One of the biggest players in the Chinese real estate market, property developer Evergrande Group filed for U.S. Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection on Thursday, fueling fears of a deepening property crisis in China.

With over $300 billion in liabilities, the Evergrade Group is the world's most indebted property developer. Evergrande's $31.7 billion offshore 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:debt restructuring of bonds, collateral, and repurchase obligations, was announced in March.

The company said the filing in a Manhattan court is procedural, but it shields the company from creditors that hope to sue them or tie up assets in the United States while it is undergoing restructuring in Hong Kong, the Cayman Islands, and the British Virgin Islands.

Evergrande's liabilities indicate China's unprecedented debt crisis in the once engine-of-growth property sector, which accounts for about 30% of the country's economy.

Accustomed to consuming debt for growth to fuel huge demand for apartments, developers first experienced a change in 2020 when the authorities laid out leverage rules that builders had to meet to borrow money. The junk dollar bonds frequently issued by developers came under pressure, falling to an average of about 65 cents, according to a Bloomberg index.

With the potential to send ripples across banks, Evergrande's fate has broad implications for 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:China's $60 trillion financial syste🌼m. Since the debt crisis sparked in mid-2021, developers that accounted for 40% of Chinese home sales have defaulted. The defaults included Evergrande, which first defaulted on an offshore dollar bond in December 2021.

Another big player, Country Garden, the biggest privately owned developer in China, failed to pay two dollar bond coupons due on August 6, adding to the country's property market fears.

As growth slows, problems in China's property sector could spread to other parts of its economy. The world's second-largest economy has been struggling under the shadow of post-pandemic-era lockdowns.

Trading of Evergrande shares has been suspended since Ma🅘rch 2022.