Evergrande risks resurface as China urges billionaire founder Hui to pay debt

Renewed concerns surrounding China Evergrande Group are sapping investors’ confidence once again, especially after Chinese regulators asked billionaire Hui Ka Yan to use his personal wealth to ease off the deepening debt crisis in the property development giant, Bloomberg reports, people familiar with the matter.

Key details

Beijing’s directive to the Evergrande founder came after his company missed an initial Sept. 23 deadline for a coupon payment on a dollar bond.

Local governments across China are monitoring Evergrande’s bank accounts to ensure company cash is used to complete unfinished housing projects and not diverted to pay creditors.

Market implications

The Asian stocks are in the red, as investors are unsure whether Hui’s wealth is liquid enough to reduce Evergrande’s sizeable liabilities, which swelled to more than $300 billion as of June.

AUD/USD is reversing the Australian inflation-led rally to 0.7537, weekly tops. The spot was last seen trading at 0.7524, still up 0.35% on the day.