China Evergrande shares fall sharply after $2.6bn asset sale collapses

No guarantee' Chinese property giant can meet its $305bn debts, starting with a deadline on Monday that could trigger default

Shares in the struggling property giant China Evergrande have fallen sharply after plans to offload a stake in one of its units for $2.6bn fell through, casting further doubt over whether it can avert the country's biggest ever corporate failure.

China Evergrande Group, the parent company for the sprawling empire built by former steel industry executive Xu Jiayin, closed down 12.54% in Hong Kong on Thursday.