The dramatic rise and fall of China’s property empire has reached a stark new chapter.
The Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court also fined Evergrande Group 8.82 billion yuan ($1.31bn).
The property unit was ordered to pay another 7 billion yuan.
The Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court also fined Evergrande Group 8.82 billion yuan ($1.31bn).
The property unit was ordered to pay another 7 billion yuan.
But how did a man who built China’s biggest property developer end up behind bars?
Hui grew up in rural China and was raised by his grandmother before entering the property business.
Empire Ends In Prison
In 1996, he founded Evergrande and turned it into a real estate powerhouse through an aggressive expansion strategy heavily reliant on borrowed money.
At its peak, the company was valued at more than $50bn. Then came the reckoning.
Evergrande collapsed in 2021, leaving investors, banks and homeowners exposed to its enormous debts.
Its failure also became a symbol of China’s wider property crisis, which continues to drag on the economy.
Hui’s case is therefore about more than one businessman.
It is a warning about what happens when rapid growth is fuelled by mountains of debt.
From property tycoon to prisoner, Hui’s extraordinary journey shows just how quickly an empire built on borrowing can come crashing down.
