Sleepless nights are now the routine for Ji Wenchen six months after she laid out $100,000 for a deposit on a new apartment that is yet to be completed by China's rattled property giant Evergrande.

She handed over the cash to the sprawling conglomerate in March but is yet to receive documents showing she owns the apartment.

"I can barely eat or sleep these days," the 30-year-old told AFP.

"My name has not been written on the apartment -- that means, Evergrande has not handed over my money to the local government. As a rule, it should be filed within one month."

Ji is one of tens of thousands of ordinary investors, whose financial futures are pegged to promised windfalls from Evergrande, China's largest developer whose bullish expansion into 280 cities was driven by a $300 billion debt binge that has left it teetering.

Analysts Capital Economics estimate Evergrande has some 1.4 million properties that it has committed to complete -- around 1.3 trillion yuan ($200 billion) in pre-sale liabilities, as of the end of June.

But those developments and debt repayments have been cast into doubt as it has struggled to sell properties, meaning it does not have the cash to complete other projects to then sell.

It has also failed to offload assets including its Hong Kong headquarters as well as units including China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group.

On Tuesday the company filed a statement to the Hong Kong exchange warning of the "tremendous pressure" it faces.

"There is no guarantee that the Group will be able to meet its financial obligations," the statement said, as the property giant sags under its colossal debts.

- Three red lines -

The housing group, which rode the investment wave of the 90s to capitalise on the country's wealth boom, is now struggling to meet metrics imposed by Beijing last year.

The "three red lines" set limits on borrowing and forced property developers to reduce their liabilities, following years where China let companies borrow heavily in order to expand.

Many offered attractive incentives to homebuyers to shift new-build properties.

But now complaints pepper Chinese social media from frustrated Evergrande investors whose apartments seem to have stalled.

One wrote that he had bought an apartment in a block in southwestern Kunming that was supposed to complete in August, but the building is still not finished and the construction site is empty.

Several hundred buyers marched on the Evergrande offices in southern Shenzhen last month, according to pictures posted on Twitter-like Weibo, demanding money back from the embattled developer.

Protesters returned on Monday.

"I'm worried about my apartment -- it was supposed to delivered before 31 October according to the contract," Kevin, a buyer in Jiozuo, central Henan province, told AFP.

"But I asked Evergrande a few days ago, and they said it may be delayed because they don't have enough workers. I don't have any other choice but just to wait."

Owning property has become an important social marker of wealth in China, and often considered a requirement for a man before getting married.

- 'I believed Evergrande' -

But stabilising the market has become a key aim of Chinese President Xi Jinping, under the motto of "housing is for living, not for speculation".

The sector is of vital importance to the economy -- accounting for mroe than a quarter of it -- and with millions of families tying up their wealth in property ownership experts have warned of potentially dire consequences if house prices drop below the cost of mortgages.

But the credit squeeze in the property sector is "unnecessarily aggressive" and may weigh on industrial demand and consumption, experts at Bank of America Corp warned Bloomberg.

Evergrande's woes come as authorities crack down on a range of corporate giants, including many listed home-grown conglomerates, sending shivers through stock markets as investors lose confidence in China's private sector.

Meanwhile, some analysts warned the government has little incentive to rescue Evergrande, particularly as Beijing tightens up on what it sees as excessive wealth and runaway spending.

Capital Economics predicted that, in the event the group implodes, Beijing would prioritise buyers like Ji to prevent the economic blow morphing into social anger.

But it means anxious days lie ahead for buyers who have piled life savings into new apartments.

Ji is just hoping to get the money back -- a downpayment gifted from her parents to help her onto the property ladder, in eastern Jiangxi province -- but fears it will be difficult.

"When I bought this apartment I believed Evergrande," she said.

Evergrande: China's fragile housing giant
Shenzhen, China (AFP) Sept 14, 2021 - Chinese housing giant Evergrande is one of the country's largest private conglomerates and world's most indebted property developer, teetering on the brink of bankruptcy after years of rapid growth and a buying spree.

