Country Garden abandons plans to raise $300m

Shares in Chinese developer Country Garden fell by 10% after it abruptly abandoned an attempt to raise new funds. The developer, which is often seen as a barometer of the sector’s health, decided to cancel a $300m share placement on Monday night, without providing a reason. Country Garden is one of the few prominent private developers in China to avoid default, posting a Rmb2bn ($280m) profit in the first half of last year. It has, however, lost almost half its stock market value over the year, and issued a profit warning for the first half of 2023. The FT (£)