History of Evergrande Group in Timeline

China Evergrande Group, founded in 1996 by Hui Ka Yan, was a significant property developer in China, ranking as the second largest by sales. The company primarily focused on selling apartments to upper- and middle-income residents. Its large scale and influence made it a major player in the Chinese real estate market.

1996: Evergrande Group Founded

In 1996, Hui Ka Yan (Xu Jiayin) founded the China Evergrande Group, a Chinese property developer that would become the second largest in China by sales, primarily selling apartments to upper- and middle-income residents.

1996: Foundation of Evergrande in Guangzhou

In 1996, Hui Ka Yan founded Evergrande, initially called the Hongda Group, in Guangzhou during a period of significant urbanization in China.

October 2009: Initial Public Offering on SEHK

In October 2009, Evergrande raised $722 million U.S. through an initial public offering on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK).

2010: Acquisition of Guangzhou Evergrande F.C.

In 2010, Evergrande acquired football club Guangzhou Evergrande F.C. and invested heavily to acquire top players.

June 2012: Publication of Critical Report by Citron Research

In June 2012, Citron Research published a highly critical report on Evergrande Real Estate Group Limited.

2013: AFC Champions League Victory

In 2013, Guangzhou Evergrande F.C., under the management of Marcello Lippi, won the 2013 AFC Champions League.

2014: Completion of Evergrande Plaza

Evergrande Plaza, located in Chengdu, was completed in 2014 and was designed by Aedas.

2014: Launch of "Evergrande Spring" Mineral Water Brand

In 2014, Evergrande Group launched its "Hengda Bingquan" (later "Evergrande Spring") mineral water brand and invested ¥5.54 billion in it, including hiring Jackie Chan for promotion. The brand received negative attention from Korean consumers.

March 2015: Acquisition of New Media Group Holdings

In March 2015, Evergrande acquired New Media Group Holdings and renamed it Evergrande Health, which operates "Evergrande Health Valley" and works with Brigham and Women's Hospital.

November 2015: Acquisition of Stake in Sino-Singapore Great Eastern Life Insurance Company

In November 2015, Evergrande acquired a 50% stake in Sino-Singapore Great Eastern Life Insurance Company for $617 million and renamed it Evergrande Life. It also owns shares in Shengjing Bank.

2015: HengTen Networks Formed

In 2015, HengTen Networks was formed in partnership with Tencent.

September 2016: Sale of Agribusiness Units

In September 2016, after a loss of ¥4 billion, Evergrande sold its agribusiness units, including its mineral water brand, dairy business, and grain and oil business, for ¥2.7 billion.

2016: Deleveraging Campaign and Response

In 2016, the Chinese government initiated a deleveraging campaign, leading Evergrande to increase its use of supply-side finance and seek advanced payments from customers, creating liquidity issues.

2016: Suspension of Andrew Left

In 2016, the Hong Kong Market Misconduct Tribunal suspended Andrew Left for five years for publishing a critical report on Evergrande in 2012.

October 2017: Peak Stock Price

In October 2017, Evergrande's stock price reached a high of over HK$31.

2018: Became the Most Valuable Real Estate Company

In 2018, Evergrande became the most valuable real estate company in the world.

2018: Acquired Stake in Faraday Future

In 2018, Evergrande, through its Evergrande Health subsidiary, acquired a 45% stake in electric vehicle company Faraday Future for $2 billion.

July 2019: Partnership with State Grid Corporation

In July 2019, Evergrande partnered with State Grid Corporation of China to develop electric vehicle charging stations.

November 2019: Investment in New Energy Vehicles

In November 2019, Evergrande announced it would invest ¥45 billion (approximately $6.4 billion USD) over three years to develop new energy vehicles and build three production bases.

2019: Acquired 51% of NEVS Shares

In 2019, Evergrande Group acquired 51% of NEVS shares for $931 million.

