Afp, Beijing

Crisis-hit property developer Evergrande has managed to raise around $144 million by slashing its stake in an internet company, days before a looming debt interest payment deadline.

Evergrande sold a 5.7 per cent stake totalling HK$1.12 billion ($144m) in HengTen Networks Group in three separate transactions from last Thursday, Hong Kong stock exchange filings showed.

The indebted property developer faces a Wednesday deadline for an overdue $148 million offshore bond coupon payment it initially missed last month.

The crisis at one of China’s biggest property developers has hammered investor sentiment, rattled the key real estate market and fuelled fears of a spillover into the wider economy. Bogged down in a sea of debt worth more than $300 billion, Evergrande has been trying to dispose of its assets to raise cash.

But some offshore bond holders said they had not received payments of over $80 million that were due Saturday, Bloomberg reported.

The HengTen sale reduced Evergrande’s stake in the internet services firm from 26.55 per cent to 20.82 per cent, according to the filings.

That leaves Tencent as the biggest remaining shareholder, with an almost 24 per cent stake.