China Evergrande faces winding-up lawsuit in Hong Kong

SHANGHAI (June 27): China Evergrande Group is facing a winding-up lawsuit in Hong Kong, the latest claim against the debt-laden developer.

The petition was filed by Top Shine Global Ltd of Intershore Consult (Samoa) Ltd, a court website showed on Monday. A hearing in the high court is set for Aug 31, the filing showed, without providing details of the claim.

Evergrande did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bloomberg could not immediately reach Top Shine, which is incorporated in Samoa.

Evergrande, founded by billionaire chairman Hui Ka Yan, officially became a defaulter in December and aims to provide creditors with a preliminary overhaul proposal by the end of July. The real estate giant said last week that it was actively pushing forward with the restructuring work.

Both onshore and offshore investors are closely watching what could be one of the nation's biggest debt restructurings, as they prepare for a lengthy battle over who gets paid from what remains. Evergrande has more than US$300 billion in liabilities.

Top Shine was a strategic investor in Evergrande's online home and car sales platform FCB Group in March 2021 ahead of a planned US listing. It invested HK$750 million (US$96 million) in the business, an Evergrande filing showed at the time.

Creditors of embattled Chinese property firms have been increasingly seeking court help on debt repayments. Jiayuan International Group Ltd, a residential and commercial developer, last week said it settled two wind-up petitions.

Fantasia Holdings Group Co, which missed its first note payment last October, said in May that it faced a wind-up petition involving US$149 million of loan facilities.