China Evergrande Group, the indebted Hong Kong-listed real estate developer, told officials in mainland China that it could default on its debt if a proposed mainland listing is not approved.
Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd's (HK:3333) Hong Kong shares were down 2.76% to HK$14.80 ($1.91) by 11:44 PM ET (3:44 AM GMT), after falling up to 6% on Thursday.
In an Aug. 24 letter, the company said some of its biggest investors could ask for their money back if a backdoor listing on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange is not greenlit by Jan. 31, Bloomberg reported, claiming to have seen the letter.
Evergrande could be forced to repay as much as CNY130 billion ($19.04 billion), about 92% of its cash and equivalents. And that could lead to the company defaulting on other borrowings.
The company proposed a Shenzhen listing in January 2017, when it announced it had brought in eight strategic investors, but has been waiting for regulatory approval ever since.