Hui ex-wife sues son in another Evergrande twist

The former wife of China Evergrande Group founder Hui Ka-yan has filed a lawsuit against his second son seeking over HK$1 billion in loan payments - the latest twist in the slow unraveling of the property giant.

The lawsuit was filed in Hong Kong by Ding Yumei, who was listed as the spouse of Hui until August. She claims that the defendant, Peter Xu Tenghe, failed to make payments for loans borrowed in June 2020, according to court filings.

Xu, who once ran Evergrande's wealth management unit, was taken into custody last year, along with some other staff at the division, after the developer allegedly failed to pay people who invested in its investment products, it was reported at the time.

Hui himself fell under police control in September on suspicion of committing unspecified crimes.

Evergrande's wealth unit ran into problems in 2021, after struggling to make payments on about 40 billion yuan (HK$43.47 billion) of investment products.

It sparked protests and prompted the company to offer reduced amounts of cash or discounted real estate instead. It initially offered to pay investors in installments, but stopped doing so two years later when its liquidity crunch worsened.

Ding has been listed as a "third party independent" since August, suggesting she and Hui separated. She holds a Canadian passport, according to a Hong Kong company registry filing.

She has a 5.99 percent personal stake in Evergrande worth about US$16 million (HK$124.8 million), based on the company's last trading price before being suspended in late January, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Evergrande received a liquidation order from a Hong Kong court last month. It is unclear how Hui and Ding divide their fortune.

The government has urged Hui to use his personal wealth to help repay investors, and creditors have asked him to inject at least US$2 billion of his own money, people familiar with the matter have said.