The billionaire chair of China’s Evergrande Group has been put under police surveillance, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, raising fresh doubts over the future of the embattled property developer amid mounting fears of an imminent collapse that would send shock waves through China’s beleaguered property sector and wider economy.
Hui Ka Yan is reportedly under residential surveillance.
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Hui Ka Yan, the chairman of China Evergrande Group, has been placed under police surveillance, according to Bloomberg.
Hui, known as Xu Jiayin in Mandarin, was taken by police earlier this month and is being “monitored at a designated location,” Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.
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It is not clear why Hui has been placed under residential surveillance.
The measure falls beneath thresholds for formal detention or arrest and does not mean he will be charged with a crime.
The process, which should last at most six months, limits Hui’s freedoms—he cannot leave the location or meet or communicate with people without permission—and requires him to surrender any passports and identity cards to the police.
Evergrande - once the world’s most valuable property developer - is at the centre of a real estate crisis threatening the world’s second largest economy.
By 2021, Evergrande’s total liabilities had reached $300 billion. The cash-strapped company struggled to pay suppliers and complete homes. Its property revenues plunged. Evergrande also failed to pay retail investors in its financial products on time, sparking protests across the country.