Evergrande Health now the largest shareholder of Jia Yueting's electric car startup Faraday Future

Evergrande Health has become the largest shareholder of electric car startup Faraday Future, which was backed by embattled tech entrepreneur Jia Yueting, after it took over a Hong Kong investment company.

Hong Kong-listed Evergrande Health will pay HK$6.75 billion (US$860 million) to buy Season Smart Ltd, which owns 45 percent of Smart King Ltd, a joint venture in which Faraday Future is a major investor owning a 33 percent stake, a corporate statement said yesterday.

The deal will make Evergrade Health the largest shareholder of Faraday Future, which said yesterday that it "welcomes Evergrande Health as a new strategic investor” and confirmed that Jia, founder of Chinese tech group LeEco, will serve as its global chief executive officer.

California-based Faraday Future said it was still on track to start deliveries this year. In August 2017, it signed a lease for a new assembly plant in Hanford, California.