Good morning.
Shares in Evergrande have been suspended this morning as rumours swirl about a major rescue deal for the beleaguered property giant.
Trading was suspending pending the announcement of a “major transaction”, Evergrande said in a stock market filing. The company’s property management arm said it was halted before a possible offer for shares.
Local media reported that Hopson Development, whose shares were also suspended, plans to acquire 51pc of Evergrande Property Services.
Uncertainty over Evergrande’s debt load of more than $300bn has roiled global markets, stoking fears of a collapse that could spread throughout the wider economy.
5 things to start your day
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2) Morrisons bidding war to spark flurry of City dealmaking – Sainsbury’s and M&S also in firing line as cheap pound encourages overseas investors to seek opportunities in UK
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4) Britain’s inflation surge threatens to eclipse eurozone’s – Prices could spiral for longer than predicted, warns ex-IMF chief economist, amid squeeze on disposable incomes
5) Ovo circles rival Bulb amid energy price squeeze on suppliers – Firm seeks more deals amid energy crisis after buying SSE’s retail unit to become UK’s third largest household energy firm
What happened overnight
Asian markets were mixed on Monday, with Shanghai closed for the National Day holiday.
Hong Kong’s benchmark shed more than 2pc after troubled property developer China Evergrande’s shares were suspended from trading.
The company did not say why, but a Chinese financial news service, Cailian, said another major developer was planning to buy Evergrande’s property management unit.
Evergrande is struggling to make payments on tens of billions of dollars worth of debt as it endures a cash crunch brought on by a tightening of Chinese government restrictions on debt-leveraged financing.
The Hang Seng sank 2.3pc to 24,011.72 while Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.1pc to 28,457.15. Shares also fell in Taiwan. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.8pc to 7,246.10.
Markets were closed for holidays in Shanghai and South Korea.
Coming up today
Corporate: Nothing major on agenda
Economics: Opec meeting, factory orders (US)
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