Hong Kong’s High Court on 29 January issued a wind-up order for the liquidation of property developer China Evergrande Group, which has been unable to provide a specific restructuring plan with overseas creditors since defaulting on its offshore debt in 2021. According to the court order, overseas creditors are owed US$25 billion, with one of them — Top Shine Global — filing a wind-up petition against China Evergrande in Hong Kong in June 2022 to recover a portion of its losses. More than 90 percent of China Evergrande’s assets, however, are located in China, states the court order.

Once ranked as China’s largest developer, China Evergrande has struggled with US$329 billion in debts against US$240 billion in assets, according to Mingtiandi. In recent years, the nation’s ongoing property crisis has dealt a blow to its economy as the Chinese government sought to clamp down on speculative spending in its once booming housing market, which previously represen