HONG KONG: As investors were abuzz yesterday with cash-strapped China Evergrande Group’s possible sale of a stake in a unit to raise as much as US$5bil (RM21bil), more Chinese property developers grappled with ratings downgrades on worries about their ability to repay debt. Evergrande is facing one of the country’s largest-ever defaults as it wrestles with more than US$300bil (RM1.25 trillion) of debt. The company on Monday requested a halt in the trading of its shares in Hong Kong pending an announcement about a major transaction. Hopson also said it had suspended its shares, pending an announcement related to a major acquisition of a Hong Kong-listed firm and a possible mandatory offer. In a statement, the property developer said it would assess the potential impact of the non-payment on the group’s financial conditions.
