Debt-ridden developer Paliburg Holdings failed to repay US$161 million of principal and interest owed to holders of exchangeable guaranteed bonds which matured on Tuesday.
A Paliburg official said the company had been in discussions with the bondholders before the Tuesday deadline about the possibility of restructuring the terms of the bonds.
However, the official said, reaching an agreement had been difficult because of the number of bondholders involved.
Paliburg's share price remained stable yesterday and closed at 14.6 HK cents, up 0.69 per cent, after hitting a morning high of 15.5 HK cents.
The bonds, issued in 1996 by a Paliburg subsidiary and guaranteed by Paliburg, allowed holders to exchange them for a total of 536.7 million shares in Paliburg subsidiary Regal Hotels International, at an exchange rate of HK$2.0144 per Regal share.
Regal yesterday closed at 22.6 HK cents, up 0.44 per cent on Tuesday.
