China Evergrande liquidators recover less than 1% of total claims

Liquidators for China Evergrande Group have recovered approximately $4.36 billion (HK$34.22 billion) in assets over two years of liquidation, representing less than 1% of the roughly $46 billion in total claims filed by creditors.

According to the second progress report released on October 22, the recovered funds stem primarily from debt recovery (67.5%) and bank deposits (10.5%). Other sources include the sale of art collections, which netted approximately $28.8 million—significantly lower than the original $1.3 billion purchase cost for works by artists such as Picasso and Monet. The sale of a private Airbus A319 is expected to bring in an additional $12 million in the fourth quarter.

Liquidators face significant hurdles in recovering assets from mainland China. They reported that access to the group’s mainland accounting systems was suspended without notice, hindering investigations. Furthermore, with over 650 of the group’s 3,000 mainland entities already in bankruptcy proceedings, the likelihood of recovering funds from these subsidiaries is considered extremely low, as assets must first satisfy those specific entities' creditors.

The liquidators aim to make the first distribution of funds to creditors in the first half of 2027, though the actual repayment ratio remains uncertain.