Evergrande: Crisis-hit Chinese property giant reveals $81bn loss

Crisis-hit Chinese property giant Evergrande has revealed that in 2021 and 2022 it lost a combined 581.9bn yuan ($81.1bn; £62bn).

The firm, which defaulted on its debts in late-2021, reported its long overdue earnings to investors in Hong Kong.

Evergrande has been struggling with an estimated $300bn (£229bn) of debts.

The huge losses highlight how much the developer was rocked in recent years by the property market crisis in the world’s second largest economy.

In filings to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange late on Monday, the company said it lost 476bn yuan in 2021 and 105.9bn yuan last year.

That came as revenue more than halved over the two-year period.

Evergrande said the losses were due to a number of reasons, including the falling value of properties and other assets as well as higher borrowing costs.

Shares in the firm, which was once China’s top-selling property developer, have been suspended from trading since March last year.

China’s real estate industry was rocked when new rules to control the amount big real estate firms could borrow were introduced in 2020.

The following year, Evergrande missed a crucial deadline and failed to repay interest on around $1.2bn of international loans.

Its financial problems have rippled through the country’s property industry, with a series of other developers defaulting on their debts and leaving unfinished building projects across the country.

Earlier this year, Evergrande laid out plans to restructure around $20bn in overseas debt.

The company racked up debts of more than $300bn as it expanded aggressively to become one of China’s biggest companies.

Over the last decade and a half the company’s expansion encompassed a wide range of industries including sports, entertainment and electric car making.

In 2010, Evergrande took control of Guangzhou FC and changed its name to Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao FC.

With an infusion of new money, the squad was strengthened and it immediately won promotion to the top tier of Chinese football. From 2011 it won the Chinese Super League title eight times, including seven seasons in a row.

Last year, the club was relegated from the Super League, while Evergrande’s plans for a $1.8bn stadium were shelved. The club has also reverted to its previous name – Guangzhou FC.