China Evergrande, a behemoth property developer, filed for bankruptcy protection on Thursday more than two years after it defaulted on its debt.
The company’s meltdown in 2021 was followed by the defaults of smaller developers and signaled the start of a slow decay of China’s real estate sector that now threatens to inflict damage on the country’s broader economy.
Evergrande’s bankruptcy petition, filed in the United States bankruptcy court in the Southern District of New York, comes as the company continues to try to settle staggering levels of debt.
As of the end of last year, Evergrande, which along with its affiliated companies has assets in the United States, reported liabilities totaling $335 billion.
That Evergrande is still negotiating with its creditors is a sign of the deep structural problems and slow-moving crash facing China’s real estate market.
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