China's Evergrande Group, the property developer at the centre of a $300 billion liquidity firestorm, announced that it has fired its senior executives in the aftermath of an internal investigation into why banks seized more than 13.4bn yuan ($2bn) from the company's property services arm.
The company forced out chief executive Xia Haijun and chief financial officer Pan Darong, who were both involved in the “deposits”, which were used as “security for third party pledge guarantees”, the company said in statements to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, where its shares are listed.
Investigators had established that the money was taken because it was being used as a guarantee to allow a third party to obtain a loan, one statement said.
“Based on the preliminary findings of the independent investigation committee of the company, the loans secured by the pledges [after deduction of fees] were transferred and diverted back to the group via third parties and were used for the general operations of the group,” it said.
It further found that Mr Xia and Mr Pan “participated in the above arrangement. In view of this, the board resolved to request such persons to resign from their positions within the group”.
The pledges involved three sets of deposit certificate pledges, including a 2bn yuan deposit certificate pledge guarantee, an 8.7bn yuan deposit certificate pledge guarantee and a 2.7bn deposit certificate pledge guarantee, the statement said.
Evergrande appointed Siu Shawn as its chief executive, who will also remain in his current role as an executive director.
Qian Cheng, a current vice president, was named chief financial officer and executive director, while Liu Zhen, another vice president, was also appointed as an executive director.
Evergrande, one of China's biggest developers, has been embroiled in a liquidity crisis afree property sales dived in 2021, the first annual drop in at least a decade, as the builder slipped into default and buyer confidence faded.
The resignations come as Evergrande is fighting for survival and working to reach a restructuring agreement with debtors, to whom it owes an estimated $300bn.
Contracted sales dropped 39 per cent to 443bn yuan last year, according to Bloomberg calculations, making it the world’s most indebted developer and one whose sales have been believed to be almost frozen since October, when its liquidity woes intensified.
The company's troubles have had a domino effect throughout China's vast property sector, with some smaller firms also defaulting on loans and others struggling to gain enough funding.
China's real estate firms have long been heavily dependent on loans to finance their massive developments, but Beijing's push to rein in indebtedness has cut cash flows, leaving these companies in serious problems.
This month, Shimao Group Holdings missed payment on a $1bn bond, its first default on a public bond after months of mounting stress. Its delinquency is among the biggest dollar payment failures so far this year in China.
In a separate statement, Evergrande said there was “no disagreement” between Mr Zia and Mr Pan and its board of directors, and that there was no need to further escalate the matter to its shareholders.
In recent months, Evergrande has rushed to offload its assets, with its chairman Hui Ka Yan resorting to his personal wealth to pay off some of its debts.
Evergrande halted trading in its shares on January 3 after local media reported that the company has been ordered to tear down apartment blocks in a development in Hainan province. It resumed trading the following day.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Stamp duty timeline
December 2014: Former UK finance minister George Osbourne reforms stamp duty, replacing the slab system with a blended rate scheme, with the top rate increasing to 12 per cent from 10 per cent:
Up to £125,000 - 0%; £125,000 to £250,000 – 2%; £250,000 to £925,000 – 5%; £925,000 to £1.5m: 10%; Over £1.5m – 12%
April 2016: New 3% surcharge applied to any buy-to-let properties or additional homes purchased.
July 2020: Rishi Sunak unveils SDLT holiday, with no tax to pay on the first £500,000, with buyers saving up to £15,000.
March 2021: Mr Sunak decides the fate of SDLT holiday at his March 3 budget, with expectations he will extend the perk unti June.
April 2021: 2% SDLT surcharge added to property transactions made by overseas buyers.
Simran
Director Hansal Mehta
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey
Three stars
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
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Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
TOURNAMENT INFO
Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri
SANCTIONED
- Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter Katarina
- Petr Fradkov, head of recently sanctioned Promsvyazbank and son of former head of Russian Foreign Intelligence, the FSB.
- Denis Bortnikov, Deputy President of Russia's largest bank VTB. He is the son of Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB which was responsible for the poisoning of political activist Alexey Navalny in August 2020 with banned chemical agent novichok.
- Yury Slyusar, director of United Aircraft Corporation, a major aircraft manufacturer for the Russian military.
- Elena Aleksandrovna Georgieva, chair of the board of Novikombank, a state-owned defence conglomerate.
Roll of honour: Who won what in 2018/19?
West Asia Premiership: Winners – Bahrain; Runners-up – Dubai Exiles
UAE Premiership: Winners – Abu Dhabi Harlequins; Runners-up – Jebel Ali Dragons
Dubai Rugby Sevens: Winners – Dubai Hurricanes; Runners-up – Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Conference: Winners – Dubai Tigers; Runners-up – Al Ain Amblers
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Rock in a Hard Place: Music and Mayhem in the Middle East
Orlando Crowcroft
Zed Books
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
