Evergrande's Debt Nightmare From A 90% Asset Decline To Jail–Xu Jiayin's Empire Completely Crumbles

Shanghai faces severe new coronavirus crisis, overcrowded hospitals and restricted community access. Leaking secrets? CCP officials claim there is an excess of housing with 1.4 billion people unable to finish living in them. Evergrande's debt restructuring faces another setback. Su Jiayin's commercial empire crumbles from all sides. Amid citizens flocking to buy iPhones in frenzy, Huawei offers higher wages in Guangdong than Apple. Is this also a hoax? Hangzhou Asian Games live broadcast of electronic fireworks. It's all covered in today's China Truths. Shanghai faces severe new coronavirus crisis, overcrowded hospitals and restricted community access. In recent days, there has been a resurgence of epidemic in China, with Shanghai hospitals reaching full capacity and many individuals experiencing repeat infections of the new coronavirus. In more detail, since the beginning of September, there has been a sharp increase in new coronavirus cases in Shanghai, which has raised concerns. According to reports from Chinese media, on the morning of September 13, Shanghai's Fudan University-affiliated Children's Hospital had over 90 children registering for medical treatment within just two hours, all of whom had developed fevers. The daily number of visitors reached as high as 900. On September 23, a Shanghai resident, using the pseudonym Ms. Mei, informed New Tang Dynasty television that hospitals have been experiencing overcrowding in recent days. Numerous individuals have tested positive for the virus, and certain residential areas have reinstated lockdown measures, limiting movement in and out. Ms. Mei noted that official media outlets were not reporting these cases as new coronavirus infections, leading to confusion among the public. A Shanghai resident shared their concern that their daughter returned home on Monday reporting that everyone in her class was coughing. She later developed a fever and continued coughing that evening. They mentioned that when school commenced, their daughter was the sole student in her class wearing a mask. The teacher even contacted them, suggesting that the pandemic had subsided and there was no need for her to wear a mask, which left them feeling really frustrated. On September 22, a Shanghai resident, Mr. Yang, a pseudonym, told the Epoch Times that many children have become infected this time. Notably, he revealed that doctors at the hospital emphasized that the infection was not caused by the novel coronavirus but by a so-called mycoplasma infection. He also noted that many infected children had symptoms like a sore throat, cough, diarrhea, stomach pain, and even vomiting, suggesting issues with the gastrointestinal system. Aside from Shanghai, children's hospitals in Xi'an, Shaanxi have also reported overcrowding in their pediatric outpatient departments recently. Several kindergartens and primary schools in Xi'an have issued warnings about preventing the so-called influenza. Meanwhile in Sichuan, the authorities reported 18,000 new COVID-19 cases in August. Some netizens question the accuracy of this data. In January of this year, during the full-blown new coronavirus outbreak in China, a doctor posted on a medical forum exposing that hospitals aren't allowed to write new coronavirus as the cause of death, as well as on the diagnosis report. Not only have there been more cases of children getting infected, but there has also been a surge in cases among adults. Officials claim it's due to collective pharyngitis in many places. People are questioning whether the authorities are trying to conceal the outbreak by renaming the new coronavirus as pharyngitis. This isn't the first time. Previously, they used terms like H1N1 flu and mycoplasma infection. Amid the new coronavirus epidemic continues to spread across various regions in China, places like Zhejiang, Shaanxi, Xi'an, Yangzhou, and even Hangzhou, where the Asian Games are being held, have issued flu prevention warnings. In Beijing, Tianjin, Sichuan, Chongqing, Gansu, and other areas, infection cases have also emerged. While official reports may not reflect these cases, individuals suffering from the illness have been sharing information on social media platforms, reminding others to stay vigilant. From August 22 to September 8, within just 18 days, at least 19 public figures from various sectors in China have mysteriously died of illness. However, the authorities are making great efforts to conceal the death toll from the pandemic. Leaking secrets? CCP officials claim there is an excess of housing with 1.4 billion people unable to finish living in them. Since Evergrande Group's debt default in 2021, the decline in the real estate industry, upon which the Chinese Communist Party CCP authorities once heavily depended, has been relentless. The actual figures regarding Chinese real estate have been kept hidden by the CCP, leading the severity of this crisis is challenging even for insiders to gauge accurately. During the 2023 China Real Economy Development Conference, He Kung, former deputy director of the National Bureau of Statistics, mentioned that there is currently an oversupply in the real estate market. The most extreme belief is that there are enough vacant houses right now for 3 billion people to live in. This estimate may be a bit excessive, but it's possible that even with a population of 1.4 billion, we may not be able to fill them all. He added that, given the significant surplus of vacant properties, it is unwise to continue aggressively developing the real estate sector, and real estate companies must undergo transformation. These remarks have incited anger among netizens who are questioning why there was such extensive construction approval and pre-sales. They are critical of short-sighted high-ranking officials and wonder why it took them so long to acknowledge the truth, believing that they are responsible. It seems that only after stepping down from their positions do they begin to speak honestly. Back on August 5th of the previous year, the China Real Estate Market Research