Country Garden’s Hong Kong liquidation hearing further adjourned to July

HONG KONG: Embattled Country Garden said in a filing on Thursday the Hong Kong High Court had further adjourned a hearing of a petition seeking liquidation of the Chinese property developer to July 29.

The company did not provide a reason for the delay.

The hearing was originally adjourned to June 11 from May, as Country Garden had requested more time to prepare evidence.

If Country Garden is able to present progress on the debt restructuring talks with its offshore creditors, it would help the developer push back against the liquidation petition.

Advisers to Country Garden, an ad hoc group of bondholders and a group of bank lenders are still working on due diligence to comb through the developer’s balance sheet, sources said.

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The developer defaulted on $11 billion of offshore bonds last year and is in the process of an offshore debt restructuring.

Ever Credit Limited, a unit of Hong Kong-listed Kingboard Holdings, filed the petition against Country Garden in February for non-payment of a $205 million loan.

Country Garden told some of its offshore creditors in April that it planned to present a debt restructuring proposal in the second half of this year, Reuters has reported.

The company’s shares have been suspended from trading since April 2, pending the release of its 2023 financial results.