China

A court in southern China approved the personal bankruptcy of a local couple who owed 9.28 million yuan (US$1.3 million) late last month, raising hopes of relief for financially struggling individuals as the domestic economy remains languid, the South China Morning Post reported.

Hui Ka Yan, the chairman of China Evergrande Group - the company at the centre of the country's property sector crisis - has been moved to a special detention centre in Shenzhen, Reuters reported. Hui, 65, has not been seen in public since he was taken away by Chinese authorities a year ago and his current whereabouts have not been previously reported. After China's securities regulator found Evergrande's flagship unit had inflated earnings and committed securities fraud, Hui was fined $6.6 million in March and barred from the securities market for life.

China has opened a criminal investigation into Hywin Wealth Management Co. for alleged involvement in illegal fundraising, with “coercive measures” taken against multiple suspects at the firm, according to Shanghai police, Bloomberg News reported. The police didn’t specify on the measures in a statement that it released, but in China, “criminal coercive measures” could typically take the form of seizure or detention.

China's state council on Wednesday said it will issue concrete guidelines to strengthen supervision and prevent risks in the country's insurance industry, according to a statement, Reuters reported. The broad move will strictly approve the establishment of new insurance agencies, and improve the overall quality of the sector.

Two major Chinese developers are moving closer to unveiling plans to overhaul their local debt, as defaulters shift their restructuring focus from global creditors, Bloomberg New reported. Representatives of Sunac China Holdings Ltd. and Logan Group Co. told creditors in recent days that they aim to finalize and present their debt proposals covering local bonds and loans in the coming months.

China’s exports in August beat expectations and accelerated despite growing trade barriers, giving Beijing a little breathing room in its efforts to lift domestic demand and reawaken the anemic economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. Outbound shipments in August rose 8.7% compared with the same period a year earlier, picking up from July’s 7.0% increase, the General Administration of Customs said on Tuesday.

China deepened its push to further open up the economy, eliminating restrictions on the manufacturing sector and expanding opportunities for foreign investment in the health sector in an effort to revive growth, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Chinese government will reduce its list of industries off-limits to foreign investors to 29 from 31 and fulfill its pledge of zero restrictions on the manufacturing sector, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Commerce Ministry said in a joint statement on Sunday. The new list, set to take effect Nov.

Country Garden Holdings Co.’s sales slump dragged on in August, exacerbating the Chinese developer’s liquidity woes as it battles a wind-up petition, Bloomberg News reported. Contracted sales for August declined 57% from a year earlier to 3.43 billion yuan ($483 million), following a 72% drop in July, according to an exchange filing on Thursday. The poor sales underscore the challenges facing the distressed real estate giant, which is counting on a turnaround in revenue to appease debt holders and fight off liquidation.

A Chinese central bank official raised the possibility of further relaxing the amount of reserves banks are required to hold but signaled that no aggressive monetary easing is in the pipeline amid growing calls for Beijing to consider bolder moves to revive sluggish growth, the Wall Street Journal reported. “The cut on the reserve requirement ratio at the beginning of this year is still showing its effect,” Zou Lan, head of the People’s Bank of China’s monetary policy department, said at a press briefing on Thursday.