LONDON (Jan 31): Chinese property developer Country Garden has put its £450 million (RM2.7 billion) residential development in East London up for sale as it presses ahead with asset disposals at home and overseas after defaulting on its offshore debt.

Property agent Knight Frank said it had been appointed by Risland UK — a subsidiary of Country Garden — to market the 1,000-home Calico Wharf development, where construction has yet to start, in the Poplar area of the city.

Country Garden, the largest private property developer in China, is among a string of developers reeling from a Chinese property crunch that began in mid-2021 after authorities sought to rein in excessive debt levels.

The firm is working on an offshore debt restructuring after it defaulted on US$11 billion worth of offshore bonds in October. It has also extended repayments for its onshore notes.

The market is watching its restructuring progress closely as peer China Evergrande Group, the world's most indebted property developer, was ordered to liquidate by a Hong Kong court this week after its restructuring talks with creditors failed.

The UK project has planning approval for several buildings, including a tower of up to 23 storeys, and would include commercial space as well as homes, Knight Frank said in a statement.

Country Garden has also put properties in the Chinese city of Guangzhou up for sale with the aim of raising 3.8 billion yuan and agreed to sell its stake in its last Australian project.