Steven Zhang Kangyang, chairman of Italian Serie A team Inter Milan and son of former Suning Appliance Group chairman Zhang Jindong, was ruled by the Chinese High Court on July 19 to pay a debt of US$255 million.
Zhang Kangyang was petitioned by China Construction Bank (CCB) last year on behalf of his creditors to recover the above debt. Judge Chan Kin-keung of the Court of First Instance adjudicated that CCB won the case, and Zhang had to pay the other party’s litigation costs.
The case involved the chain convenience store program “Suning small shops” launched by the Suning Group. In August 2020, a company controlled by Zhang Kangyang, which acted as a borrower, reached a financing agreement of US$165 million with the creditors and has a mortgage note of US$85 million due in 2021. Zhang Kangyang signed the relevant creditor agreements, so he was requested to repay….