China's Evergrande says shares will resume trading this week

Embattled property developer last week revealed its chairman was being investigated over suspected crimes

Evergrande has been working to gain creditors' approval for restructuring its offshore debt. Reuters

China Evergrande Group on Monday said it has applied to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for trading in its shares to resume on Tuesday, adding there is currently no other inside information that needs to be disclosed.

Trading in shares of the embattled Chinese property developer were suspended last Thursday and the company later said its founder and chairman Hui Ka Yan was being investigated over suspected crimes.

The news signalled for the first time that authorities could hold the company's billionaire founder accountable for the developer's spiralling financial woes.

Mr Hui is being investigated on suspicion of transferring assets offshore while the indebted property developer struggles to complete unfinished projects, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

Evergrande did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

With more than $300 billion in liabilities – roughly the size of Finland's gross domestic product – Evergrande has become the poster child of a debt crisis in China's property sector, which contributes to about a quarter of the economy.

Evergrande has been working to gain creditors' approval for restructuring its offshore debt. The process grew more complicated last week after Evergrande said it was unable to issue new debt due to an investigation into its main China unit.

The offshore debt-restructuring plan now looks set to falter and the chances of the company being liquidated are rising, some analysts say.

Reuters reported last Tuesday that a major Evergrande offshore creditor group was planning to join a liquidation court petition filed against the developer if it did not submit a new debt-revamp plan by the end of this month.