HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong's High Court has postponed a hearing on a petition seeking the Chinese property developer's liquidation to July 29, Embatled Country Garden said in a filing on Thursday.
The company did not provide a reason for the delay. The hearing was originally adjourned to June 11 instead of May, with Country Garden requesting more time to prepare evidence.
If Country Garden can make progress in debt restructuring talks with its external creditors, that would help the developer back away from its liquidation petition.
Country Garden's advisers, 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, the sources said.
The developer defaulted on $11 billion in foreign bonds last year and is in the process of restructuring foreign debt.
Ever Credit Limited, a unit of Hong Kong-listed Kingboard Holdings, filed a petition against Country Garden in February for non-payment of a $205 million loan.
Country Garden informed some of its external creditors in April that it plans to submit a debt restructuring proposal in the second half of this year, Reuters reported.
The company's shares have been suspended from trading since April 2, pending the issuance of its financial results for the year 2023.