At least two local governments in China have taken control of sales revenue from Evergrande properties, even as Beijing remained silent about the unfolding liquidity crisis at the world’s most indebted developer and investors braced for more missed bond payments

In a circular issued on Wednesday and seen by the Financial Times, the Nansha District housing and urban-rural construction bureau in the southern city of Guangzhou asked an Evergrande subsidiary to put presale revenue from Sunshine Peninsula, a stalled residential development, into a state-controlled custodial account so that “homebuyers’ interest can be protected and project construction continues”.

Another district housing bureau in Zhuhai, a southern city neighbouring Macau, asked an Evergrande residential project this month to transfer sale proceeds into a government account, according to people with knowledge of the matter.