Founder of collapsed Chinese property giant Evergrande sentenced to life in prison

The founder of China’s troubled property conglomerate Evergrande, Hui Ka Yan – also known as Xu Jiayin – has been sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to forfeit his personal assets, the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court announced. Hui pleaded guilty in April to a series of charges, including embezzlement of assets and corporate bribery. In addition to the custodial sentence, the court fined Evergrande Group 8.82 billion yuan (approximately £960 million or $1.31 billion) and directed the company’s existing property division to pay 7 billion yuan, according to state‑run media. The verdict represents a pivotal moment in the aftermath of Evergrande’s 2021 collapse, which sent shockwaves through China’s real‑estate sector and left investors and domestic banks reeling. Hui, who rose from humble origins in rural China where he was raised by his grandmother, launched Evergrande in 1996. He steered the firm’s rapid expansion through an aggressive growth strategy funded by substantial borrowing. Under his leadership, Evergrande became the nation’s largest property developer, attaining a stock‑market valuation exceeding $50 billion (about £36.7 billion) before its downfall in 2021. Analysts frequently cite Evergrande’s implosion as a catalyst for the broader slump that continues to weigh on China’s property market and the wider economy.