Institute published the 2022 China Major Cities Housing Vacancy Rate Survey report. This comprehensive survey covered 28 cities, with a particular focus on major metropolises like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. The findings of the survey revealed that across these 28 large and medium-sized cities, the average housing vacancy rate stood at 12%, underscoring an excess supply of housing and the looming risk of an inventory backlog. This February, Zheng Guoguang, director of the office of the leading group for the Comprehensive Risk Survey of Natural Disasters, mentioned that the housing and urban-rural construction industry had collected data on nearly 600 million buildings in urban and rural areas nationwide, along with data on more than 800,000 municipal facilities. On February 21st, a Mainland article published by NetEase stated, You didn't read it wrong. There are a total of 600 million urban and rural building structures, not households or units. However, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development did not release more specific data. The article pointed out that the nation had obtained detailed and massive foundational data but was keeping it under wraps. Why weren't these basic data disclosed to the public? The article believed that publicizing it would be uncontrollable and might change the direction of public opinion. It could potentially trigger significant market fluctuations, and no one can bear the consequences of that, such as triggering a selling frenzy in cities with severe housing oversupply and high vacancy rates, a buying frenzy in cities with plummeting property prices and high demand for housing, or even mass population outflows. Evergrande's debt restructuring faces another setback. Su Jiayin's commercial empire crumbles from all sides. China Evergrande has experienced a period of turmoil in recent days. Following the investigation and detention of several top executives, including the former vice president, Evergrande announced the temporary postponement of its debt restructuring meeting. Industry insiders have stated that this latest development indicates that overseas debt restructuring faces increased uncertainty. Meanwhile, Evergrande Auto, which was once seen as a hopeful division, is now unable to cover its debts. The division has reported a debt exceeding 70 billion yuan, approximately 9.7 billion U.S. dollars, in its latest financial report, marking a significant year-on-year increase of 531.54 percent. The primary reason cited for this loss was the lack of large-scale production, leading to higher manufacturing costs. For years ago, Evergrande made an ambitious declaration, aiming to transform Evergrande Auto into the world's largest and most formidable new energy vehicle group within a time frame of three to five years. Four years have elapsed since that announcement, and although Su Jiayin's dream of car-making has not been entirely shattered, it currently hangs in the balance. Evergrande Auto's overwhelming debt burden primarily stems from loans, trade-related obligations, and other payable accounts, all of which have witnessed increases. Su Jiayin's financial dream breaks, his wealth shrinks by over 90 percent. Su Jiayin is not the first real estate developer to directly engage in finance, but he can be considered the one who has played the most. Seven years ago, Su Jiayin had the Guangzhou Evergrande football team wear red jerseys bearing the name Evergrande Financial, the predecessor of Evergrande Wealth, and they won the championship in the 2016 AFC Champions League group stage, boosting the reputation of Evergrande Wealth. On September 16, seven years later, top executives, including Du Lian, general manager and legal representative of Evergrande Wealth's management department, were taken into custody by the Nanshan Sub-Bureau of the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau, stripping away the last layer of cover for Evergrande Wealth. The next day, Zhu Jilin, former chairman of Evergrande Life and current vice chairman of China Resources Life, was placed under investigation. Public information indicates that Evergrande Life had also been severely insolvent for some time. Chinese media reports that, for many years, both Evergrande Wealth and Evergrande Life acted as a cash machine for Evergrande, with the funds raised in premiums collected mostly flowing into various businesses of the Evergrande Group. As Evergrande's financial situation tightened, these two financial platforms also found themselves in dire straits. Over the past eight years, Evergrande once enjoyed great success in the financial sector, but its rapid expansion with high leverage also laid the groundwork for its collapse. When Evergrande's real estate financing chain broke in 2021, Evergrande Wealth subsequently faced default and repayments. At that time, Zhu Jilin had pledged that all maturing products of Evergrande Wealth would be fully repaid, saying, I may have nothing, but the investors of Evergrande Wealth cannot have nothing. However, two years later, Evergrande Wealth has only repaid a little over 7 billion yuan, with approximately 34 billion yuan in principal and interest remaining unpaid. The repayment scheme has been gradually reduced from 8,000 yuan approximately US$1,113.42 per person per month and stopped in August. The situation for Evergrande real estate is also quite dismal. According to information published on China's Executive Information Disclosure Network, Evergrande Real Estate Group Company Limited recently added three new entries as persons subject to enforcement, with a total amount exceeding 988 million yuan approximately US$137.51 million, and the executing courts are Harbin Intermediate Court, Tangshan Lubo District Court, and Suchianshusi District Court. Publicly available data shows that the cumulative number of executions against Evergrande Group Limited has exceeded 590, with a total execution amount exceeding 56 billion yuan. Even Su Jiayin himself has become a defendant subject to court-ordered compulsory execution. Su Jiayin's business empire is facing a comprehensive