The Hong Kong court has rejected former China Evergrande Group President Xia Haijun's appeal to lift the asset transfer freeze.
According to National Business Daily on Friday (January 2), the Hong Kong Court of Appeal has ruled on the global Mareva injunction appeal case between Evergrande Group and former CEO Xia Haijun, rejecting Xia Haijun's application for leave to appeal the Court of First Instance's judgment in February 2025, and maintaining the injunction restricting him from transferring out of Hong Kong or disposing of any assets worth up to HK$60 billion (S$9.9 billion) within Hong Kong’s jurisdiction, as well as the proceeds from selling the property at The Pavilia Hill.
A global Mareva injunction is a type of litigation preservation measure intended to freeze the defendant's assets to prevent them from being transferred, thereby ensuring the enforcement of the judgment.
On March 22, 2024, Evergrande Group filed a lawsuit against former director Hui Ka Yan to secure its claims against Hui Ka Yan, Xia Haijun, and others. In June 2024, liquidators discovered that Xia Haijun intended to sell a large property he purchased in 2019 at The Pavilia Hill in Hong Kong.
According to Hong Kong Ming Pao and earlier reports from National Business Daily, on June 14, 2024, Xia Haijun sold his luxury home at The Pavilia Hill in North Point, Hong Kong, for HK$82 million. Xia Haijun purchased this property with three parking spaces from New World Group in 2019, with a total price of about HK$160 million. The resale resulted in a steep loss of HK$78 million, a depreciation of nearly 50%.
According to National Business Daily, on June 24, 2024, Evergrande Group filed a unilateral application for a global Mareva injunction against Xia Haijun. After reviewing the application, the judge granted the injunction, which included restrictions on Xia Haijun transferring out of Hong Kong or otherwise dealing with any assets in Hong Kong worth up to HK$60 billion, as well as proceeds arising from the sale of The Pavilia Hill property.
On July 5, 2024, Xia Haijun issued a summons to the Court of First Instance, requesting that the injunction be lifted. On April 22, 2025, the judge of the Court of First Instance rejected Xia Haijun's application for leave to appeal the original judgment.
On May 6, 2025, Xia Haijun turned to the Court of Appeal to reapply for leave to appeal. The Court of Appeal ultimately ruled to again reject Xia Haijun's application for leave to appeal.
Xia Haijun joined Evergrande in 2007 and was considered the “right-hand man” of founder Hui Ka Yan. In 2017, Forbes released the "Remuneration Ranking of CEOs of Hong Kong-listed Chinese Companies", with Xia Haijun topping the list with annual pay of 270 million yuan (S$50 million).
Xia Haijun’s current whereabouts are unknown to the public. It was rumored earlier that he was handling Evergrande’s offshore debt restructuring and had not returned to mainland China. However, there were also reports in 2023 that he had been under supervision by relevant authorities since his return to the mainland in 2022.
In September 2024, Shenzhen Stock Exchange announced that Xia Haijun was fined 15 million yuan for organizing and preparing false financial reports during his tenure as vice chairman and president of Evergrande’s board.