* Chairman reiterates top priority is to help investors
* Evergrande shares surge as much as 32%, property stocks gain
* Fed Chair Powell says not a lot of direct US exposure
* Investors, analysts play down threat of "Lehman moment"
By Clare Jim, Anshuman Daga and Tom Westbrook
HONG KONG/SINGAPORE, Sept 23 (Reuters) - China Evergrande Group will make it a top priority to help retail investors redeem their investment products sold by the indebted property giant, its chairman said, as uncertainty looms over interest payment due for a dollar bond on Thursday.
Hui Ka Yan's statement came after the developer said on Wednesday it had "resolved" a coupon payment on an onshore bond, pushing the company's stock price to its biggest single-day percentage rise since its listing in 2009.
Global investors have been on tenterhooks in recent weeks as debt payment obligations of Evergrande, labouring under a $305 billion mountain of debt, triggered fears its malaise could pose systemic risks to China's financial system.
The company faces $83.5 million in dollar-bond interest payments due on Thursday on a $2 billion offshore bond. And more payments are coming due next week, with a $47.5 million dollar-bond interest payment due.
Without mentioning the offshore debt, the chairman late on Wednesday urged his executives to ensure the quality delivery of properties and redemption of wealth management products held by millions of mainly retail investors.
There is mounting political pressure on the company to act as homebuyers and retail investors grow increasingly angry of having sunk their savings in its properties and opaque wealth management products.
"Assuming this situation goes the way of a debt restructuring ... we think the retail investor nature of the wealth management products would be prioritised for social stability," said Ezien Hoo, credit analyst at OCBC Bank.
Foreign investors, who hold paper issued by offshore entities, might find it harder to get paid as they had "lower bargaining power versus other lenders closer to the assets," he said.
Evergrande shares surged as much as 32% on Thursday as trading resumed after a public holiday, though gains were soon pared and months of heavy losses still leave the stock down more than 80% for the year to date. Evergrande's property services unit also climbed.
The sense of relief spread to mainland property stocks listed in Hong Kong, with Country Garden, China's largest developer, up as much as 14%. Sunac China jumped 16% and Guangzhou R&F Properties surged 26%.