China's Country Garden faces liquidation petition

By Scott Murdoch and Clare Jim

(Reuters) -China's largest private property developer Country Garden Holdings said on Wednesday it was facing a liquidation petition for not repaying a term loan facility worth HK$1.6 billion ($204.5 million).

The petition was filed against the company by a creditor, Ever Credit Limited, Country Garden said in a regulatory filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Ever Credit is a unit of Kingboard Holdings, according to Country Garden.

A court hearing for the new liquidation has been set for May 17, the company said.

The move comes after China Evergrande Group , the world's most indebted property developer, was ordered to be liquidated by a Hong Kong court in late January.

In a statement, Country Garden said it would continue to "proactively communicate and work with its offshore creditors on its restructuring plan" as it aimed to announce terms to the market as soon as practicable.

"The radical actions of a single creditor will not have a significant impact on our company's guaranteed delivery of buildings, normal operations and the overall restructuring of overseas debts," Country Garden said in statement to Reuters.

Kingboard in October became one of the first known listed companies to take legal action against Country Garden when a unit, which is owed HK$1.6 billion ($204 million), issued a statutory demand seeking repayment.

Country Garden has appointed KPMG and law firm Sidley Austin as advisers to examine its capital structure and liquidity position and formulate what it called a "holistic" solution.

The company in October missed a $15 million bond coupon repayment and so-called ad hoc bondholder groups were formed consisting of international and fund manager investors.

($1 = 7.8244 Hong Kong dollars)

(Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Sydney and Clare Jim in Hong Kong. Additional reporting Poonam Behura; Editing by Stephen Coates)