Chinese Real Estate Country Garden is the subject of a

Chinese Real Estate: Country Garden is the subject of a liquidation application

Debt-ridden Chinese developer Country Garden said on Wednesday it had filed a petition to wind up the group in a Hong Kong court amid a real estate crisis in China.

• Also read: A court in Hong Kong orders the liquidation of the Chinese project developer Evergrande

• Also read: One of China's largest developers collapses in the stock market crisis

Country Garden, one of China's largest real estate groups, reported debts estimated at $191 billion (175 billion euros) in June.

The application was filed by a creditor seeking compensation of around 1.6 billion Hong Kong dollars, or 189 million euros.

“The company will vigorously oppose the application,” Country Garden said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

“The company intends to continue to proactively communicate and work with its international creditors on its restructuring plan,” it added, promising to announce the terms to shareholders as soon as possible.

In late January, following a similar request from international creditors, a Hong Kong court ordered the liquidation of Chinese real estate giant Evergrande, which had piled up debts until it had liabilities of more than $300 billion.

Country Garden had an estimated 1,360 billion yuan (174 billion euros) in debt as of June.

The applicant, Ever Credit Limited, is an authorized creditor, a subsidiary of Kingboard Holdings, a Hong Kong listed company.

Last October, Kingboard disclosed that Country Garden had failed to repay HK$1.598 billion of a HK$1.88 billion loan to Ever Credit.

Country Garden's share price fell 11% on Wednesday after information about the filing was released.