2019: Revenue Overstated

In March 2024, it was found that in 2019 Evergrande overstated its revenue by 214 billion yuan, or about half.

April 2020: Construction of Guangzhou Evergrande Football Stadium

On 16 April 2020, Evergrande started the construction of the Guangzhou Evergrande Football Stadium in Guangzhou.

June 2020: Acquired Remaining Stake in NEVS

In June 2020, Evergrande Group acquired the remaining 49% of NEVS for $380 million.

August 2020: Renamed Evergrande Health to China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group

In August 2020, the listed company portion of Evergrande Health was renamed China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group Limited.

October 2020: HengTen Networks to Acquire Ruyi Pictures

In October 2020, HengTen Networks announced it would acquire Ruyi Pictures for HK$7.2 billion.

2020: Tightening of Real Estate Market

In 2020, CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping's government started tightening the real estate market, based on the principle that 'property is to be lived in, not to be speculated on', leading to the 'three red lines'.

2020: Launch of Hengchi Electric Vehicles

In 2020, Evergrande planned to launch electric vehicles branded as "Evergrande New Energy Vehicle", creating the Hengchi electric vehicle brand.

2020: Revenue Overstated

In March 2024, it was found that in 2020 Evergrande overstated its revenue by nearly 80%, or 350 billion yuan.

2020: PwC's Auditing of Evergrande

In October 2021, the accounting regulator in Hong Kong announced an investigation into PwC's auditing of Evergrande as PwC had signed off the 2020 accounts of Evergrande without reference to its uncertainties as a growing concern.

August 2021: Sold Stake in HengTen to Tencent

In August 2021, Evergrande sold a 7% stake in HengTen to Tencent for US$418 million.

September 2021: Liquidity Crisis and Stock Market Drop

In September 2021, Evergrande's payments on its debt resulted in a liquidity crisis, contributing to a drop in stock market indices on 20 September 2021.

September 2021: Start of Chinese Property Sector Crisis

In September 2021, payments due on Evergrande's debt, estimated to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars, initiated the Chinese property sector crisis, contributing to a drop in stock market indices on 20 September 2021.

October 2021: Contract Termination with Women's Volleyball Club

In October 2021, Evergrande terminated their contract with the Women's Guangdong Evergrande Volleyball Club after 8 years.

October 2021: Investigation of PwC's Auditing

On 15 October 2021, the accounting regulator in Hong Kong announced an investigation into PwC's auditing of Evergrande.

October 2021: Failed Asset Sale

On 21 October 2021, Evergrande announced that a $2.6 billion asset sale, intended to cover an $83 million interest payment missed in September 2021, had failed to close.

November 2021: Land Reserve Valuation

In November 2021, Evergrande's land reserve was worth RMB 456.8 billion, and together with 146 old reform projects, the total value of the land reserve was nearly RMB 2 trillion.

November 2021: Default on Bonds

On 10 November 2021, Evergrande defaulted on 3 more bonds after missing the grace period for interest payments.

December 2021: Official Default Declaration

On 17 December 2021, Evergrande was officially declared to be in default by S&P Global after missing a bond payment earlier in the month.

2021: Health Division Part of China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group

As of 2021, the health division remains a part of China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group Limited, and in turn, part of Evergrande Group.

2021: Financial Collapse and Property Sector Crisis

In 2021, Evergrande experienced a financial collapse, triggering a crisis in the Chinese property sector.

2021: Net Loss Attributable to Shareholders

In 2021, Evergrande had a net loss attributable to shareholders of 476 billion yuan (US$66.3 billion).

2021: Decline in Property Sales

In 2021, new restrictions lead to a downturn in the property market, with sales declining by 30%.

January 2022: Trading Suspension and Resumption

On 3 January 2022, Evergrande shares were suspended from trading, without a reason being provided by the company. Trading resumed a day later.

January 2022: Sought Moratorium on Bond Repayment

On 7 January 2022, Evergrande sought a moratorium from its bondholders on the early repayment option for one of its yuan-denominated bonds.

