Asian Shares Mixed after Evergrande Sale Deal Called Off

Asian Shares Mixed after Evergrande Sale Deal Called Off

A currency trader walks near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Shares are mixed in Asia after major Chinese property developer Evergrande said a plan to sell its property management arm to a smaller rival had fallen through.

Shares slipped in Hong Kong and Tokyo but rose in most other regional markets.

China Evergrande Group's shares tumbled nearly 12% while shares in Evergrande Property Services slipped 6.8%. In a notice to the Hong Kong exchange Evergrande said it was having difficulties selling off assets to resolve its cash crunch.

Hopson Development Holdings' shares rose 5.2% after it said was unable to complete the purchase. Trading of shares in all three companies had been suspended pending a resolution of the transaction.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index edged 0.1% lower to 26,110.15 while the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.5% to 3,603.62.

Some “verbal assurances by government officials and loosening of home loans for some of its major banks suggest that the authorities are monitoring the property market risks, hoping to reassure markets of the knock-on impact on the economy," said Yeap Jun Rong, a market strategist at