A shareholder has filed a High Court claim seeking about HK$3.55 million from Evergrande Property Services Group Limited, alleging that statements in its 2020 prospectus led her to buy shares before their value collapsed. CHEUNG WING TSZ says she subscribed for 450,000 shares at HK$8.80 each, paying HK$3.96 million.
According to her writ, the prospectus said the proceeds would be used for strategic acquisitions and investment, described a plan to strengthen the company’s position in the property-services industry and stated that it was financially independent of its parent company.
The claim centres on what happened after the late-2020 listing. In March 2022, about RMB13.4 billion of the company’s deposits were disclosed as having been provided as third-party pledge guarantees. Banks later enforced the guarantees, and trading in the shares was suspended for a prolonged period before resuming in 2023. The price subsequently fell below HK$1.
CHEUNG alleges that the public offering was instead used to help relieve the parent company’s financial difficulties and transfer its debts to the property-services business. She also alleges that the company knew, or should have known, about the arrangements when it prepared the prospectus and that the statements induced her investment.
The compensation sought is calculated from the difference between the offer price and a later market value. Ming Pao reported that the writ uses the HK$0.89 closing price on 27 July, producing a claim of about HK$3.55 million. The High Court has yet to determine the allegations or award compensation.