collapse. Five years ago, on Forbes' Real-Time Billionaires list published in August 2018, Su Jiayin had a net worth of up to $41.4 billion, making him the richest person in China at the time. However, the 2023 Huruan Global Rich List shows that Su Jiayin's current net worth is only around 20 billion yuan, a reduction of more than 90% compared to his peak period. Chinese media suggests that there is not much time left for Su Jiayin and Evergrande. Amid citizens flocking to buy iPhones in frenzy, Huawei offers higher wages in Guangdong than Apple. As previously reported, Huawei and Apple have recently launched new smartphones in mainland China, but the Chinese populace is flocking to purchase Apple phones, with long queues forming outside Apple stores in Beijing, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, and other cities. Some individuals even queue in front of the stores as early as 1 a.m. to be the first to purchase the iPhone 15. Over the past three years, Apple has dominated the high-end smartphone market in China, primarily due to factors such as restrictions on Huawei's chip supply. Data from the International Data Corporation, IDC, reveals that in the first half of 2023, Apple held a 67% market share in China for high-end smartphones priced above $600, maintaining its absolute lead. In contrast, Huawei's market share stood at 15.6%. To compete for market share, Huawei has offered enticingly high salaries to attract workers. A viral video from September showed Huawei's Songshan Lake facility recruiting workers with monthly salaries ranging from 8,000 to 12,000 yuan, approximately from 1,113 U.S. dollars to 1,670 U.S. dollars. Short-term employment opportunities were also available for interviews. The job requirements specified an age range of 18 to 40 and a minimum education level of high school, vocational school, or full-time college attendance. Furthermore, information posted on the Dongguan General Recruitment WeChat public account on September 22nd indicated that Huawei was recruiting technicians at its Songshan Lake facility, offering monthly comprehensive salaries of 7,500 to 9,500 yuan, approximately from 1,044 to 1,322 U.S. dollars and 18 cents. They favored candidates with a high school education or higher and previous experience working in an electronics factory. The message also emphasized mass recruitment. Reports mentioned that outside Foxconn's Longhua Recruitment and Training Center in Shenzhen, some labor intermediaries, not wearing vests, were attempting to recruit workers at Foxconn's entrance. One intermediary stated that Huawei's Songshan Lake had recently begun large-scale recruitment, aiming to hire between 2,000 and 3,000 people. These recruits would assist Huawei in manufacturing phones, and their benefits package would exceed that of Foxconn, offering a comprehensive monthly salary of up to 9,000 yuan, approximately 1,253 U.S. dollars. However, this individual also noted that Huawei factories have a very low acceptance rate. Their requirements are much higher than those of Foxconn. At the very least, a high school education is required, and having three years of experience making phones is even better. Additionally, the official recruitment center website of Foxconn Group displayed job postings for technicians in assembling Apple phones in Longhua, Shenzhen. After a probationary period, regular employees could expect monthly salaries ranging from 5,500 to 8,000 yuan, approximately from 765.47 to 1,096 U.S. dollars and 12 cents, while temporary workers received an hourly wage of 24 yuan and a comprehensive monthly salary of 5,000 to 7,500 yuan, approximately 1,027 U.S. dollars and 61 cents. Only a junior high school education or hire was required, with no prior work experience necessary. Publicly available information indicates that Huawei is currently offering higher salaries than Apple to attract workers. Is this also a hoax? Hangzhou Asian Games Live Broadcast of Electronic Fireworks On the evening of September 23, Xi Jinping personally presided over the opening ceremony of the Hangzhou Asian Games, which featured a lavish large-scale performance. However, the traditional grand fireworks display used in the past to showcase the so-called prosperous scenes was replaced by a fake live broadcast. A group of Chinese teenagers arrived at the banks of the Qiantang River, hoping to witness the fireworks display at the Asian Games venue on the opposite bank. However, a surreal scene played out. On their phones, they were evidently watching a live broadcast of a grand fireworks show at the venue, but in reality, there was not a single firework lighting up the sky. Several people burst into laughter at this absurd spectacle. In reality, well before the opening ceremony, the CCP had announced that, for the sake of green environmental protection, this year's Asian Games would replace physical fireworks with digital fireworks. However, perhaps the official explanation was too low-key, and many people were unaware, continuing to eagerly watch the grand fireworks live broadcast on their TVs or smartphones. The above video led to ridicule on social media. Netizens left comments such as, Unbelievable, there's still something like this. Even this is fake, just like the Spring Festival Gala. Not environmentally friendly enough, the entire opening ceremony should have been made into an animation. Some even speculated if the CCP lacked money. Currently, China's economy is in decline, and the government's finances are in crisis. However, it's reported that the Hangzhou Asian Games has already invested billions of Chinese yuan. Online reports indicate that Hangzhou City, in preparation for the Asian Games, spared no expense, even wrapping the tree altars on the streets in bright aluminum alloy. Open-air passages are equipped with air conditioning to maintain a constant temperature of 16 degrees Celsius. The amount of money poured into serving foreign delegations is countless. Don't forget to leave a comment in the section below to share your opinions on today's topic with us. Make sure to like and subscribe to see more interesting topics from China Truths.