Police detain executive at China Evergrande’s EV unit. Property sector shows fresh signs of distress

By ELAINE KURTENBACH
AP Business Writer

BANGKOK (AP) — The electric vehicle unit of troubled Chinese property developer China Evergrande says its vice chairman has been detained by police on “suspicion of illegal crimes.” China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle announced that Liu Yongzhuo had been detained in a notice Monday to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after its shares were suspended from trading. That followed news over the weekend that Zhongzhi Enterprise Group, a major shadow bank in China that has lent billions in yuan (dollars) to property developers, had filed for bankruptcy liquidation after it was unable to pay its debts. Share prices sank Monday in Hong Kong, with the benchmark Hang Seng index down almost 2%.