The troubled Chinese real estate group has suspended its shares from trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as investors overseas and in China mull what sort of restructuring may emerge.

Evergrande, the debt-laden Chinese property conglomerate, suspended trade in its shares in Hong Kong yesterday, while investors await news of restructuring. 

“At the request of the company, trading in the shares of the company was halted at 9:00 a.m. on 3 January 2022 pending the release by the company of an announcement containing inside information,” the group said in a statement filed to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The statement did not elaborate.

Evergrande has more than $300 billion of debt and is seeking to raise cash by selling assets and shares to repay suppliers and creditors. The firm's problems have sent shockwaves through global markets, prompting worries that China’s domestic economy contains deep fault lines.

Last week, the group pulled back plans to repay investors in wealth products; on 31 December 2021, it said that investors in these products could receive $1,257 each month as principal payment for three months, irrespective of when the investment matures (sources: BBC, other).

Last week, the company dialled back plans to repay investors in its wealth management products.

In December media reports said that Chinese creditors had sued China’s Evergrande for more than $13 billion in allegedly overdue payments, as domestic companies owed money by the debt-laden property developer compete with foreign bond-holders to win back payment.

The most recent news statement on Evergrande’s website on 3 March 2021, referring to its 2020 annual report, opens by stating that performance had been “outstanding.” The statement did, however, include this paragraph: “While the performance continues to grow, Evergrande has also realised prominent improvement in liability reduction: Since the new development strategy launched at the end of last March, Evergrande's liability with interest has been significantly cut by RMB200 billion ($31.5 billion). Also, it has increased its business interest by HK$88.8 billion ($11.38 billion) through methods such as introducing strategic investment and conducting spin-off and listing of high-quality assets, optimizing its liability structure and achieving steady development."