Evergrande’s Fall from $50 Billion Giant to Delisted Disaster

Evergrande, once China’s biggest property developer and a $50 billion market darling, has officially been wiped off the Hong Kong Stock Exchange — a final, humiliating chapter in the collapse that rattled China’s entire housing sector.

The delisting came Monday, 18 months after trading in its shares was frozen and months after a Hong Kong court ordered the company into liquidation. At its peak in 2017, Evergrande was worth more than HK$400 billion (about US$51 billion). By the time it disappeared from the ticker this week, it was limping along with a market value of barely US$260 million — a 99% wipeout.

The company’s downfall mirrors the broader unraveling of China’s debt-fueled real estate boom. For years, Evergrande was the poster child of China’s rapid urbanization — taking on massive borrowing, building 1,300 projects across 280 cities, even dabbling in electric cars and owning a top football club. But when Beijing finally cracked down on runaway developer debt in 2020, the $300 billion mountain of liabilities crushed the empire. By 2021, Evergrande was in default, sparking fears of a “Lehman moment” in China.

Liquidators are now trying to claw back scraps — including suing PwC for signing off on inflated books and seizing assets as random as a Claude Monet painting. Creditors have so far recovered just $255 million, a drop in the ocean compared to Evergrande’s obligations. Meanwhile, hundreds of unfinished apartment blocks remain scattered across Chinese cities, with buyers still waiting for homes they’ve already paid for.

Evergrande’s demise is part of a much bigger story: China’s once-mighty property sector is in a deep, drawn-out slump. Home sales are stagnant, prices keep sliding, and other developers — like China South City — have also been forced into liquidation. Once a third of China’s economy, real estate is now dragging growth down just as Beijing grapples with weak consumer spending, high local government debt, and a trade war.

The fall is also personal. Founder Hui Ka Yan, who once topped Asia’s rich list, has seen his $45 billion fortune collapse to less than $1 billion. Last year, regulators fined him and banned him from China’s capital markets for life.

Analysts say Beijing is unlikely to bail out developers wholesale. Instead, state-owned firms are expected to consolidate the industry and finish just enough homes to prevent social unrest. For investors, especially foreigners, Evergrande’s delisting is a brutal reminder: in China’s property market, “too big to fail” doesn’t mean what it used to.

With input from the Guardian, the New York Times, the Independent, and CNBC.