The head of teetering Chinese developer Evergrande has urged staff to resume construction and sales to deliver properties, state media reported Thursday, as the firm battles to avoid a collapse that could send shockwaves through the world's number two economy.

Furious homebuyers and investors around the country have gathered to demand repayment as the developer drowns in a sea of debt worth more than $300 billion, and struggles to meet its obligations.

The comments came as the company was due to pay interest to foreign bondholders Thursday, with expectations it will miss the deadline, starting the clock on a countdown to what could be a default in 30 days.

Evergrande had not issued any statements on the bond deadline as of Thursday evening.

Financial regulators recently urged Evergrande representatives to avoid a near-term default on dollar bonds and focus on repaying individual investors -- but without offering financial support, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

Analysts Capital Economics estimate Evergrande has committed to complete some 1.4 million properties -- around 1.3 trillion yuan ($200 billion) in pre-sale liabilities, as of the end of June.

Xu Jiayin, the billionaire who founded the company in 1996, called more than 4,000 Evergrande managers to a meeting shortly before midnight on Wednesday, asking them to "devote all their energy to resuming work and production and ensuring that properties are delivered", the state-owned China Securities Journal reported.

He also said the group must "make every effort to fulfil" payment plans the company had previously announced, the Journal reported.

The privately-owned conglomerate had previously offered to repay some debts in kind, promising creditors including suppliers, contractors and investors parking spaces and commercial units instead of cash.

Xu on Wednesday night promised to maintain a "highly responsible attitude toward investors".

The crisis sent shivers through world markets on Monday as traders feared a collapse at one of China's biggest property firms would spill over into the economy and have painful knock-on effects globally, just as countries battle to overcome the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

However, those concerns were eased slightly Wednesday when Evergrande said it had reached a deal with domestic bondholders to repay interest on their notes Thursday.

Beijing authorities recently asked local governments to prepare for Evergrande's potential collapse, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, suggesting a major state bailout is unlikely.

Evergrande's liquidity crunch has triggered public anger and rare protests outside its offices in China as investors and suppliers demand their money back.

The group has admitted to facing "unprecedented challenges" and warned that it may not be able to meet its liabilities.

The country's real estate sector has been under tightened scrutiny in recent months, with regulators announcing caps for three different debt ratios in a scheme dubbed "three red lines" last year.

The curbs have been followed by a slowdown in the country's property sector, with ratings agency Fitch on Thursday cutting its growth forecast for the Chinese economy this year over headwinds faced by developers.

Asian markets mixed with outlook upbeat but Evergrande crisis simmering
Hong Kong (AFP) Sept 24, 2021 - Asian markets fluctuated Friday as investors kept a wary eye on developments in the Evergrande debt crisis, while keeping an upbeat outlook for the global recovery outlook.

Investors struggled to track a surge on Wall Street that followed news the Federal Reserve planned to start tapering its vast monetary easing programme within months, which observers took as a signal of confidence that the world's top economy is well on the right track.

A more hawkish tilt by the British and Norwegian central banks hinted at a similar outlook, while analysts said markets would likely end the year on a strong note.

Subsiding concern about the future of Evergrande added to the broadly positive mood, while hopes a US debt default could be averted also provided support.

Traders are keeping close tabs on the battered real estate firm, with no sign that it had paid interest to bondholders on a note due Thursday. Still, the firm has a 30-day grace period to stump up before it is considered in default.

Markets were sent spinning at the start of the week by fears that the company -- one of China's biggest developers in the crucial property sector -- would go under and drag others with it, in turn jolting the domestic economy and possibly beyond.

However, an announcement that it had agreed a plan to stump up on a local bond payment soothed panicked investors, while they have also taken solace in expectations that Beijing will not let the firm completely go to the wall, instead stepping in to restructure it.

Regulators on Thursday urged the firm -- which is more than $300 billion in debt -- to do whatever was necessary to avoid a near-term default on its offshore bonds, concentrate on finishing building projects and repay individual investors.

There has been no definitive comment from leaders on how they intend to deal with the crisis, which is causing uncertainty on trading floors.

But for now, there is a feeling that there will not be a "Lehman Moment", such as when the bankruptcy of Wall Street titan Lehman Brothers in 2008 sparked a collapse on world markets.

Investors moved cautiously in early exchanges Friday.

Tokyo led gains, surging almost two percent, while Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei, Manila and Jakarta also rose. Sydney, Seoul, Singapore and Wellington edged down.

"Two big near-term issues that have weighed on investors' minds recently -- Evergrande 'Lehman fears' and the US debt ceiling -- both issues have eased somewhat," said National Australia Bank's Tapas Strickland.

However, he added: "Economic data, though, has moved the other way, coming in below expectations mostly."

Fears over the US debt limit have been playing on traders' minds as a deadline to raise it approaches.

Economists estimate that failure to extend the limit would see the United States make a historic default on its debt repayments, wipe out six million jobs and slash $15 trillion from household wealth, tanking the economy and threatening a global meltdown.

But US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would have a deal ready to get funding passed by the end of the month.

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Hong Kong leads Asian markets rally as Evergrande fears subside
Hong Kong (AFP) Sept 23, 2021
Asian markets rose Thursday as concerns about the collapse of troubled property giant Evergrande receded for now, while investors were also cheered by a Federal Reserve plan to begin scaling back its ultra-loose monetary policy soon. Hong Kong led advances as it reopened after a midweek break to catch up with news that Evergrande had agreed a plan to repay interest to its domestic bondholders, soothing worries of a default that have raised talk of a hammer blow to the Chinese economy. And while ... read more