The Guardian-Evergrande arrests China police detain staff at property giants wealth management arm
September 17, 2023 2 min 291 words
这则报道揭示了中国房地产巨头恒大（Evergrande）财富管理子公司的员工被逮捕，尽管报道中没有详细列出逮捕的员工数量和指控。这一消息再次凸显了中国房地产市场的动荡和债务危机，也引发了全球担忧。 恒大作为中国房地产业的重要代表，其庞大的债务已经对中国房地产市场危机产生了负面影响，引发了全球溢出的担忧。这个行业占据了中国国内生产总值的约四分之一，是中国经济增长的支柱之一，近几十年来一直经历着令人炫目的繁荣。 然而，近年来中国政府视行业内一些最大玩家积累的巨额债务为不可接受的金融风险，对其逐步紧缩了信贷通道，导致一波债务违约潮，尤其是恒大的违约。另一家中国房地产巨头碧桂园（Country Garden）最近几个月险些违约，报告显示其创纪录的亏损和逾1500亿美元的债务。而国有开发商远洋地产（Sino-Ocean）也显示出危机迹象，宣布暂停支付离岸债务。 与此同时，穆迪（Moody's）评级机构最近将中国房地产行业的前景展望从“稳定”下调为“负面”，认为政府支持措施只会对短期产生影响。这表明中国政府正在加强监管，以稳定金融系统和整体经济健康。 这则报道突显了中国政府在控制房地产市场风险方面的坚决立场，但也反映了行业内的问题仍然严峻，需要更多的监管和改革来稳定市场，避免可能的全球经济影响。
Police in China have arrested several employees at a subsidiary of Evergrande, the troubled property giant that is struggling under debts running into the hundreds of billions of dollars.
Employees at Evergrande’s financial subsidiary, Evergrande Wealth Management, were arrested, police in the southern city of Shenzhen said in a statement, without specifying the number of employees or the charges against them.
Police in the statement also urged the public to report any cases of suspected fraud to the authorities.
Evergrande’s enormous debt has contributed to the country’s deepening property market crisis, raising fears of a global spillover.
The property sector which, along with construction, accounts for about a quarter of China’s GDP, is a key pillar of the country’s growth and has experienced a dazzling boom in recent decades.
But the massive debt accrued by the industry’s biggest players – Evergrande had estimated debt of $328bn (307bn euros) at the end of June – has been seen by Beijing in recent years as an unacceptable risk for China’s financial system and overall economic health.
Authorities have gradually tightened developers’ access to credit since 2020, and a wave of defaults have followed – notably that of Evergrande.
Another Chinese property giant, Country Garden, has narrowly avoided default in recent months, after reporting a record loss and debts of more than $150bn.
State-backed developer Sino-Ocean is the latest company to show signs of trouble. On Friday it announced it would suspend payments of offshore debts.
Meanwhile, the Moody’s rating agency recently downgraded the outlook for China’s property sector from “stable” to “negative”, arguing that the government support measures will have only a short-term impact.