Vanke denies leaking info about Evergrande's purchase

An apartment building is reflected on glass at a sales center of a residential property project in Jinan city, east China's Shandong province, February 10, 2016. [Photo/IC]

GUANGZHOU - China Vanke, China's largest home builder, has refuted reports that it leaked information about Evergrande Group's purchase of its shares.

Evergrande Group, another real estate conglomerate, announced Thursday it had purchased nearly 5 percent of the issued shares of China Vanke. Rumors have swirled around that Vanke revealed the purchase to some media outlets in advance. A journalist claims to have found traces of Evergrande's purchase after he checked Vanke's list of shareholders.

The Shenzhen Stock Exchange issued a notice to Vanke on Friday, asking for an explanation.

In a Friday announcement, Vanke said it had followed the rules of the Shenzhen and Hong Kong stock exchanges. It denied rumors of leaking information about the Evergrande share purchase. Vanke said it has sent a letter to Evergrande to explain the situation.

Vanke's shares rose more than 6.5 percent Friday, after they climbed by the daily limit of 10 percent on Thursday. Shares of China Calxon Group, mostly owned by Evergrande, rose 9.98 percent.