China Evergrande Group sold its luxury superyacht for about $32 million earlier this year, said two sources, further shrinking the developer's offshore assets as its cash crunch worsened and it scrambled to pull together a debt revamp plan. Evergrande's offshore bondholders are expected to sharpen their focus on offshore assets as the developer's debt restructuring plan flounders with the founder now being investigated over suspected "illegal crimes". The debt restructuring process was further complicated this week after Evergrande said it was unable to issue new debt due to an investigation into its main China unit.
China s business tycoons are increasingly at risk as the government cracks down on powerful magnates who fail to align with the Communist Party s agenda. The latest case is that of Hui Ka Yan, founder of Evergrande, which is struggling with over $300 billion in liabilities. Hui has been placed under police surveillance and is being investigated over suspected illegal activities. This trend of disappearing business executives has become common in recent years, with high-profile figures such as Jack Ma and Ren Zhiqiang also vanishing.