Evergrande: Embattled China property giant sparks economy fears

Global stock markets have been on high alert as crisis-hit Chinese giant Evergrande faces a key test this week. The world's most indebted real estate developer is due to make interest payments of $84m (£61m) on its bonds this Thursday. Earlier in the week, the company started to repay investors in its wealth management business with property as it struggled to find cash to meet its liabilities.

Evergrande expanded aggressively to become one of China's biggest companies by borrowing more than $300bn (£217bn). Last year, Beijing brought in new rules to control the amount owed by big real estate developers. The new measures led Evergrande to offer its properties at major discounts to ensure money was coming in to keep the business afloat. Now, it is struggling to meet the interest payments on its debts.

This uncertainty has seen Evergrande's share price tumble by around 85% this year. Its bonds have also been downgraded by global credit ratings agencies.

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