Evergrande Begins Repaying Wealth Product Investors With Property

Evergrande Begins Repaying Wealth Product Investors With Property
The China Evergrande Center building sign is seen in Hong Kong on Aug. 25, 2021. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)
Reuters
9/20/2021
Updated:
9/20/2021

BEIJING—Cash-strapped developer China Evergrande Group has begun repaying investors in its wealth management products with real estate, a unit of its main Hengda Real Estate Group Co. Ltd unit said.

Evergrande, with over $300 billion in liabilities, is in the throes of a liquidity crisis that has left it racing to raise funds to pay its many lenders and suppliers. It has a bond interest payment of $83.5 million due on Thursday.

The company said in a WeChat post-dated Saturday that investors interested in redeeming wealth management products for physical assets should contact their investment consultants or visit local offices.

Financial news outlet Caixin reported on Sunday that an estimated 40 billion yuan ($6 billion) in Evergrande wealth management products are outstanding. Such products are typically held by retail investors.

Earlier this month, a stock exchange filing showed that Evergrande had repaid a million yuan in overdue debts due to supplier Skshu Paint Co. Ltd in the form of apartments in three unfinished property projects.

On Sept. 10, Evergrande had vowed to repay all of its matured wealth management products as soon as possible.

By Aishwarya Nair and Min Zhang