Evergrande liquidators seek 57 billion yuan from PwC in Hong Kong court

Liquidators for the failed Chinese property developer China Evergrande Group are seeking 57 billion yuan ($8.4 billion) in damages from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in a Hong Kong court, alleging the global accounting firm was negligent in its auditing work. The claim, one of the largest corporate lawsuits in Hong Kong, targets PwC International, PwC Hong Kong, and PwC China.

The lawsuit was filed by court-appointed liquidators Edward Middleton and Tiffany Wong of Alvarez & Marsal. A hearing on Monday focused on whether PwC International, the global coordinating entity based in London, should be held liable. Lawyers for PwC International argued it should be removed from the case, stating the PwC network comprises separate firms and that the Hong Kong and China entities are not its subsidiaries. They contended there were no dealings between PwC International and Evergrande and that it had no duty of care regarding the audits.

Counsel for the liquidators countered that PwC International sits at the top of the network and is responsible for maintaining professional standards across member firms. The Deputy High Court Judge indicated a ruling on this jurisdictional issue is expected...