China Evergrande Group said it plans to raise about $1.5bn by selling a minority stake in a Chinese bank to a state-owned enterprise, an indication that authorities in the country are moving to contain the fallout from the property giant’s financial difficulties.

A unit of Evergrande reached a deal to sell nearly 20% of Shengjing Bank, which is based in Shenyang in Liaoning province, to a company whose owners include the local branch of China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission as well as the local and provincial governments.