Trading in the onshore bonds of China Evergrande, the world’s most indebted property group, was halted after reports it was seeking government support to stave off a cash crunch.
Shanghai’s stock exchange suspended trading in Evergrande debt for half an hour on Friday morning, citing “abnormal fluctuations”, after prices plunged from just under Rmb90 ($13.19) to as low as Rmb67.20, compared to their par value of Rmb100.
Evergrande’s shares and debt swung wildly after a letter, purportedly from the company, circulated on Chinese social media on Thursday requesting support for a previously planned reorganisation from the provincial government in Guangdong, where Evergrande is based.