Founder of China's Evergrande given life in prison

A Chinese court has sentenced Hui Ka Yan, the billionaire founder of China's Evergrande real estate group, to life in prison for large-scale fraud.

Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court also fined Evergrande Group 8.82 billion yuan ($A1.84 billion) and Evergrande Real Estate seven billion yuan, according to a statement issued by the court on Thursday.

Hui Ka Yan, also known as Xu Jiayin, pleaded guilty in April to a series of charges, including illegal absorption of public deposits, fraud and corporate bribery.

Evergrande was the world's most heavily indebted real estate developer with more than $US300 billion ($A421 billion) in liabilities before it was ordered to liquidate.

Its downfall, which came as Chinese government officials cracked down on excessive borrowing in 2020, tipped the entire Chinese real estate market into crisis.