The billionaire boss of beleaguered Chinese property developer China Evergrande is being held by police, a report said Wednesday, as the debt-ridden company grapples with severe financial difficulties.
Xu Jiayin, who is known as Hui Ka Yan in Cantonese, was taken away by authorities earlier this month, according to anonymous sources cited by Bloomberg News.
He is being held under "residential surveillance", the report said, which does not mean he has been arrested or charged with a crime.
Calls by AFP to Evergrande offices in Hong Kong and mainland China went unanswered and the company did not respond to a request for comment.
Evergrande's enormous debt has contributed to the country's deepening property sector crisis, raising fears of a global spillover.
The company's property arm this week missed a key debt payment due, and Chinese financial website Caixin reported that former executives at the firm had been detained.
The 65-year-old chairman was once China's richest man, with a taste for luxury labels and yachts, and a nose for praising the Communist Party that steered the economy to a home-ownership boom.
Xu's wealth is now estimated at $1.8 billion -- down from $42 billion in 2017 -- according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
On Sunday evening, Evergrande announced that it was unable to issue new debt as its subsidiary, Hengda Real Estate Group, was being investigated.
That came two days after the company said meetings this week on a key restructuring plan would not take place, adding it was "necessary to reassess the terms" of the plan in order to suit the "objective situation and the demand of the creditors".
China's property sector, which along with construction accounts for about a quarter of the country's gross domestic product, is a key pillar of the country's growth and has experienced a dazzling boom in recent decades.
But the massive debt accrued by the industry's biggest players -- Evergrande had estimated debt of $328 billion at the end of June -- has been seen by Beijing in recent years as an unacceptable risk for China's financial system and overall economic health.
Authorities have gradually tightened developers' access to credit since 2020, and a wave of defaults have followed -- notably that of Evergrande.
Earlier this month, authorities in the southern city of Shenzhen said they had arrested several Evergrande employees, also calling on the public to report any cases of suspected fraud.
Another Chinese property giant, Country Garden, has narrowly avoided default in recent months, after reporting a record loss and debts of more than $150 billion.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
"She Should Not Forget About India": Grand-Aunt Of Usha Vance, Wife Of Trump's Running Mate
China's Evergrande Group Files For Bankruptcy In US China's Evergrande Group Delivers First Electric Vehicles Asia's Richest Woman Loses More Than $12 Billion In China Property Crisis 'Entire NEET Paper Solved In 45 Minutes Before Exam?': Top Court To Centre "Had God On My Side": Donald Trump Recounts Being Shot At During Rally 32 Dead In Bangladesh Unrest, Protesters Set Fire To State TV Headquarters "Every Time I Try To Eat Healthy" - Video Creator's Editing Skills Amaze Internet Watch: Comedian's Wholesome Interaction With Indian-Origin Woman Is Viral Donald Trump Accepts Republican Nomination Amid Chants Of USA From Crowd Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.