In 2008, a peculiar sight was observed within Hong Kong's elite circles: a middle-aged man from mainland China, speaking with a Henan accent, would arrive weekly at Cheng Yu-tung's card games, carrying sacks filled with cash. His card skills were notably poor, resulting in daily losses, yet he always settled his debts promptly. This man was Hui Ka Yan, who would later become China's richest person.
Today, Evergrande faces total liabilities of approximately 2.44 trillion yuan, with an insolvency gap exceeding 600 billion yuan. As Hui Ka Yan pleaded guilty during his first court hearing, a revelation by Xiangtai Chen Lan brought this buried past back into the public eye: to facilitate Evergrande's Hong Kong stock market listing, Hui Ka Yan reportedly traveled to Hong Kong specifically to "gift money" to wealthy circles through card games, accumulating losses in the tens of millions.
The push for the IPO was fraught with challenges from the start. The global financial crisis of 2008 caused a sudden freeze in the real estate market. At that time, Evergrande, which had 37 property projects nationwide, was confronting an unprecedented funding crisis. Hui Ka Yan pinned all his hopes on a Hong Kong listing—originally scheduled for March 28, aiming to raise up to HK$16.6 billion.
To this end, Evergrande assembled a prestigious team of investment banks, including Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, and Merrill Lynch, as sponsors. During the offering period, Evergrande launched an extensive advertising campaign across major Hong Kong media outlets, going all-in.
However, the roadshow yielded disappointing results—Evergrande failed to secure a single expression of interest from fund managers. On March 21, 2008, just one week before the planned listing, Evergrande announced the suspension of its IPO plan. SOHO China Chairman Pan Shiyi described it at the time as "the most symbolic event in China's real estate sector in 2008."
The funding shortfall was believed to exceed 12 billion yuan, and competitors were waiting for Evergrande to collapse.
In a desperate move, Hui Ka Yan, introduced by Emperor Group Chairman Albert Yeung, sought out Hong Kong tycoon Cheng Yu-tung. Regulars at Cheng's card table included Joseph Lau of Chinese Estates Holdings, Zhang Songqiao of Central China Real Estate, with Albert Yeung also often present.
To integrate into this Hong Kong elite circle, known as the "Big D Club," Hui Ka Yan adopted a straightforward strategy: join the card games and lose money intentionally.
Xiangtai Chen Lan, a long-time close friend of these tycoons, encountered Hui Ka Yan at multiple card games. She recalled in an interview, "I saw him dragging that HK$10 sack, filled with bundles of cash, multiple times." The well-connected magnate noted that Hui Ka Yan's card skills were very poor. "He brought cash so there was no worry about collecting debts; that's why he was allowed to play." He lost daily and paid daily, "probably losing over ten million. It was quite shocking. The three playing with him were very happy; they liked him because he kept giving away money."
What impressed the tycoons was not Hui Ka Yan's skill but his integrity at the table—showing up weekly, always settling debts, never delaying. "He had good card ethics but poor card skills." In Xiangtai's view, Hui Ka Yan's objective was clear: to network upwards, secure the company's listing, and later seek bond issuance from these magnates.
In April 2026, Xiangtai Chen Lan's revelation about Hui Ka Yan's money-gifting past sparked widespread discussion online.
The 83-year-old Cheng Yu-tung was not easily swayed by the apparent "gifts." Through the arrangement of the card games, he aimed to test Hui Ka Yan's character, mindset, and resilience. Had Hui Ka Yan shown any impatience or insincerity, the game would have ended immediately. Thus, Hui Ka Yan attended weekly, playing "Big Two" with Cheng Yu-tung, often until late at night.
Three months later, Hui Ka Yan successfully won over Cheng Yu-tung through his "personal charm" displayed during the games.
The eventual investment came with stringent conditions. In June 2008, Hui Ka Yan signed a highly demanding bet agreement with Cheng Yu-tung: Hui had to guarantee a minimum return based on Evergrande's listing timeline and premium level. Failure to meet these requirements would force him to transfer part of his shares to the Cheng family. Subsequently, the Cheng family, alongside institutions like the Kuwait Investment Authority, Deutsche Bank, and Merrill Lynch, invested a total of US$506 million in Evergrande.
While this rescue package provided temporary relief for Evergrande, the bet agreement Hui Ka Yan signed became a double-edged sword hanging over him—he extended the listing deadline to March 2010 and had to guarantee a 100% return for the investors.
Upon receiving the over US$500 million, Hui Ka Yan immediately commenced construction on 18 prime projects out of Evergrande's 37 nationwide. Leveraging a strategy of "low prices plus celebrity endorsements," these projects were launched during the National Day Golden Week, generating 5 billion yuan in revenue within two months. Concurrently, the Chinese government introduced a 4 trillion yuan stimulus plan, leading to a sector-wide rebound in real estate. Evergrande's sales revenue surpassed 10 billion yuan for the first time.
The cost of this networking gamble became evident later. In 2009, Evergrande successfully listed in Hong Kong, with Cheng Yu-tung, Joseph Lau, and Zhang Songqiao all present to show support. Hui Ka Yan transformed into China's richest person and officially entered Hong Kong's top-tier elite circle. Cheng Yu-tung was regarded by Hui as his "earliest and most important benefactor."
However, wealth given away at the card table eventually had to be repaid. The network financing Hui Ka Yan obtained through "losing money at cards" ultimately turned into a usurious wager. Xiangtai pointedly remarked, "He thought he was invincible, too arrogant. Over-borrowing, venturing into car manufacturing, buying football teams—sooner or later, it would collapse."
From a mainland entrepreneur dragging sacks of cash to the master of a 2.44 trillion yuan debt empire, this "networking gamble" that began at the card table was destined to have no true winner. Hui Ka Yan "played a good hand poorly. Too greedy, too risky, over-leveraged, ultimately harming too many people."
In this world, some games are won temporarily but lost for a lifetime.
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