Shares of embattled Chinese developer Evergrande rose Monday after it said it had resumed work on more than 10 projects, as it sought to soothe fears about its debt struggles.

The liquidity crisis at one of the nation's biggest property developers has hammered investor sentiment, rattled China's crucial real estate market and fuelled talk of spillover into the wider economy.

But the firm -- drowning in a sea of debt worth more than $300 billion -- last week paid interest on an offshore bond just before a Saturday deadline, averting a default and giving it a much-needed reprieve.

Evergrande was reported to have missed several offshore bond payments and while it had a 30-day grace period on some of them, there had been a general expectation it would not be able to meet its obligations.

And on Monday investors welcomed an announcement that its Shenzhen operations had "resumed work and production for more than 10 projects in six locations".

Shares in the firm rallied more than four percent in early trade.

The group had 778 projects spanning 233 cities in China as at end-June, according to its latest interim report.

Work at some sites had been halted in recent months, however, while suppliers and contractors complained the company had yet to pay them.

The firm has been plunged into crisis since Beijing began last year clamping down on the country's colossal property sector -- estimates say it accounts for a quarter of the economy -- in a bid to rein in excessive debt.

But the measures to restrict borrowing cut off companies' ability to complete projects.

Anxious homebuyers earlier told AFP they had turned up at unfinished sites to demand information.

"Since the start of the year, strict regulation of the property market has plunged Evergrande into a crisis vortex," the company said in a statement on its WeChat account Sunday.

"How the company will resume work and production on hundreds of projects across the country, and deliver buildings on schedule, affects the nerves of the whole society," added Evergrande.

In a separate statement it provided progress updates on specific projects and said that "guaranteeing the delivery of buildings" was core to the company's work.

Asian markets swing as traders eye China outbreak, inflation
Hong Kong (AFP) Oct 25, 2021 - Asian markets were mixed Monday following last week's gains, with investors keeping a worried eye on a fresh Covid outbreak in China that could drag on the already stuttering economy.

Long-running worries about inflation continued to cast a shadow over trading floors, though a healthy batch of earnings has tempered those concerns in the past couple of weeks.

Reporting by tech titans including Amazon, Apple, Samsung and Microsoft are on the agenda this week, and will be closely followed for an idea about what impact supply chain snarls and rising prices are having on their bottom lines.

Their forward guidance will also be of interest as they contemplate tighter central bank monetary policies and a possible hike in interest rates next year. Tech firms are usually more susceptible to higher borrowing costs.

News that troubled China Evergrande had paid interest due on a bond before Saturday's deadline provided a much-needed boost to confidence though it remains to be seen whether the property developer can meet obligations on other notes due before the end of the year.

Hong Kong and Chinese markets also got some extra cheer from Evergrande saying it had resumed work on more than 10 projects. But there were concerns about the property sector after reports that China plans to expand pilot property tax reforms as part of a drive against real estate speculation.

Shanghai and Hong Kong edged up, with traders keeping tabs on the latest Delta variant outbreak in mainland China, which comes just over three months before the country hosts the Winter Olympics.

The latest spike has forced authorities to reimpose strict containment measures, but there are fears of a wider lockdown that would weigh on economic growth. Recent outbreaks this year played a role in the below-par expansion seen in the third quarter.

There were also gains in Sydney, Seoul, Mumbai and Taipei but Tokyo, Singapore, Manila, Jakarta and Bangkok fell.

London, Paris and Frankfurt all rose at the open.

- Inflation worries -

Traders are preparing for the US Federal Reserve to join several other central banks around the world in winding down the massive financial support put in place at the start of the pandemic.

Fed boss Jerome Powell said last week that the bank's vast bond-buying should now be tapered, with expectations he will begin the pullback as early as next month, though he was not ready to hike borrowing costs yet.

"The risks are clearly now to longer and more persistent bottlenecks, and thus to higher inflation," he said Friday.

"I would say our policy is well-positioned to manage a range of plausible outcomes," he said. "I do think it's time to taper and I don't think it's time to raise rates."

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also said she saw inflation staying persistently high into the second half of next year but insisted that officials were not losing control of prices.

Oil prices pressed higher, with Brent at a three-year high above $86, while WTI was within sight of $85 for the first time since October 2014.

The latest rise comes after Saudi Arabia said OPEC and other major producers would be cautious in lifting output despite surging demand, warning that the pandemic still posed a threat to the outlook.

The Turkish lira tumbled more than one percent to a record low against the dollar after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for the expulsion of ambassadors from 10 countries, including Germany and the United States, who had appealed for the release of a jailed civil society leader.

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China to expand property tax trial to check speculation
Beijing (AFP) Oct 24, 2021
China is set to expand pilot property tax reforms, state media reported, as the government battles real estate speculation in the world's second-biggest economy. China's housing market took off after key 1998 reforms sparked a building boom on the back of rapid urbanisation and wealth accumulation. But as prices soared, so did worries about wealth disparity and the resulting potential for social instability. China's top legislature, the National People's Congress Standing Committee, on Satur ... read more