HONG KONG (Reuters) -State-backed Sino-Ocean Group said on Friday it has received a winding-up petition filed against the Chinese property developer by The Bank of New York Mellon in a Hong Kong court.
The petition was filed by the U.S. lender's London branch for non-repayment of 3.25% guaranteed notes due 2026 issued by a unit in an aggregate principal amount of $400 million.
The Beijing-based developer said it has made significant progress to form a solution to its current offshore liquidity situation and is in advanced talks with its lenders regarding a debt management arrangement.
Bloomberg News had earlier reported on the liquidation petition.
A growing list of Chinese property developers are facing liquidation lawsuits filed by creditors, including Country Garden. China Evergrande Group was ordered to liquidate earlier this year.
Sino-Ocean, among many that have defaulted on its offshore bonds since the China property sector slid into a debt crisis in mid-2021, started the process of restructuring its offshore debt in the second half of last year.
The company said in a filing on Thursday that its main onshore unit had not raised sufficient funds to repay the principal and interest on seven yuan bonds due Friday, but noted the payments have a 30-day grace period.
(Reporting by Clare Jim and Archishma Iyer; Editing by Jason Neely and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
