HONG KONG, Oct 4, 2021 (BSS/AFP) - Embattled property giant China

Evergrande on Monday suspended trading in its shares on the Hong Kong stock
exchange without giving a reason.

  The company's stock price has plunged around 80 percent since the start of
the year as it teeters on the brink of collapse while struggling under a
mountain of debt. "Trading in the shares of China Evergrande Group will be
halted," it said in a statement to the exchange. "Accordingly, all structured
products relating to the Company will also be halted from trading at the same
time."

  Shares in its electric vehicle company, which last week scrapped a proposed
Shanghai listing, were not suspended, though they fell six percent in early
trade.

  Officials at the firm have been struggling to deal with a crisis that has
left it more than $300 billion in debt, fuelling fears of a contagion for the
wider Chinese economy that some warn could spread globally.

  Last week it said it will sell a $1.5 billion stake in a regional Chinese
bank to raise much-needed capital, as it struggles to make interest payments
to bondholders.

  Beijing has stayed silent on the travails of the property empire, but state
media has trailed various responses in a nod to the mood towards a private
company that grew on a debt binge in the boom years of Chinese real estate.

  Authorities have asked local governments to prepare for Evergrande's
potential collapse, according to reports, suggesting a major state bailout is
unlikely.

  The liquidity crunch has triggered public anger and rare protests outside
its offices in China as investors and suppliers demand their money back.

  The group has admitted to facing "unprecedented challenges" and warned that
it may not be able to meet its liabilities.

  The country's real estate sector has been under tightened scrutiny in
recent months, with regulators announcing caps for three different debt
ratios in a scheme dubbed "three red lines" last year.