China’s Evergrande sells $1.5 billion bank stake amid crisis

Evergrande said in an exchange filing that it would sell a 9.99 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) stake it owns in Shengjing Bank Co Ltd to a state-owned asset management company.

Cash-strapped China Evergrande Group left its offshore bondholders guessing whether it would pay interest on a bond coupon due Wednesday despite agreeing to settle debt with a Chinese bank in a $1.5 billion stake divestment deal.

With liabilities of $305 billion, Evergrande has sparked concerns its woes could spread through China's financial system and reverberate around the world — a worry that has eased with the Chinese central bank vowing to protect homebuyer interest.