HONG KONG – In the heart of downtown Vancouver, just minutes from the financial district and art galleries, sits One Wall Centre, an elliptical, blue glass complex featuring a Sheraton Hotel and luxury apartments.
A condominium on the 47th floor, offering stunning views of the Pacific coast mountains and Vancouver Harbour through floor-to-ceiling windows, is owned by the ex-wife and son of Hui Ka Yan, the billionaire founder and chairman of failed developer China Evergrande Group.
The Vancouver condominium is one of many global properties worth as much as US$285 million (S$374 million) held by Ms Ding Yu Mei, according to court documents and property searches done by Bloomberg News. The homes, in places from Canada to the UK, include one of the most expensive mansions in London.
As liquidators in Hong Kong scour the globe for assets tied to the world’s most-indebted developer, Ms Ding’s properties are at risk of being seized or sold to repay creditors. Courts in Hong Kong and London granted worldwide asset freeze injunctions against Ms Ding in July, part of wider efforts to recover US$6 billion from her, Hui and former Evergrande executives.
“It could set the foundation for other future actions, which the liquidators may bring to recoup assets for the benefit of creditors,” said Mr Daniel Margulies, a partner at Dechert law firm in Hong Kong who specialises in cross-border restructuring and insolvency.
Ms Ding has been a source of intrigue for creditors and social media onlookers in recent years. An August 2023 filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange listed her as a “third-party independent” instead of “spouse”, suggesting a divorce from Hui after more than three decades of marriage.
Dividend payouts from Evergrande that totalled more than US$7 billion supported the duo’s global shopping sprees and lavish lifestyles, with