Read why Chinese firm Evergrande shares fell 

China’s Evergrande shares have slipped as the situation at the embattled property developer has worsened.

It announced on Monday that its mainland unit, Hengda Real Estate, has defaulted on 4 billion yuan (£449m; $547m) of debt.

Beijing-based news agency Caixin has even reported that authorities have imprisoned a few current and former Evergrande executives.

Caixin said that ex-chief executive Xia Haijun and an ex-finance boss, Pan Darong, were among those arrested.

The media is unable to verify Caixin’s reporting independently. Evergrande waited to respond to a request for comment from the press.

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Evergrande shares price slide on Tuesday followed an even sharper drop earlier. Evergrande’s stock has tumbled by around 25% this week.

In a report to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Sunday, Evergrande said it was unable to sell new debt as part of its restructuring plan because officers were probing Hengda.

Before this month, staff members at Evergrande’s wealth management unit were imprisoned by police in Shenzhen, southern China.

In a post on social media, cops called on the public to notify any cases of suspected scams.

A week earlier, authorities revealed that a recently created state-owned insurer would take over Evergrande’s insurance arm.

Source – BBC