Embattled Chinese property developer Country Garden Holdings Co. said Wednesday a creditor has filed a winding-up petition at a Hong Kong court, amid a deepening real estate sector crisis in the world's second-largest economy.

The creditor sought Country Garden's liquidation Tuesday over an unpaid loan of HK$1.6 billion ($200 million) plus interest, the company said, adding it will "oppose the petition vigorously" and "take all necessary actions to protect its legal rights" as well as seek legal measures.

The petition "does not represent the interests of other stakeholders and may impair the value of the company," the property developer said. The first court hearing on the case is scheduled for May 17, it added.

Country Garden said it intends to work with its offshore creditors on its restructuring plan. Last October, the company based in southern China's Guangdong Province failed to make a due repayment of its bonds.

The latest move came after the Hong Kong High Court ordered in January another crisis-hit property developer, China Evergrande Group, to wind up, over a year after an investor filed a liquidation petition.

Earlier this month, China's central bank cut its benchmark mortgage interest rate for the first time in eight months to shore up the real estate market amid the prolonged property crisis.

==Kyodo

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