HONG KONG (Reuters) - China Evergrande Group's shareholding in its property services unit has fallen to 51.71% from 58.18% after forced selling of pledged shares by a third party, a Hong Kong stock exchange filing showed.
The number of Evergrande Property Services Group shares involved was 700 million, and the drop was the result of steps taken on Dec. 14 to enforce rights to the shares held as security against the embattled property developer, the filing said.
Reuters could not immediately determine who sold the pledged shares.
The last time pledged shares of Evergrande Property Services were enforced was a year ago, when the group's stake decreased from 60.96%.
Trading in shares of both Evergrande Group and Evergrande Property Services has been suspended since March, pending the release of their 2021 financial results and an investigation of a bank enforcement of a pledge guarantee of the services unit.
Evergrande Group, grappling with more than $300 billion in liabilities, is undergoing a debt restructuring after it defaulted late last year.