Chinese bourses have halted more than 40 initial public offerings (IPOs) in Shanghai and Shenzhen amid a regulatory probe into several intermediaries in the deals, according to official exchange disclosures, Reuters reported. The Shenzhen Stock Exchange suspended more than 30 IPOs, including public share sale plans by BYD Co.'s chip unit, on Aug. 18, according to exchange filings. The Shanghai Stock Exchange has pressed the pause button on eight IPOs targeting the city's tech-focused STAR Market since Aug. 19.

China Evergrande Group pledged to fix its debt problems following a rare public rebuke from regulators as the developer struggles to stave off a liquidity crisis, Bloomberg News reported. Evergrande said that it will do its best to maintain stable operations, resolve debt risks, and keep stability in housing and financial markets. The People’s Bank of China and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission earlier told the group to address its debt woes and refrain from spreading “untrue” information.

A major container terminal at China’s Ningbo-Zhoushan Port remained shut a week after operations were suspended from a single Covid-19 case, with dozens of ships lining up to load cargo for western markets ahead of the year-end shopping season, the Wall Street Journal reported. The congestion at Meishan terminal, which isn’t expected to resume full operations before the end of the month, is spreading to other ports like Shanghai and Hong Kong as big operators divert ships away from Ningbo.

China’s top manager of distressed assets said it would post a massive loss and expects to receive a capital infusion from state-owned financial institutions, avoiding a messy default that would have had wide repercussions for Asia’s credit markets, the Wall Street Journal reported.

China Huarong Asset Management Co. is poised to receive about 50 billion yuan ($7.7 billion) of fresh capital as part of an overhaul plan that would shift control of the embattled company to state-owned conglomerate Citic Group, Bloomberg News reported. The plan, some details of which are still being finalized and could change, calls for Citic to assume the Chinese government’s controlling stake in Huarong from the Ministry of Finance, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. The capital injection would come from a Citic-led consortium.

Chinese real-estate billionaire Hui Ka Yan has stepped down as chairman of China Evergrande Group’s flagship property business, months after the unit dropped plans for a multibillion-dollar listing on the mainland, the Wall Street Journal reported. The chairman of Hengda Real Estate, the main onshore subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed Evergrande, is now Zhao Changlong, commerce registration information on Chinese database provider qcc.com showed Tuesday. It is unclear exactly when the change happened. Mr.

China's factory output and retail sales growth slowed sharply and missed expectations in July, as new COVID-19 outbreaks and floods disrupted business operations, adding to signs the economic recovery is losing momentum, Reuters reported. Industrial production in the world's second largest economy increased 6.4% year-on-year in July, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Monday. Analysts had expected output to rise 7.8% after growing 8.3% in June. Retail sales increased 8.5% in July from a year ago, far lower than the forecast 11.5% rise and June's 12.1% uptick.

The management of troubled private oil refiner Liaoning Bora Enterprise Group has been taken over by government officials from China’s Panjin city amid a tax probe that could lead to heavy fines and possible insolvency, Bloomberg News reported. A team led by officials from the north-eastern city, where the conglomerate is based, has been appointed to run the company from this month. Bora is seeking to restructure and avoid collapse due to mounting financial woes brought on by large amounts of unpaid taxes.

China's months-long regulatory crackdown has included big names in e-commerce, the gig economy, exam cramming and most recently online insurance. Close to $1 trillion in market value has been wiped out since February, Reuters reported. For big firms that also list on markets like Wall Street because it brings in international investment, 2021 is already the worst year since the global financial crisis. Many analysts are convinced things will settle, but only the Beijing ruling elite know if and when that might be.

A Covid outbreak that has partially shut one of the world’s busiest container ports is heightening concerns that the rapid spread of the delta variant will lead to a repeat of last year’s shipping nightmares, Bloomberg News reported. The Port of Los Angeles, which saw its volumes dip because of a June Covid outbreak at the Yantian port in China, is bracing for another potential decline because of the latest shutdown at the Ningbo-Zhoushan port in China, a spokesman said.