Oaktree Capital has seized one of Evergrande’s most-prized assets in mainland China, a rare intrusion by a global investor in a domestic crisis caused by the biggest ever collapse of a property developer.
The move by the US distressed debt specialist — which now controls the sprawling “Venice” residential development on the Yellow Sea coast near Shanghai — is a first for an international investor affected by Evergrande’s spiralling $300bn crisis.
The finances of the world’s most indebted developer started to unravel last year, prompting a wave of defaults across China’s real estate industry, which has for decades underpinned its economy.