Court gives Evergrande one last chance to agree debt deal

A Hong Kong High Court judge has given crisis-hit Chinese property giant Evergrande one last chance to come up with a new deal over its huge debts or face liquidation.

A winding-up hearing, initially scheduled for Monday, was adjourned to 4 December.

Justice Linda Chan said it would be the last hearing before a decision is made.

Evergrande is the world's most indebted property developer with more than $325bn (£268.4bn) of total liabilities.

It defaulted on its debts two years ago and has been working on a new repayment plan ever since.

Justice Chan said Evergrande had to come up with a "concrete" proposal before that otherwise it was likely the company would be wound up. A liquidator would still be able negotiate with creditors, she added.

Evergrande did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.

The case was originally brought by Top Shine Global, an investor in Evergrande unit Fangchebao, in June 2022.

It said Evergrande had not honoured an agreement to buy back shares the investor had bought in the business.

Evergrande's plans to rework its agreements with creditors were dealt a major blow last month when it confirmed that its founder Hui Ka Yan and one of its main subsidiaries were under investigation for suspected criminal activities.

The company also said that it was it barred by Chinese regulators from issuing new dollar bonds, which was a key part of its plan to restructure its debts.

It also cancelled planned votes by creditors on its restructuring plan, which were originally scheduled for late last month.

Most of Evergrande's debt is owed to people within China, many of whom are ordinary citizens whose homes have not been finished.

When the firm defaulted on its huge debts in 2021, it sent shockwaves through global financial markets as the property sector contributes to roughly a quarter of China's economy.

Several other of the country's major developers have defaulted over the past year and many are struggling to find the money to complete developments.