Restructuring specialists boost Hong Kong staff as China property crisis stokes demand
- Alvarez & Marsal said its China business had about 260 staff as of end-January, up from about 200 a year ago
- Houlihan Lokey said its team in Hong Kong and China has expanded over the past two-and-a-half years
Global restructuring specialists Alvarez & Marsal and Houlihan Lokey have boosted headcount in Hong Kong as China’s property crisis results in a surge in debt restructuring deals – making them a rare bright spot in hiring for the city’s financial sector.
China’s property industry, a key pillar of the world’s second-largest economy, has lurched from one crisis to another since 2021 after a regulatory crackdown on debt-fuelled construction triggered a liquidity squeeze.
According to a Reuters tally, around 20 Hong Kong-listed Chinese real estate developers have defaulted on dollar bonds which would require them to enter into restructuring talks with creditors or face liquidation.
Alvarez & Marsal, which saw two of its managing directors appointed last month by a Hong Kong court to liquidate property giant China Evergrande Group, said its China business had about 260 staff as of end-January, up from about 200 a year ago.
It declined to provide a breakdown of its hiring but industry sources with direct knowledge of the matter said the New York-based firm had been building up its restructuring and corporate performance units. The sources were not authorised to speak to media and declined to be identified.
