decision followed bondholders’ rejection of a proposal to transfer most control to Chinese banks and impose significant losses on foreign creditors. Alvarez & Marsal were appointed as liquidators, but most of the group’s assets, concentrated in mainland China, had already been sold, pledged to domestic creditors, or frozen.

On 19 March 2024, the China Securities Regulatory Commission announced that Evergrande had overstated revenue by 214 billion yuan in 2019 and by 350 billion yuan in 2020. The regulator fined the company 4.2 billion yuan for falsifying revenue and related financial misconduct.

Portfolio

China Evergrande Group’s portfolio covered a wide range of industries beyond its core real estate operations. It operated in more than 170 cities, holding extensive land and property assets, including large-scale projects such as Ocean Flower Island in Hainan. In its 2020 annual report, Evergrande outlined a strategy to diversify into other sectors while integrating fixed and mobile spaces through digital networks.

In the automotive sector, Evergrande invested heavily in new-energy vehicles. In 2018, through its Evergrande Health subsidiary, it acquired a 45% stake in Faraday Future for US$2 billion. In 2019, the company announced a ¥45 billion investment to launch the Hengchi electric vehicle brand, in partnership with the State Grid Corporation of China, and to construct production bases in Guangzhou, Nansha, and Shanghai.

That same year, it acquired a 51% stake in NEVS for US$931 million, purchasing the remaining 49% for US$380 million in 2020. In August 2023, Evergrande NEV secured a US$500 million strategic investment from NWTN Group. However, in June 2024, it was ordered to return 1.9 billion yuan in state subsidies due to unmet contractual obligations.

In healthcare, Evergrande entered the sector in 2015 by acquiring New Media Group Holdings and renaming it Evergrande Health. The division operated the Evergrande Health Valley in Nanning and partnered with Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Massachusetts to manage the Boao Evergrande International Hospital in Hainan. The listed portion of Evergrande Health was renamed China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group Limited in August 2020, but healthcare remained part of the group’s activities.

Evergrande was also active in entertainment and media. In 2015, it partnered with Tencent to form HengTen Networks. In 2020, HengTen announced the acquisition of Ruyi Pictures for HK$7.2 billion. In 2021, Evergrande began divesting its holdings in HengTen, selling a 7% stake to Tencent for US$418 million before selling its remaining shares later that year.

In finance and insurance, Evergrande purchased a 50% stake in Sino-Singapore Great Eastern Life Insurance in 2015 for US$617 million, renaming it Evergrande Life. It also held shares in Shengjing Bank and offered wealth management products to consumers.

The company had ventures in food and agriculture. In 2014, it launched the Evergrande Spring mineral water brand, investing ¥5.54 billion and employing Jackie Chan as a brand ambassador. However, after losses of ¥4 billion, Evergrande sold its agribusiness, including the mineral water, dairy, grain, and oil units, for ¥2.7 billion in 2016. That year, it also announced a ¥300 million investment to establish more than 110 pig farms in Guizhou province.

In sports, Evergrande acquired Guangzhou Evergrande F.C. in 2010. The club won the 2013 AFC Champions League under Marcello Lippi, and Alibaba later acquired a 50% stake. The group established the Evergrande Football School in Qingyuan, Guangdong, recognised as the largest football academy in the world.

In April 2020, construction began on the Guangzhou Evergrande Football Stadium, estimated to cost 12 billion yuan, though the project was taken over by the government in 2021. Evergrande also sponsored the Women’s Guangdong Evergrande Volleyball Club until 2021.

In tourism and recreation, Evergrande developed Ocean Flower Island, an artificial archipelago in Hainan covering 381 hectares, with construction largely completed by 2020 and partial opening for visitors in January 2021. It also operated theme park brands, including Hengda Children of the World and Hengda Water World, as part of its broader tourism and cultural projects.

Leadership team

Hui Ka Yan (Xu Jiayin) | Chairman of the Board and Party Secretary
Siu Shawn | Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer
Shi Junping | Executive Director and Executive Vice President; Chairman, Fangchebao Group
Liu Zhen | Executive Director and Vice President, Legal and Supervisory Management
Qian Cheng | Executive Director, Chief Financial Officer, and Vice President
Xia Haijun | Vice Chairman and President, Evergrande Group

References

Evergrande Group | Wikipedia
Evergrande Group | China Evergrande
Evergrande | BBC
China’s Evergrande Property Services eyes up to 37% | Reuters
China Evergrande Group | GlobalData
Evergrande Group | ZoomInfo
Company Overview | Evergrande Property Services
China Evergrande Group | Crunchbase

35 / f, evergrande center, no. 1126, Hyde road, nanshan district, shenzhen

Website https://www.evergrande.com/

Find China Evergrande Group on:

China Evergrande Group

0 Review

Leave a Review

Contact us