Evergrande raises $144m

BEIJING: Crisis-hit property developer Evergrande has managed to raise around $144 million by slashing its stake in an internet company, days before a looming debt interest payment deadline.

Evergrande sold a 5.7 percent stake totalling HK$1.12 billion ($144m) in HengTen Networks Group in three separate transactions from last Thursday, Hong Kong stock exchange filings showed. The indebted property developer faces a Wednesday deadline for an overdue $148 million offshore bond coupon payment it initially missed last month.

The crisis at one of China's biggest property developers has hammered investor sentiment, rattled the key real estate market and fuelled fears of a spillover into the wider economy.