China Evergrande boosts stake in rival property developer Vanke

Hong Kong

CHINA Evergrande Group, the country's largest property developer, increased its stake in rival China Vanke Co, renewing concerns about a potential battle for control.

The Guangzhou-based developer bought 161.9 million Shenzhen-listed Vanke shares between Aug 16 and Nov 9, Evergrande said in a filing to Hong Kong's stock exchange after the close of trading on Wednesday, boosting its stake to 8.3 per cent. Evergrande has spent about 18.8 billion yuan (S$3.9 billion) buying shares in Vanke, it said.