End of the road for China's once mightiest property firm

The moment passed without fanfare. Evergrande, a real estate developer that once represented the pinnacle of China's economic prowess, was formally removed from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Aug 25.

- Alexandra Stevenson

HONG KONG – The moment passed without fanfare. Evergrande, a real estate developer that once represented the pinnacle of China's economic prowess, was formally removed from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Aug 25.

The company made its market debut in Hong Kong 16 years ago at a stock value of US$9 billion (S$11.5 billion). That grew more than fivefold to US$51 billion eight years later only to plummet to earth in recent years; it is now worth a meagre US$282 million.

Evergrande will be remembered as a cautionary tale of unbridled debt-fuelled expansion whose collapse brought China's financial system to the brink. The company tested Beijing's long-time "too big to fail" policy towards its biggest companies. It shattered its tolerance of unchecked borrowing by giant corporations. And Evergrande's collapse in 2021, under more than US$300 billion of debt, exposed the vulnerabilities of China's economy and its dependence on real estate as a driver of growth.