CHINESE creditors have sued collapsed property giant Evergrande for more than $13bn (£9.7bn) for alleged overdue payments.

A court has accepted 367 cases against Evergrande with claims totalling $13.2bn according to official records, the FT first reported. The claims were filed after the company was officially declared to be in restricted default by Fitch Ratings.

"Creditors are racing to take Evergrande to court so they can be in a better position to get their money back in the event of a debt restructuring," Bo Zhuang, a Singapore-based analyst at Loomis Sayles, told the FT.

The surge in creditor claims began when China's central bank criticised

Evergrande management in August over its debt crisis causing sales to plummet and creating difficulties as the company tried to secure financing. Ever since Evergrande has been buckling under the weight of $300bn in debt.

Beijing has since intervened in with state representatives taking the majority of seats on a new risk management committee.

(c) 2021 City A.M., source Newspaper