Formerly considered a “technical divorce” and subject to controversy, Ding Yumei, the former wife of Xu Jiayin, has once again become the focus of attention due to her pursuit of over 1 billion Hong Kong dollars from her son, raising suspicions of potential property transfer.
According to recent reports from Hong Kong media, Ding Yumei, the ex-wife of Evergrande Group founder Xu Jiayin, filed a lawsuit in the High Court of Hong Kong against Xu Jiayin’s second son, Xu Tenghe, seeking over 1 billion Hong Kong dollars.
The filing claims that according to a loan agreement signed between the plaintiff and the defendant on June 16, 2020, the defendant failed to repay the plaintiff on the agreed repayment date. Therefore, the plaintiff is seeking 732.48 million Hong Kong dollars from the defendant, including a loan principal of 500 million Hong Kong dollars, interest of 45 million Hong Kong dollars, and daily overdue interest of over 180,000 Hong Kong dollars; as well as 40.97 million US dollars, including a principal of 300 million US dollars, interest of 2.7 million US dollars, and daily overdue interest of 8.27 million US dollars.
“This action does not rule out the possibility that Ding Yumei and her son Xu Tenghe may have used internal information of the Evergrande enterprise to operate, aiming to transfer assets and protect personal debt before other creditors,” said Bai Wenxi, Vice Chairman of the China Enterprise Capital Alliance.
In fact, this is not the first time Ding Yumei has been suspected of transferring property.
It is understood that in 2021, when Evergrande faced a debt crisis, Xu Jiayin and Ding Yumei sold a total of 1.2 billion shares of Evergrande, reducing their shareholding from 76.69% to 67.87%.
Subsequently, there were reports that Ding Yumei had divorced Xu Jiayin in 2022. In the announcement of Evergrande Auto’s strategic investment on August 14 last year, Ding Yumei was described as a “third party independent of the company and its affiliates,” while in Evergrande Property’s 2022 annual report, she was still referred to as Mrs. Xu.
The divorce of Xu Jiayin and Ding Yumei, who sold shares after Evergrande faced difficulties and then proceeded with divorce proceedings, was considered by the public to be a “technical divorce,” with speculation that this was done to transfer assets overseas.
Public records show that Ding Yumei was born in January 1957 in Dingjianglou Village, Suixi County, Anhui Province. After graduating from university, she was assigned to work at Henan Province Wuyang Iron and Steel Company, where she met Xu Jiayin, who was also assigned there, and they married in 1983.
The couple has two sons. The elder son, Xu Zhijian, graduated from Tsinghua University, holds permanent residency in Canada, and served as vice president of Evergrande Real Estate Group, responsible for property management and landscaping. The younger son, Xu Tenghe, has been working in the Evergrande Group for many years.
The plaintiff in Ding Yumei’s lawsuit is precisely her second son, Xu Tenghe. Public records show that Xu Tenghe, referred to as Peter within Evergrande, once headed the Pearl River Delta branch and later was transferred to be the general manager of Evergrande Wealth, responsible for specific operations.
According to insiders, Xu Tenghe was taken away before Xu Jiayin was taken coercive measures. On September 28, 2023, Xu Jiayin, chairman of the board of directors of China Evergrande, was taken coercive measures on suspicion of illegal activities.
“Ding Yumei’s pursuit of debt from her second son may involve three situations. Firstly, there may be property disputes among family members that are being settled in court. Secondly, it could be a disguised transfer of assets, using legal proceedings to evade creditors’ pursuit of debts or to redistribute or transfer assets. Thirdly, it could be a business or family strategy to achieve certain commercial or financial goals through litigation,” said Wang Yuchen, director of Beijing Jinsu Law Firm, in an interview with reporters.
He further stated that due to the limited public information currently available, it is difficult for outsiders to accurately determine whether this is a disguised transfer of assets, the ultimate outcome of this lawsuit, and whether the plaintiff will be able to recover the money, which remains to be seen.
On January 29 this year, the Hong Kong High Court ruled for the liquidation of China Evergrande. The judge stated that the debt restructuring plan of China Evergrande lacked progress, and the company’s assets were insufficient to cover its debts, officially issuing the Evergrande liquidation order. Recently, it was reported that Edward Simon Middleton, Managing Director of Alvarez & Marsal, the co-liquidators of Evergrande, and Huang Yongshi, may file potential litigation against RSM Restructuring Advisory, the auditor of Evergrande over the past decade.
Regarding debts, according to information disclosed by Evergrande Real Estate Group on February 1, as of the end of December 2023, the total number of pending litigation cases involving amounts exceeding 30 million yuan amounted to 2,073, with a total amount of approximately 502.596 billion yuan. At the same time, the accumulated overdue debts amounted to nearly 297.81 billion yuan, and the accumulated amount of overdue commercial bills was approximately 205.004 billion yuan.
Meanwhile, Evergrande is continuing to sell assets. According to information from Alibaba’s judicial auction, Wuxi Evergrande New City Commercial Complex will be auctioned on March 8 with a starting price of 1.62 billion yuan. The project is located at No. 555 Xinguang Road, Wuxi City, with a total construction area of approximately 150,000 square meters and an assessed value of 2.307 billion yuan.
According to local media reports in Hong Kong, affected by the downturn in the asset market, Evergrande Group and Xu Jiayin plan to dispose of assets held in Hong Kong through price reduction. The relevant assets include the former Hong Kong headquarters building of Evergrande at 38 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, and three luxury houses on Branksome Hill Road owned by Xu Jiayin.