Founder of China's Evergrande sentenced to life in prison
Hui's sentencing marks a pivotal moment in the fallout from Evergrande's collapse, which shook China's property sector.
On April 14th, the founder of China's Evergrande, Hui Ka Yan, was sentenced to life in prison by Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court. The court also confiscated all of Hui's personal property. Hui had pleaded guilty to charges of embezzlement of assets and corporate bribery. The court imposed a fine of 8.82 billion yuan on Evergrande Group, equivalent to £960 million or $1.31 billion.
The real estate unit of Evergrande was ordered to pay an additional 7 billion yuan. This sentencing marks a significant turning point in the aftermath of Evergrande's collapse, which had sent shockwaves through China's property sector and left investors and domestic banks in turmoil. Hui, also known as Xu Jiayin, came from a humble background in rural China, where he was raised by his grandmother before establishing Evergrande in 1996.
He led the company's rapid growth through aggressive expansion financed with substantial borrowing. Evergrande had become China's largest real estate developer, with a stock market valuation surpassing $50 billion, but the company's collapse in 2021 triggered a wider slump in China's property market that continues to impact the economy.
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