March 2022: Evergrande to sell Crystal City Project

In March 2022, Evergrande announced its decision to sell the Crystal City Project in Hangzhou for 3.66 billion yuan to Zhejiang Zhejian Real Estate Group and Zhejiang Construction Engineering Group, using the proceeds to repay construction debt. The deal is expected to post a gain of about 216 million yuan.

March 2022: All-Time Low Share Price

On 15 March 2022, Evergrande's share price sank to a new all-time low of HK$1.16 (US$0.15).

March 2022: Trading Suspension Price

On 21 March 2022, prior to a 17-month suspension, Evergrande stock was priced at HK$1.65.

April 2022: Construction Resumption Amid Liabilities

In April 2022, Reuters reported that construction had restarted on several Evergrande projects, despite the company's liabilities amounting to US$300 billion.

December 2022: Total Liabilities

As of 31 December 2022, Evergrande's total liabilities stood at 2.43 trillion yuan (approximately US$340 billion).

2022: Planned Electric Car Production

Evergrande NEV had stated that it would start making electric cars by 2022.

2022: Headquarters Move to Guangzhou

In 2022, Evergrande announced it would relocate its headquarters to Guangzhou to cut spending.

January 2023: PwC quits Evergrande audit

In January 2023, PwC resigned from auditing Evergrande's 2021 accounts due to disagreements.

July 2023: Debt Restructuring Court Hearings

In July 2023, court hearings were scheduled to take place in Hong Kong and the Caribbean regarding the restructuring of Evergrande's debts.

July 2023: Evergrande announces massive losses

In July 2023, it was revealed that Evergrande incurred a loss of 476 billion yuan in 2021 and 106 billion yuan in 2022.

August 2023: Strategic Investment from NWTN Group

On 14 August 2023, Evergrande Group received a $500 million strategic investment from NWTN Group.

August 2023: Filed for Chapter 15 Bankruptcy Protection

On 17 August 2023, Evergrande filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan. On 28 August 2023, Evergrande stock value fell significantly after trading resumed in Hong Kong.

August 2023: Evergrande Files for Bankruptcy

On August 17, 2023, Evergrande filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in New York.

September 2023: Chairman Placed Under Police Control

In September 2023, it was reported that Hui Ka Yan (Xu Jiayin), the billionaire chairman of Evergrande, was placed under police control. Additionally, Xia Haijun and Pan Darong were detained by Chinese authorities.

September 2023: Trading in Evergrande Shares Suspended Amidst Chairman Investigation

On September 28, 2023, trading in Evergrande shares was suspended following a report indicating that its chairman, Hui, was under police investigation for suspected crimes.

2023: Filed for Bankruptcy in the United States

In 2023, Evergrande filed for bankruptcy in the United States.

January 2024: Court-Ordered Liquidation in Hong Kong

In January 2024, a court in Hong Kong ordered the liquidation of Evergrande.

January 2024: Court Ordered Liquidation

On 29 January 2024, a Hong Kong court ordered Evergrande to liquidate due to a lack of a viable restructuring plan, resulting in the halting of trading for stocks in various Evergrande-related companies.

February 2024: Evergrande Liquidators Prepare Lawsuit Against PwC

In February 2024, Evergrande's liquidators were preparing for a potential lawsuit against its former auditor, PwC.

March 2024: CSRC Findings and Fine

In March 2024, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) found that Evergrande overstated its revenue in 2019 and 2020, fined Evergrande 4.2 billion yuan, and suspected problems with Evergrande's bonds.

June 2024: Order to Return Subsidies

In June 2024, Evergrande NEV was ordered by the Chinese government to return 1.9 billion yuan in subsidies due to failure to meet contractual obligations.

September 2024: Chinese authorities suspend PwC operations in China

In September 2024, the Chinese authorities suspended PwC from operating in China for six months and imposed a fine of CN¥ 441,000,000 (US$62 million).