The debt-laden developer China Evergrande has suffered another blow with a municipal district in Wuhan saying this week it has reclaimed over 134 hectares (332 acres) of land previously held by a unit of the group.
The government of Jiangxia district in the central city of Wuhan said it took the land as it had received not payment for the 12 blocks.
Jiangxia officials retrieved its land-use rights over the undeveloped sites at the Evergrande Technology Tourism City on November 16, according to a statement by the district’s Planning and Natural Resources Bureau.
China Evergrande unit Wuhan Baden City Investment Co Ltd has held the land as developer of Evergrande Technology Tourism City.
A right to use land is the Chinese equivalent of ownership, since title is always ultimately held by the state.
China Evergrande, which is languishing under a massive debt burden estimated at more than $300 billion, has been at the centre of a deepening property debt crisis that has seen multiple developers default on offshore debt obligations over the past year, leaving many negotiating debt restructuring.
The land parcels taken back by Jiangxia comprised nine residential sites, two commercial and one for mixed development, the filing, dated November 18 showed. It gave no further details.
Evergrande declined to comment. Its shares have been suspended since March.
- Reuters with additional editing by Jim Pollard
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