Asia-Pacific stock markets sink on concerns around Evergrande bankruptcy

Major stock indices in the Asia-Pacific region (APR) are mostly declining on Monday on fears around Chinese property developer Evergrande’s looming bankruptcy.

As of 5am GMT, the Chinese Hang Seng Index dropped 3.23% on the Hong Kong stock exchange, while the Australian S&P/ASX 200 lost 1.91%, with shares of major miners declining the most, trading data shows.

The Hang Seng Properties index plunged 7% to a 52-week low, while shares of insurers listed in Hong Kong also fell, with AIA dropping about 5.2% and Ping An Insurance losing 7.43%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.63%. Markets in mainland China, Japan and South Korea are closed on Monday due to public holidays.

The downward market trend comes as investors assess the financial position of the Chinese real estate developer Evergrande Group, whose debt of $300 billion could lead to the company’s bankruptcy.

The company’s shares in Hong Kong on Monday were down nearly 15%. The company is expected to default later this week. Markets will be affected by whether Evergrande is restructured or completely shut down, according to UBS analysts quoted by the Wall Street Journal.

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