Evergrande collapse explained: $300bn debt, 280 cities, zero recovery

Chinese property giant Evergrande with a stock market valuation of once exceeding $50bn, has been taken off the Hong Kong stock market after one and a half decade of trading.

One of China’s biggest real estate firms collapsed due to huge debts that once powered its rise.

China director at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group Dan Wang expressed that delisting was both inevitable and final, adding, “Once delisted, there is no coming back.”

He added, “Delisting now is surely symbolic but it’s such a milestone.”

Evergrande, once China’s property crown jewel, crashed after Beijing introduced new rules in 2020 to control the amount big developers could borrow.

Since the real estate giant was the world’s most indebted property developer because it was built on $300bn of borrowed money.

Because of the new rules, the company offered its properties at major discounts. However, burdened by high interest rates, it defaulted on its overseas debts. 

After years of struggle, the company was ordered to wound up in January 2024 by Hong Kong High Court.

By the time of its delisting, 99 per cent of its market value had already been wiped out. 

It has been revealed that the company was in $45bn debt while it has sold only $255m worth of assets.

At the time of collapse, the company had over 1300 project underdevelopment across 280 major cities of China.