The troubled Chinese developer Evergrande is selling off a half-stake in its property management unit.

That's according to Chinese state media Global Times, citing unnamed media reports.

Its sale to real estate company Hopson Development will reportedly rake in $5 billion for Evergrande, which is grappling with $305 billion in liabilities.

Both Evergrande and Hopson briefly halted share trading in Hong Kong on Monday.

Analysts say the sale is a sign Evergrande hasn't given up its fight to survive, and that its trying to raise cash for the short term.

However, the group owes lenders an amount equivalent to 2 percent of China's gross domestic product.

Investors worry a messy collapse of Evergrande, or the liquidation of its assets at rock-bottom prices, could create chaos in China's property sector and the broader economy.

That's a result that it appears Beijing does not want.

Insiders told Reuters last week, the central government has prodded state-backed firms and developers to purchase assets from Evergrande.

For now, many of Evergrande's projects still remain unfinished in China, as a result of its financial woes.

In a letter in September, chairman Hui Ga-yan stressed the firm's top priority was to help investors redeem their products, and remain accountable to ordinary home-buyers.

Holders of the company's $20 billion in offshore debt, though, appear further back in the queue.

Bondholders have said interest payments Evergrande owed on bonds in recent weeks have failed to arrive.