Evergrande Vows to Repay Debt in 2023 After Delaying Overhaul

China Evergrande Group vowed to repay debt in 2023 after delaying announcements of a much-anticipated restructuring plan again.

(Bloomberg) — China Evergrande Group vowed to repay debt in 2023 after delaying announcements of a much-anticipated restructuring plan again. 

It’s a crucial year for Evergrande to deliver residential projects it pre-sold, Chairman Hui Ka Yan said in a Jan. 1 letter to employees, adding that construction has resumed for all of its 732 real estate sites last year. 

“As long as Evergrande employees can keep construction going, resume sales and restart operations, we will repay all kinds of debt and resolve risks in the end,” according to the letter that didn’t elaborate detailed plans. “Evergrande will start a new chapter after that.”

The world’s most indebted developer failed to come up with a “preliminary restructuring plan” it promised by the end of July. It missed another self-imposed 2022 year-end deadline as well.  

The company met with an ad-hoc group of its dollar bondholders in early December to formally discuss plans, Bloomberg reported earlier. 

It expected to receive support from offshore creditors by the end of February or early March, the company’s legal representative said during a winding-up hearing in late November. Evergrande was urged by the judge of the winding-up case to present “something more concrete” during the next hearing on March 20.

Evergrande has delivered 301,000 residential units this year, according to the letter. The developer’s electric vehicle startup has started mass production and delivery of Hengchi 5, it added. 

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