债务重组深陷僵局，恒大可能面临破产清算

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债务重组深陷僵局，恒大可能面临破产清算

艾莎2023年12月4日太原市一处已经停工的恒大住宅项目。 Gilles Sabrié for The New York TimesOnce China’s most prolific property developer, China Evergrande may soon be its biggest and messiest corporate breakup.作为中国曾经规模最大的房地产开发商，恒大可能即将成为中国最大、最棘手的企业破产案。In a Hong Kong courtroom on Monday, a bankruptcy judge could force Evergrande to liquidate and pay back creditors who are owed tens of billions of dollars.周一，在香港的一家法庭上，破产法官可能将强制恒大清盘，并向债权人偿还成百上千亿美元的债务。It would mark an end to two years of limbo for investors who lent Evergrande money in Hong Kong and have tried to negotiate for a piece of the debt-saddled corporate behemoth that defaulted in early December 2021.对于在香港向恒大贷款的投资人来说，这将标志着长达两年的僵局结束，这些投资人一直试图通过谈判从这家债务缠身并于2021年12月初宣布违约的企业巨头拿到部分钱。A liquidation of Evergrande was once unimaginable. For two decades it was a model of China’s embrace of capitalism. It was one of China’s most successful companies and at the heart of the real estate industry, which drove one-third of the nation’s economic growth. But years of overexpansion left it financially precarious and when it defaulted, it had more than $300 billion in overdue bills.清算恒大一度是不可想象的事情。20年来，它一直是中国拥抱资本主义的典范。它是中国最成功的企业之一，也是推动中国三分之一经济增长的房地产行业的支柱。但长期过度扩张导致其财务状况岌岌可危，到违约时，恒大的欠款总额已超过3000亿美元。Evergrande’s default plunged China’s housing market into crisis, pushing other developers into trouble and leaving many Chinese households despondent about housing, the main store of wealth for most families. As Evergrande’s financial position has gotten progressively worse in recent months, investors have come to expect little back.恒大违约让中国房地产市场陷入危机，导致其他开发商处境艰难，许多中国家庭对楼市前景感到失望，住房是大多数家庭的主要财富构成。随着近几个月来恒大财务状况的恶化，投资者对拿到钱的期望也越来越低。Many questions would remain after the Hong Kong court decision — for the hundreds of thousands of buyers who paid in advance and are still owed their homes, for the many workers who built and sold its apartments and haven’t been paid, and for the Chinese banks and investors who lent it money.即便香港法院作出裁决，许多问题依然存在，无数提前支付了房款却未能收房的购房者、大批被拖欠工资的建筑工人和销售人员，以及曾经贷款给恒大的中国各银行和投资人都还没有得到交代。In Hong Kong, lawyers for Evergrande and one group of its creditors have argued for more than a year over how to settle billions of dollars in debts that the company owes them. They are expected to gather before Judge Linda Chan for the seventh time to make their final appeals in a small and stuffy room on the 12th floor of the High Court in Hong Kong’s business district.在香港，恒大的律师团队和债权人小组已就如何解决该公司欠下的数十亿美元债务争论了一年多时间。预计他们将来到香港商业区，在高等法院12楼一间狭小而闷热的法庭里，第七次呈请陈静芬法官，提出最终诉求。Judge Chan has signaled that this time might be the last. At a hearing on Oct. 30, a lawyer for the creditor who first lodged the lawsuit expressed exasperation over the lack of progress, telling Ms. Chan, “enough is enough.” While Ms. Chan adjourned court then, she said it was “highly likely” the last reprieve for the company.陈静芬已表示，这可能是最后一次机会。在10月30日那场听证会上，率先提起诉讼的债权人律师因缺乏进展而向陈静芬愤怒表示，“该适可而止了。”虽然此后陈静芬宣布休庭，但她声称这“极有可能”是该公司最后一次获得延期。There is a small chance that Evergrande could live to see another day. Last-minute negotiations could lead to Evergrande presenting a new restructuring deal or a concrete plan on Monday for a new deal. If the creditors agreed to it, the hearing could be put off yet again.恒大仍有一线生机。最后一刻的协商可能会让恒大在周一拿出新的重组协议或是新协议的具体方案。如果债权人同意，听证会可能将再度推迟。On Friday, one group of creditors issued a statement in support of Evergrande’s main company onshore, Hengda, and said it opposed any form of bankruptcy for the company. None of the players in China with a financial stake in Evergrande, from customers to suppliers, would benefit, the group said, from what it called a “multiyear, value-destructive bankruptcy process.”周五，一个债权人集团发布声明支持恒大集团的主要在岸公司恒大地产的经营，称反对该公司任何形式的破产。该债权人集团表示，从客户到供应商，恒大在中国的任何利益相关者都不会从“旷日持久、破坏价值的破产程序”中受益。The group acknowledged that China’s property sector and economy was struggling but added that it appreciated the “extensive efforts of the Chinese government” and the company’s management to “resuscitate the business and the sector for the benefit of all stakeholders.”他们承认中国的房地产部门和经济陷入困境，但仍对“中国政府”和恒大高层为“重振业务和行业以造福所有利益相关者”所做的“大量努力”表示了赞赏。China’s property market has been in a downward spiral for several years. While the authorities have tried to stem falling sales with measures like easing requirements for buying a house and lowering interest rates, the efforts haven’t made much of a difference.中国房地产市场几年来一直处于恶化的循环之中。虽然当局尝试通过放宽限购和降低利率等手段来遏制销售下滑，但这些努力并没有产生明显效果。Despite the grim outlook for housing, this summer the company had worked with offshore creditors on a repayment plan but it suddenly spiked the deal in September when Evergrande’s founder and chairman, Hui Ka Yan, was detained by the authorities.尽管楼市前景黯淡，但恒大今夏仍与离岸债权人就一项偿还计划进行了磋商，只是当恒大创始人兼董事局主席许家印在9月被当局拘留后，协议突然流产。A liquidation, which would be overseen by a specialist firm named by the judge, would be messy and could take years. Evergrande has a tangled business structure. There are three companies listed outside of China’s jurisdiction on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, including its holding company. It also has thousands of subsidiaries in China and more than 1,000 real estate projects — assets that would probably be out of reach to investors in Hong Kong.若要清盘恒大，需要有法官指定的专业公司来负责，这一过程将非常棘手，可能需要耗费数年时间。恒大的业务结构错综复杂。包括其控股公司在内，共有三家境外公司在香港交易所上市。恒大在中国还有数以千计的子公司和上千个房地产开发项目，这些资产都可能是香港投资者无法获得的。Ultimately, a liquidation would be a litmus test of how the Chinese Communist Party plans to treat foreign creditors of property companies. Under a mutual agreement in 2021 between Hong Kong and Beijing, a mainland Chinese court could recognize the liquidator to allow creditors to take control of Evergrande assets on the mainland.这场清盘最终可能将成为对中国共产党将如何处置房地产公司海外债权人的实践检验。根据香港和北京在2021年达成的互认协议，中国内地法院可以承认清算人，以允许债权人接管恒大在内地的资产。“It will the biggest test yet of whether the mainland courts are prepared to provide recognition under the cross-border protocol,” said Jonathan Leitch, a restructuring partner at Hogan Lovells.“大陆法院是否准备在跨境协议之下给予承认，这将是走到这一步所面临的最大考验，”霍金路伟国际律师事务所的重组业务合伙人黎俊杰(Jonathan Leitch)表示。艾莎(Alexandra Stevenson)是时报上海分社社长。点击查看更多关于她的信息。翻译：纽约时报中文网点击查看本文英文版。

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