Key Sentence:
- Hong Kong billionaire Joseph Lau and his wife Chan Hoi Wang have secured their 48% stake in China Evergrande Group.
A struggling Chinese real estate giant controlled by Hui Ka Yan’s Quit Evergrande longtime business partner and friend Lau. Lau and Chan were Evergrande’s second-largest shareholders at the end of August, with a more than 9 percent stake in the original estate company.
The pair sold the 333 million shares they directly held at the end of last week, Quit Evergrande while Hong Kong-based entrepreneur China Estates dumped another 240 million shares. The company said soon this month that it could sell all of its stake in Evergrande, meaning an additional 620 million shares could be sold.
The business relationship between Lau and Hui lasted more than a decade. Lau was a fundamental investor in Evergrande’s initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2009. In addition, the two tycoons have completed several major real estate deals over the years. Lau’s release of his stake in Evergrande is a sign of a loss of confidence that the debt-ridden company can still be saved.
Meanwhile, China Estates company halted trading on its shares on Wednesday morning after its shares rose 33%. A Hong Kong, real estate developer, said the suspension was due to upcoming acquisitions and mergers announcements.
Lau stepped down as chairman of the Chinese plantation seven years ago. Lau said he transferred most of his wealth to his wife and son in 2017, citing severe health problems. As a result, most of his wealth today comes from major estates in Hong Kong.