Beijing tells Evergrande boss to pay firm's debts with own cash: report

Xu Jiayin was once China's richest man with a fortune worth more than $40 billion but the troubles at Evergrande have shrunk that to less than $8 billion

Chinese authorities have told Evergrande founder Xu Jiayin, once the country's richest man, to use his personal wealth to alleviate the embattled company's debt crisis, according to media reports.

The liquidity crunch at one of China's biggest property developers has hammered investor sentiment and rattled the country's crucial real estate market, while fanning fears of a possible contagion of the wider economy.

Evergrande also reported that it had resumed work on more than 10 stalled projects.

The report said the directive from Beijing came after his company missed an initial bond interest payment due on September 23.

Xu, 63-year-old, was once the wealthiest person in China, worth more than $40 billion just a few years ago, before Evergrande's troubles began.

The crackdown on China's indebted real estate sector that prompted Evergrande's cash crisis has also hit several other builders, with Sinic and Fantasia among those failing to make debt payments.

A key Chinese regulator also urged companies to meet their offshore bond payments in a statement on Tuesday.

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