China audits Evergrande, chairman Hui Ka Yan’s assets

Chinese authorities are investigating the assets of China Evergrande Group and its billionaire chairman Hui Ka Yan but expect no fire sale for the time being at the country’s most indebted real estate developer.

The audit emphasizes how Beijing is taking control over Evergrande after the real estate giant missed payments on two overseas bonds, causing a restructuring to address Evergrande’s liabilities over $300 billion.

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Examining the assets will allow the local government to decide whether a state-owned bailout is necessary, according to a Reuters report.

The future of Evergrande and other indebted Chinese real estate companies has created a fear of knock-off among the financial markets across the world.

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Beijing has repeatedly tried to reassure investors but has not released any solid plans to get Evergrande or the overall market back on track.

Last week, Evergrande missed coupon payments worth $82.5 million and Fitcher Ratings considered it as a “restricted default”.

According to Reuters, representatives from government-owned companies have set up a risk management committee at Evergrande but the earlier examinations show that the real estate giant’s liquidity crunch is much more complicated than expected.

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“Currently, there’s no rush to introduce any disposal plans,” a source close to the regulators said, citing the possible disinvestment of a real estate management unit and an electric vehicle manufacturing unit.

Evergrande refused to comment, while Hui and the Guangdong provincial government could not be contacted for comment.

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Evergrande founder and chairman Hui Ka Yan, 63, currently owns around 60% stake and has been releasing funds by selling luxury assets, including three residences, art, and calligraphy.

According to Forbes, till September Hui had earned around $8 billion in cash dividends since Evergrande’s market debut in 2009. However, his current personal net worth is unknown.

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Asset Sales

Evergrande missed payments on some of its overseas bonds which could trigger cross-default on its international bonds around $19 billion.

Evergrande has not released any statement on missed payments but it has said it plans to restructure its overseas debt, which will be the biggest restructuring in China.

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The local government is expected to buy only a part of Evergrande’s assets and it will not allow the group to default on its payments intentionally.

Reuters previously reported that Beijing has pushed state-owned firms and state-backed real estate developers to purchase Evergrande’s assets.

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Last week, China’s Central Economic Work Conference said that enterprises should create self-rescue provisions and regulators should make plans to manage and reduce financial risks.