(Reuters) -China Evergrande Group was delisted from the Hong Kong stock exchange on Monday, in one of the largest removals by market value and volume in recent years.
Once China’s top-selling developer, Evergrande’s financial crisis became public in 2021. Since then, the developer and a string of its peers have defaulted on debt obligations amid slowing home sales and dwindling fundraising options.
Here is a timeline of how the debt crisis at Evergrande, the world’s most indebted developer, has unfolded:
AUGUST, 2021
Many Evergrande projects across the country halt construction due to overdue payments.
China’s central bank and banking watchdog summon senior executives and issue a rare warning that Evergrande must reduce its debt risks and prioritise stability.
SEPTEMBER, 2021
It misses two offshore bond coupon payments totalling $131 million. The payments have a grace period of 30 days.
Evergrande engages financial advisers to examine options, warning of cross-default risks amid plunging property sales.
NOVEMBER, 2021
Evergrande founder Hui Ka Yan sells 1.2 billion shares worth HK$2.68 billion ($343 million), lowering his stake in Evergrande to 67.9% from 77%.
MARCH, 2022
Evergrande suspends trading in its shares, citing its inability to publish audited results before March 31 and an investigation of the property management arm in which 13.4 billion yuan ($1.87 billion) of deposits were seized by banks.
NOVEMBER, 2022
A mansion belonging to Evergrande founder in Hong Kong’s prestigious The Peak residential enclave is seized by China Construction Bank (Asia).
JANUARY, 2023
Evergrande says its then auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers resigned over disagreements over matters related to its 2021 accounts.
FEBRUARY, 2023
An independent committee finds Evergrande’s directors fell “below standards” through their involvement in diverting loans secured by unit Evergrande Property Services to the group.
MARCH, 2023
Evergrande announces offshore debt restructuring plans, giving creditors options to swap their debt into new bonds and equity-linked instruments backed by the group and its two Hong Kong-listed companies.
APRIL, 2023
Evergrande says 77% of the holders of class-A debts and 30% of the holders of class-C debts have submitted their support for the restructuring proposal.
JULY, 2023
Evergrande posts net losses of 476 billion yuan and 105.9 billion yuan for 2021 and 2022, respectively, versus a profit of 8.1 billion yuan in 2020 when its operation was normal.
AUGUST, 2023
Evergrande reports a 33 billion yuan loss in January-June, versus a 66.4 billion yuan loss a year earlier.
Trading in Evergrande’s shares resumes after 17 months, with 79% of its market value lost from when it was last traded.
SEPTEMBER, 2023
China’s National Administration of Financial Regulation approves the setting up of a state-owned insurer to take over all assets and liabilities of Evergrande Life Insurance, a 50%-owned investee company of Evergrande.
Police in southern China say they have detained some staff at Evergrande Financial Wealth Management, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Evergrande.
Evergrande defers scheme meeting initially scheduled for September 25-26, citing the need to reassess restructuring terms.
Evergrande says it cannot meet qualifications for the issuance of new notes as its flagship onshore unit Hengda Real Estate Group was under regulatory investigation for suspected violation of information disclosure.
Evergrande says founder is being investigated over suspected crimes.
OCTOBER, 2023
The Hong Kong High Court gives Evergrande a five-week reprieve to come up with a revised concrete debt restructuring plan to avoid liquidation.
NOVEMBER, 2023
Evergrande makes last-minute revised debt restructuring proposal to offshore creditors ahead of the hearing.
DECEMBER, 2023
Evergrande obtains another adjournment from the Hong Kong court, giving it more time to finalise a revamped offshore debt-restructuring plan.
Evergrande’s ad hoc bondholder group says it firmly opposes the revised restructuring terms.
January, 2024
Evergrande’s new energy vehicle unit group says its vice chairman, Liu Yongzhuo, has been detained and is under criminal investigation.
Evergrande Property Services says its units have started legal proceedings against parent Evergrande to recover 11.4 billion yuan of pledge guarantees on deposit certificates.
Evergrande’s ad hoc bondholder group joins the liquidation petition against the developer.
Evergrande is issued a liquidation order by a Hong Kong court at a Jan 29 hearing. Its shares are suspended from trading.
March, 2024
China fines Evergrande’s onshore flagship unit 4.18 billion yuan for fraudulent bond issuance and illegal information disclosure, and company chairman 47 million yuan and barred him from the securities market for life.
Evergrande’s liquidators starts legal proceedings against chairman, his ex-wife and former executives to recover about $6 billion.
August, 2025
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange decides to cancel Evergrande’s listing, effective on August 25, as its shares fail to resume trading after 18 months of suspension.
Evergrande’s liquidators say they have sold $255 million of the firm’s assets 18 months into the liquidation process, while they have received creditor claims totalling $45 billion.
($1 = 7.8169 Hong Kong dollars)
($1 = 7.1513 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee, Kim Coghill and Himani Sarkar)
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