Nora Tam/South China Morning Post/Getty Images
- Two luxury mansions belonging to Hui Ka Yan, the founder and chairman of Evergrande, have been seized.
- The properties in Hong Kong's prestigious The Peak neighborhood are worth $192 million, per HK01.
- Once China's second-largest property developer, Evergrande has been mired in a debt crisis since 2021.
Hui Ka Yan, the founder and chairman of Chinese property developer Evergrande, is having a really bad end to the year.
In September, Hui was put under police surveillance. A month later, the real-estate mogul — who was Asia's second-richest person worth $42 billion in 2017 — lost his billionaire status after his fortune plunged 98% from its peak amid a debt crisis.
It's unclear if Hui is back in the billionaire zone, but he is the largest holder of Evergrande's stock, which has lost almost all its value from its heyday in 2017.
Now, a creditor has seized two luxury mansions linked to Hui. They are located in The Peak, Hong Kong's prestigious neighborhood, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing documents lodged with Hong Kong's Land Ministry.
The properties at 10C and 10E Black's Link are tied to Hui via Tan Haijun, an associate of Hui who is listed as a director of firms holding the two houses, per Bloomberg.
The houses — which are valued at 1.5 billion Hong Kong dollars, or $192 million — will be formally seized in days, local media outlet HK01 reported on Wednesday.
They were pledged to Orix Asia Capital, an investment firm, for an HK$821 million loan in late 2021, according to the media outlet.
It's not the first time Hui has lost a luxury home.
In November last year, China Construction Bank seized another mansion he owned, which is also located on Black's Link. The property is now on the market for HK$880 million.
Hui's assets have been under scrutiny since Evergrande's liquidity crisis came into public view in the second half of 2021. At the time, Chinese authorities reportedly told him to use his own money to pay the company's debt.
Evergrande first defaulted on an offshore dollar bond in December of 2021 and was weighed down by over $300 billion worth of debt at the end of 2022. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in the US in August.
Evergrande faces a winding-up petition in Hong Kong. The company has until December 4 to come up with a new restructuring proposal to stave off liquidation.
Evergrande and Orix Asia Capital did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
Evergrande's share price closed 1.9% lower at 26 Hong Kong cents on Wednesday.