EVERGRANDE Real Estate Group’s Hong Kong-listed shares surged yesterday after it agreed to buy a stake in Shenzhen-listed property firm China Calxon Group for 3.6 billion yuan (US$553.8 million).

    The acquisition may signal that Evergrande, which has embarked on a buying spree since last year, is considering delisting in Hong Kong and seek a backdoor listing on the mainland.

    Hong Kong-listed mainland developers are increasingly eyeing mainland listings as domestic funding costs fall. Mainland-listed firms also command higher valuations than those in Hong Kong, helped by a large pool of retail investors.

    Evergrande, the mainland’s second-largest property developer by sales, has agreed to buy 52.78 percent of Calxon Group for 3.79 yuan per share in a deal to be settled through internal resources, Evergrande said in a statement yesterday.

    “Many companies would want to go back to the A-share market now because liquidity and valuation in Hong Kong are not as good,” said Nomura analyst Jeffrey Gao.

    Evergrande declined to comment on the possibility of a listing in Shenzhen.

    An index tracking dual-listed companies shows mainland listings trade at an average 34 percent premium to the same company listed in Hong Kong.

    In March, Evergrande reported a 9 percent fall in 2015 core profit, which excludes revaluation gains, but beat analyst estimates with the help of record home sales.

    Evergrande’s stake purchase followed a delisting proposal by Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties announced late last month. (SD-Agencies)