China Evergrande subsidiary dealings raises prospects for offshore creditors
By Xie Yu and Clare Jim
HONG KONG, Aug 22 (Reuters) -Offshore creditors of China Evergrande 3333.HK might be able to increase their chance of recovering funds if they can prove the property developer is due money from onshore subsidiaries, to which they would therefore be entitled, experts said.
Those creditors became de facto shareholders of Evergrande's onshore assets due to a January liquidation order in Hong Kong,giving them another avenue to recoup money from a firm whose offshore liabilities alone reached as much as $23 billion.
Shareholders have the lowest seniority when recovering debt. However, in the case of two electric vehicle (EV) units and a property unit, they could be considered creditors which have higher seniority should the court-ordered reorganisation of the former and liquidation of the other reveal those subsidiaries have outstanding loans extended by China Evergrande.
"Offshore creditors who can prove Evergrande lent money to these onshore restructured businesses have a legal right to claim back money, based on experience," said Glen Ho, Deloitte China's national turnaround and restructuring leader.
Ho cited a case involving his team in which offshore creditors of China Huishan Dairy received payouts through the restructuring of onshore subsidiaries who had borrowed from the parent.
Creditors of the Evergrande units - including Evergrande itself, if there are outstanding loans - must report details of money owed before creditor meetings on Oct. 22 for Evergrande New Energy Vehicle (Guangdong) and Evergrande Smart Automotive (Guangdong), and Nov. 14 for Guangzhou Kailong Real Estate.
Evergrande liquidators - appointed by the Hong Kong court to represent offshore creditors - declined to comment. Its flagship onshore operation Hengda Real Estate declined to comment.
Calls to the Guangzhou Intermediary Court, which is overseeing the subsidiaries' cases, went unanswered.
The possibility of Evergrande's offshore creditors recouping funds through subsidiaries adds another chapter to the downfall of what was once China's biggest property conglomerate.
It also raises the possibility of offshore creditors filing proof of debt between Evergrande and other subsidiaries, and pursuing funds by pushing for those units' restructuring, experts said. Even so, recovery will be challenging, they said.
"The process will be lengthy and it will be hard to navigate the mainland restructuring process," Ho said.
The Hong Kong ruling designating offshore shareholders - through the liquidators - as shareholders of onshore assets is not automatically recognised in mainland China.
Moreover, being designated de facto shareholders of the subsidiaries, offshore creditors rank below those onshore so they will struggle to recover anything at all, said a restructuring expert in Hong Kong, declining to be identified as they were not authorised to speak with media.
With legal cases both onshore and off, creditor interests could also clash while they pursue the same assets.
For instance, the EV units' reorganisation is likely to disrupt a deal Evergrande liquidators announced in May to sell the property developer's stake in Hong Kong-listed China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle 0708.HK, analysts said.
Still, it is important that offshore investors are involved in government-led bankruptcy processes, and to ensure those process are transparent, said Qiao Shitong, a professor specialising in property law at Duke University's Law School.
"Letting the court handle such complicated cases, and making sure procedures are followed in the spirit of justice, is more important than who gets what," he said.
Reporting by Xie Yu and Clare Jim in Hong Kong; Editing by Christopher Cushing
Pinakabagong Balita
Disclaimer: Ang mga kabilang sa XM Group ay nagbibigay lang ng serbisyo sa pagpapatupad at pag-access sa aming Online Trading Facility, kung saan pinapahintulutan nito ang pagtingin at/o paggamit sa nilalaman na makikita sa website o sa pamamagitan nito, at walang layuning palitan o palawigin ito, at hindi din ito papalitan o papalawigin. Ang naturang pag-access at paggamit ay palaging alinsunod sa: (i) Mga Tuntunin at Kundisyon; (ii) Mga Babala sa Risk; at (iii) Kabuuang Disclaimer. Kaya naman ang naturang nilalaman ay ituturing na pangkalahatang impormasyon lamang. Mangyaring isaalang-alang na ang mga nilalaman ng aming Online Trading Facility ay hindi paglikom, o alok, para magsagawa ng anumang transaksyon sa mga pinansyal na market. Ang pag-trade sa alinmang pinansyal na market ay nagtataglay ng mataas na lebel ng risk sa iyong kapital.
Lahat ng materyales na nakalathala sa aming Online Trading Facility ay nakalaan para sa layuning edukasyonal/pang-impormasyon lamang at hindi naglalaman – at hindi dapat ituring bilang naglalaman – ng payo at rekomendasyon na pangpinansyal, tungkol sa buwis sa pag-i-invest, o pang-trade, o tala ng aming presyo sa pag-trade, o alok para sa, o paglikom ng, transaksyon sa alinmang pinansyal na instrument o hindi ginustong pinansyal na promosyon.
Sa anumang nilalaman na galing sa ikatlong partido, pati na ang mga nilalaman na inihanda ng XM, ang mga naturang opinyon, balita, pananaliksik, pag-analisa, presyo, ibang impormasyon o link sa ibang mga site na makikita sa website na ito ay ibibigay tulad ng nandoon, bilang pangkalahatang komentaryo sa market at hindi ito nagtataglay ng payo sa pag-i-invest. Kung ang alinmang nilalaman nito ay itinuring bilang pananaliksik sa pag-i-invest, kailangan mong isaalang-alang at tanggapin na hindi ito inilaan at inihanda alinsunod sa mga legal na pangangailangan na idinisenyo para maisulong ang pagsasarili ng pananaliksik sa pag-i-invest, at dahil dito ituturing ito na komunikasyon sa marketing sa ilalim ng mga kaugnay na batas at regulasyon. Mangyaring siguruhin na nabasa at naintindihan mo ang aming Notipikasyon sa Hindi Independyenteng Pananaliksik sa Pag-i-invest at Babala sa Risk na may kinalaman sa impormasyong nakalagay sa itaas, na maa-access dito.
