Evergrande releases statement vigorously opposing winding-up petition

Property developer China Evergrande has expressed its “vigorous” opposition against a winding-up petition filed by one of its creditors on 28 June 2022. The petition was filed with Hong Kong’s High Court by Top Shine Global, an investment holding group, and is related to an obligation worth HK$862.5mn (US$109.9mn), according to Evergrande’s statement.   Evergrande said in the public notice that it did not expect the petition to affect its restructuring plan or timetable, which it plans to release by the end of next month. Investors have closely watched for signs of progress in Evergrande’s drawn out default and restructuring process, with international groups making various plays to recover their debts, including seizing property and threatening legal action.

The winding-up petition, the first such petition disclosed by Evergrande, is the latest sign of pressure from the company’s creditors. Evergrande added that if the petition were successful, any disposition of property, transfer in shares or changes in the status of members of the company made after when the petition was presented on Friday last week would be invalid.

Fangchebao(FCB), an investor in China Evergrande Group unit, filed the winding-up petition against the property developer in Hong Kong on 27 June 2022 as it had not granted an agreement to repurchase shares the investor bought in FCB.  This is the first winding-up petition that was filed against Evergrande, which is intertwined with more than $300 billion in liabilities and whose offshore debt was deemed to be in default after missing payment obligations late last year.  Investment holding firm Top Shine Global Ltd bought 0.46% of FCB, a Chinese online real estate and automobile marketplace, last March for HK$750 million ($95.6 million), as Evergrande sold 10% of the unit to 17 investors for a total $2.10 billion ahead of an initial public offering (IPO).

Earlier last week, China Evergrande said it expects to announce its preliminary restructuring plan before the end of July, sticking to its original deadline as the world's most indebted property developer struggles to emerge from its financial crisis. In a stock exchange filing, the company said it does not have a timeline for publishing its 2021 annual results or completing a probe in its property services unit. Shares of embattled Evergrande have been suspended from trading since March 21 as it was not able to deliver its financial results on time and its unit Evergrande Property Services had launched an investigation into how banks seized 13.4 billion yuan (HK$15.7 billion) in deposits that had been pledged as security for third party guarantees.

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