Megadeveloper China Evergrande Files for U.S. Bankruptcy Protection

Shenzhen, China-headquartered China Evergrande Group has filed for Chapter 15 U.S. bankruptcy protection “as part of one of the world’s biggest debt restructurings,” Reuters is among outlets to report. Once China’s top developer, Evergrande has become a symbol of what the source describes as an unprecedented property debt crisis in China, the world’s largest elevator market. The country is set to cut lending rates to shore up the property sector, but analysts say such moves are “too little, too late.” Evergrande’s woes precede a series of Chinese developers defaulting on their offshore debt obligations, “leaving unfinished homes and unpaid suppliers, and shattering consumer confidence in the world’s second-largest economy.” Reporting on its 3^rd Quarter 2021 earnings, Schindler said that, at the time, it was unaffected by Evergrande’s financial difficulties. Hitachi Elevator (China) Co. Ltd., meanwhile, in late 2019 said Evergrande had awarded it a 110-unit contract for vertical-transportation equipment serving an airport