Countdown to Evergrande’s Delisting: HK$350 Billion in Liabilities, Only HK$2 Billion Recovered

China Evergrande Group is preparing to leave the Hong Kong capital market, concluding its transformation from a leading real estate developer to a company in liquidation. On August 12, the firm announced that its shares will be officially removed from the exchange on August 25.

The delisting procedure commenced on August 8, when the Hong Kong Stock Exchange informed Evergrande that it had not met any of the necessary conditions to resume trading. The company’s shares have remained suspended since January 29, 2024. With the deadline for resumption passing on July 28, 2025, the Listing Committee applied Rule 6.01A, resulting in the termination of Evergrande’s listing.

Trading will cease on August 22, and the delisting will be finalized at 9:00 a.m. on August 25. Evergrande has confirmed it will not challenge the decision. While the shares will retain legal validity after removal, they will no longer be exchangeable on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and the company will no longer be subject to its listing requirements.

This decision aligns with the Exchange’s fast-track delisting policy, which permits the removal of Main Board companies whose securities have been suspended for 18 months consecutively. Evergrande’s suspension was triggered by a winding-up order issued by the Hong Kong High Court on January 29, 2024. With no progress toward reinstatement by the July 2025 deadline, the delisting became unavoidable.

Prior to the delisting, the appointed joint liquidators will issue a comprehensive update to stakeholders, covering developments in the winding-up process from January 29, 2024, through July 31, 2025. The High Court designated Edward Simon Middleton and Wong Wing Sze of Alvarez & Marsal as joint liquidators in January 2024.

The liquidators are currently managing over 100 entities affiliated with Evergrande Group. These include Jingcheng Limited and Skybase Holdings Limited, which served as note issuers and guarantors. Central Group Limited, the majority shareholder in Evergrande Property Services, is also under their control. The combined value of assets directly overseen by the liquidators is estimated at HK$27 billion.

As of July 31, 2025, a total of 187 debt claims have been filed, amounting to approximately HK$350 billion. So far, the liquidators have secured around HK$2 billion in cash, including HK$81.7 million from Evergrande’s direct assets and roughly HK$1.9 billion from its subsidiaries. The intricate ownership structures across various jurisdictions have complicated the asset recovery process. To date, approximately US$167 million has been successfully returned to the company.