Hong Kong's stock exchange on Thursday announced the suspension of trading in embattled property developer China Evergrande Group's shares, a month after the end of a separate 17-month trading halt imposed for failing to publish its financial results last year.

Trading of two of its subsidiaries -- China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group and Evergrande Property Services -- was also halted on the same day. No reason has been given by the companies for the suspension.

The move came a day after Bloomberg reported that the founder and chairman of the cash-strapped Chinese property giant, Hui Ka Yan, was placed under the control of Chinese police.

It is unclear why he has been put under so-called residential surveillance, a type of police oversight that falls short of formal detention or arrest, the news agency said.

The world's most heavily indebted real estate developer currently finds itself at the center of a prolonged property crisis that has led to a significant decline in confidence in the Chinese housing market.

In August, the company based in southern China's Guangdong Province filed for bankruptcy in a New York court. As of late June, it was saddled with 2.39 trillion yuan ($327 billion) in total liabilities.

==Kyodo

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