Fosun is showing signs of stress. The highly indebted Chinese conglomerate has alarmed investors with one of its entities planning to cut its holding in a core healthcare unit. It has followed up by saying it will file a lawsuit against Bloomberg. The bone of contention was a news report alleging that regulators asked some lenders and state-owned companies to examine their exposure to Fosun.

Shares plunged then rallied after Fosun denied the report, which it said had “seriously misled investors”. But the spat between the business and the media group changes nothing financially. Data suggest Fosun is in a bad place.

Hong Kong-listed shares have nearly halved in the past year to a decade low. Some of its offshore bonds have fallen below 45 cents on the dollar.