Evergrande Set to Delist in Hong Kong — A New Low in China Property Crisis

This comes as liquidators reveal developer's debt load to be much bigger than disclosed

- 

HONG KONG — China Evergrande Group's delisting marks a bleak milestone for the nation's property sector, now in a fourth year of paralysis that continues to weigh down the world's second-largest economy.

The company, once China's biggest developer by sales, will be removed from the Hong Kong stock exchange on Aug 25, a year and a half after the shares were suspended and almost 16 years after the Guangzhou-based firm was listed.

The delisting comes as liquidators sifting through the books revealed that the developer's debt load now stands at about HK$350 billion (S$57.2 billion), much bigger than previously disclosed.

The liquidators provided a stern assessment after more than a year of going through the balance sheet and the firm's web of entities, deeming its chances of pulling off a holistic restructuring as "out of reach".

Once emblematic of China's housing boom, Evergrande's fall underscores the fragility of the market, where declining consumer confidence, oversupply and mounting debt have stalled real estate recovery efforts.

"It's a symbolic moment for the mainland property sector," said Mr Kenny Ng, a strategist at China Everbright Securities International. The drastic collapse "will definitely leave a deep memory in all investors in the market".