The demise of the real estate developer, which had laboured under $300 million of liabilities, comes about two years after concerns about its financial plight were first flagged.

Evergrande has been ordered by a Hong Kong court to liquidate, concluding the ordeal of a business whose financial woes have highlighted fault-lines in the Chinese economy.

Despite last-gasp efforts to arrange a deal with creditors over the weekend, the court’s order spells the end of the company. Two years ago, Evergrande defaulted on its dollar bonds, demonstrating problems in China’s real estate sector. Ratings agencies had raised the red flag about its financial state late in 2021.

“The time is for the court to say enough is enough,” Judge Linda Chan in Hong Kong’s high court was quoted by Bloomberg as saying. The group’s plight was reported by other media outlets yesterday. The Evergrande corporate website contained no references to the matter that this news service could find.

China’s debt-laden real estate sector has, along with concern about Beijing’s crackdown on certain technology sectors and other spheres, prompted worries about the state of the country’s economy. An ageing population, state-directed construction that lacked an economic rationale, and other forces, have hit the country. Last week, reports said that Chinese authorities are considering measures to stabilise the country's stock market following Premier Li Qiang’s call to support the development of capital markets during the state council meeting.

Reports said Evergrande’s liquidation is likely to send another shock wave through the Chinese real-estate industry that has already seen dozens of developers collapse over the past two years.

At one point, Evergrande was China’s property developer by sales. Holding $300 billion in liabilities, Evergrande stopped paying its debts over two years ago, and has been seeking to restructure.