Millennial threatens Evergrande with wind down if he doesn’t get his money back

China Evergrande Group has only days to unveil its restructuring plan, but even if it meets the deadline, the embattled property developer faces a new and considerable hurdle: A young, politically connected investor who wants to wind down the company unless he gets his money back fast.

A business tied to Lin Ho Man, who only a few years ago graduated from the University of California Irvine, filed a petition in Hong Kong to wind down Evergrande if it doesn’t repay HK$862.5 million ($158 million). Having the suit withdrawn or dismissed has become a requirement for the developer’s shares to resume trading.

The lawsuit is the first of its kind for Evergrande, which has more than $US300 billion ($430 billion) of debt and is at the centre of China’s real estate crisis. The company has defaulted on bonds, failed to deliver properties on time and been sued by hundreds in the mainland seeking to gain control of assets. But none of these attempts has gone so far as asking for a winding down of the Shenzhen-based company.

Creditors in Hong Kong may join the suit to demand quicker repayment as Evergrande’s restructuring could take months or even years, according to Gordon Tsang, a partner at law firm Stevenson, Wong & Co. Some of them might also worry that the developer will fail to honour the agreement, he added.

“The winding-up petition can have a significant impact on Evergrande’s coming restructuring plan,” adding pressure and costs for the company, Tsang said.

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Evergrande will oppose the lawsuit “vigorously,” and, should it lead to a wind up, any asset disposal will be void unless approved by the court, the developer said in June.

Lin, who didn’t respond to calls for comment, was born in 1992, according to a regulatory filing, but already has an extensive array of investments. He’s chairman and executive director of HKE Holdings, a firm with fintech and medical-equipment businesses in which his holding company acquired a majority stake last year. Originally from China’s southern Guangdong province, he’s also the founder of financial-services firms, including Monmonkey Group Securities and Ever Royal International.

In Hong Kong, Lin is a member of the elite election committee voting for the city’s chief alongside property tycoons Adrian Cheng and Adam Kwok. He serves as a member of a data-privacy body, is a director at a local hospital group and an honorary director at the University of Hong Kong’s foundation. He also holds top roles at several youth associations.