HONG KONG (Reuters) – Shares of Chinese real estate group China Evergrande fell more than 80% on Monday as it resumed trading after a 17-month suspension, wiping out more than two billion U.S. dollars of market capitalization.
Evergrande, the world’s most indebted property developer, has been at the center of the sector’s slump in China since late 2021 and struggles to repay suppliers and creditors.
The group is seeking the approval of its creditors and the courts for the implementation of a debt restructuring plan, the procedure for which has been extended to September 20, instead of August 23.
In a document filed Monday, Evergrande also said meetings with creditors would be rescheduled for September 26 instead of August 28 because, he said, “it is critical that all…creditors understand the process of proposed restructuring and its terms”.
On the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, around 0720 GMT, the stock plunged 81.21% after falling 87% at the open, bringing the group’s market capitalization from 21.8 billion HK dollars to 4.6 billion. dollars (586.38 million US dollars or 542 million euros).
Evergrande shares, suspended since March 21, 2022, resumed trading after the group said it had met all the conditions of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Its subsidiaries, China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group and Evergrande Property Services Group, resumed trading last month after a 16-month hiatus.
Evergrande would have been delisted from the Exchange if his suspension had reached 18 months.
(Report Clare Jim; with Donny Kwok, French version Claude Chendjou, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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