Crippled with debt, the firm's Hong Kong-listed shares have collapsed this year on mounting fears for its financial health.

The group -- which claims to employ 200,000 people and indirectly generate 3.8 million jobs in China -- has said it is trying to avoid a bankruptcy that could have major repercussions on the country's economy, and possibly the world.

Here's what we know about Evergrande.

What is Evergrande?

With a presence in more than 280 cities, Evergrande is one of the largest private companies in China and one of its leading real estate developers.

The firm made its wealth over decades of rapid property development and wealth accumulation as China's reforms opened up the economy.

Its president, Xu Jiayin -- also known as Hui Ka Yan in Cantonese -- was at one point China's richest man but has seen his wealth slashed from $43 billion in 2017 to less than $9 billion now.

What does it do?

While predominantly a real estate firm, in recent years the group has embarked on an all-out diversification.

Outside of property development, it is now best known in China for its football club Guangzhou FC, formerly Guangzhou Evergrande.

The group is also present in the flourishing mineral water and food market, with its Evergrande Spring brand. It has also built children's amusement parks, which it boasted were "bigger" than rival Disney's.

Evergrande has also invested in tourism, digital operations, insurance, and health.

Some investments have been more successful than others. It's Evergrande Auto electric car, founded in 2019, is not currently marketing any vehicles at all.

What are the problems?

In short: debt.

Evergrande has increased acquisitions in recent years, taking advantage of the frenzy in real estate.

The group said earlier this month that its total liabilities had swelled to 1.97 trillion yuan ($305 billion) and warned of "risks of defaults on borrowings".

In August the rating agency Moody's -- worried about the repayment capacity -- lowered its strength rating to "negative", while Fitch and Standard & Poor's have since followed suit.

Evergrande shares have collapsed around 80 percent since the start of this year, and some contractors and suppliers have complained about not being paid on time, while some creditors are demanding immediate payback of loans.

Last year, a leaked letter from Xu apparently asked for permission from regulators to restructure prompted market panic -- although Evergrande later said it was a fake.

However, the ensuing unrest led the group and its investors to agree to the repayment of some 130 billion yuan of debt.

Still, its ability to complete developments and service its debts has been cast into doubt as it struggles to sell properties, meaning it does not have the cash to complete other projects to then sell.

On Tuesday it warned that "ongoing negative media reports" had damaging sales in September, "thereby resulting in the continuous deterioration of cash collection by the Group which would in turn place tremendous pressure on the Group's cashflow and liquidity". That came a day after it insisted it would avoid bankruptcy.

The crisis has led to angry investors who have been left out of pocket to descend on its Shenzhen headquarters to protest.

What next?

Real estate is one of the major engines of the Chinese economy, playing a key role in the post-pandemic recovery, and any bankruptcy of such a major company would have major repercussions.

"Evergrande's collapse would be the biggest test that China's financial system has faced in years," Mark Williams, chief Asia analyst at Capital economics, said.

"The most likely endgame is now a managed restructuring in which other developers take over Evergrande's uncompleted projects in exchange for a share of its land bank."

The debt-laden developer reported a drop in first-half profit in late August, as net income fell 29 percent on-year to 10.5 billion yuan, following an earlier profit warning.

It has sold assets, including offloading stakes in holdings such as a Hong Kong-listed internet business, a regional bank and an onshore property firm.

But it is struggling to sell its Hong Kong headquarters.

New rules banning developers from selling unfinished properties have put an end to pre-sales that the group has largely used to finance itself and keep its activities afloat.

Some analysts believe that regardless of its troubles, there is a slim chance Beijing would allow such a behemoth to go under.

Beijing "will not let Evergrande go bankrupt" as it would undermine the regime's stability, analysts at US-based SinoInsider said.

But a state bailout is unlikely, according to Williams, since Evergrande "is the poster child for excess leverage in a sector in which policymakers want to instill more discipline".

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