Struggling Chinese developer calls off $2.6B asset sale

By JOE McDONALD
AP Business Writer

BEIJING (AP) — A major Chinese real estate developer whose struggle to avoid defaulting on billions of dollars of debt rattled financial markets has called off the sale of a $2.6 billion stake in a subsidiary and has made no progress in selling other assets. China Evergrande Group said its planned sale of 50.1% of its property management unit to a rival was canceled because the buyer “had not met the prerequisite to make a general offer for shares.” It gave no other details. Evergrande’s struggle to reduce its 2 trillion yuan ($310 billion) of debt to comply with curbs on borrowing by China’s real estate industry has prompted fears a default might trigger a financial crisis.