China developer Vanke’s shares drop amid reports of CEO detention by police

Vanke’s shares opened at HK$4.47 on Friday, the lowest since last September, after closing at HK$4.86 Thursday afternoon. The company’s mainland-listed shares also fell by more than 4 per cent during the same period, opening at 6.6 yuan.

Zhu was seen promoting the company’s real estate business on Chinese social media platform WeChat early on Friday, local media outlet Cailian reported.

“The latest development may be due to the fact that Vanke has a sizeable amount of debt … due in 2025, and it looks like Vanke may not be able to repay it on time, illustrated by the sharp drop in its bond prices recently,” said Raymond Cheng, a managing director at CGS International Securities in Hong Kong.

“The news definitely will further hurt market sentiment in the property market, as Vanke is a household brand in China. Meanwhile, we think that the government’s direct step may help to prevent further collapse of the issue if Vanke is eventually taken over.”