CHINESE property developer Country Garden has warned that it cannot repay a HKD 470m (£49m) loan on time.

The firm's admission is the latest sign of distress in the industry after Beijing clamped down on mounting debts.

In a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the company said it "expects that it will not be able to meet all of its offshore payment obligations when due or within the relevant grace periods" including US dollar notes the firm has issued.

Country Garden earlier had been hailed as a model real estate company by Chinese authorities.

It had avoided defaults on debt even as rivals such as China's Evergrande, the world's most heavily indebted property firm, defaulted in 2021 after the Chinese government began restricting borrowing by developers.

The company's Hong Kong-traded shares sank 10.7 per cent yesterday.

Its liquidity crisis suggests developers remain under pressure even after regulators lifted some controls on housing purchases to alleviate troubles in the industry.

PA

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