The developer, which has regularly bought back its own shares, will hold a board meeting on Aug 20 to consider paying a special dividend for the past two financial years. Assuming a payout of 50% of 2016-2017 profit, as announced in March, that could amount to 11.5 billion yuan (US$1.7 billion) for Hui Ka Yan, who owns about 78% of the company.

Hui is China’s third-richest person, with an estimated wealth of US$34.9 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Evergrande’s 2017 annual report shows the 59-year-old was paid 224,000 yuan last year in fees, and no salary. If he pockets the special dividends, Hui will be a step closer to replacing Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s Pony Ma as China’s second-wealthiest individual, who is worth US$37.7 billion.

Evergrande shares were up 5.3% as of 1:44 p.m. in Hong Kong on Friday, heading for a weekly gain of 33%. The main boost came in a 21% surge Tuesday, after the company said first-half profit likely more than doubled. Following a series of buybacks, Evergrande has a free float of just 15%, the third-smallest for a Hong Kong company with a market value above $10 billion, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Evergrande’s biggest weekly advance since 2011 has propelled its shares to a 2.4% gain for this year, and left short-sellers licking their wounds. The move is still a far cry from 2017, when the Guangzhou-based company rallied 458%.

Evergrande is due to report first-half results later this month. China International Capital Corp. said in a note Friday it estimates profit to have doubled from a year earlier, and that generous dividend payouts are likely.