Beijing is prodding government-owned firms and state-backed property developers such as Vanke to purchase some of embattled China Evergrande Group's assets, people with knowledge of the matter said.
Evergrande, saddled with $305 billion in liabilities, is teetering on the brink of collapse. A handful of government-owned enterprises have already done due diligence on assets in the southern Chinese city Guangzhou.
In one emblematic example, Guangzhou City Construction Investment Group is close to acquiring Evergrande's Guangzhou FC Soccer stadium and surrounding residential projects, according to the person, who has direct knowledge of the matter.
Set to cost around 12 billion yuan, the stadium has been designed to seat more than 100,000, making it the world's largest venue built for soccer by capacity.
Vanke, which is one-third owned by Shenzhen's state-owned subway operator, said in August it has talked with Evergrande about cooperating on various projects. It did not respond on Tuesday to a request for comment on the status of those discussions. Jinmao and China Resources Land also did not respond to requests for comment.
Evergrande missed paying $83.5 million in interest to offshore bondholders last week and has a $47.5 million coupon payment due on Wednesday.
One person with direct knowledge of local government involvement said local governments have been asked to mediate with government-backed groups and companies so they can participate in Evergrande's reorganisation and asset sales.