Chinese property developer’s debt struggle rattles investors

By JOE McDONALD
AP Business Writer

BEIJING (AP) — One of China’s biggest real estate developers is struggling to avoid defaulting on billions of dollars of debt, prompting concern about broader impacts and protests by apartment buyers over delays in completing projects. Rating agencies say Evergrande Group looks likely to be unable to repay all of the 572 billion yuan ($89 billion) it owes banks and other bondholders. That might jolt financial markets, but analysts say Beijing is likely to step in to prevent wider damage. Evergrande ran into a cash crunch after its borrowing to build apartments, office towers and shopping malls collided with pressure from the ruling Communist Party to reduce corporate debt loads that are seen as a threat to the economy.