Evergrande Opposes Winding-up Petition

China Evergrande said on Tuesday it will "vigorously oppose" a winding-up petition filed by an investor, while dismissing that the lawsuit will affect its restructuring efforts.

The cash-strapped mainland developer acknowledged in a stock exchange filing that Top Shine Global had submitted the petition to the High Court on June 24, over a financial obligation amounting to HK$862.5 million.

Top Shine Global is an investment holding firm that had bought 0.46 percent of Evergrande's online real estate and automobile marketplace, Fangchebao (FCB).

It alleged that the embattled property developer had not honored an agreement to repurchase shares it bought in FCB.

The winding-up petition is the first known to have been filed against Evergrande, which is reeling under more than US$300 billion in liabilities and whose offshore debt was deemed to be in default after missing payment obligations late last year.

"The Company does not expect that the Petition will impact the Company’s restructuring plans or timetable," Evergrande wrote, in its filing to the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing.

The developer added that it is on track to reveal the details of a preliminary plan to restructure its offshore debt by the end of July.

Trading of Evergrande shares has been suspended since March 21. (Additional reporting by Reuters)