short of a positive policy surprise restructuring is likely only a matter of time the companys shares fell as much as 14 friday to hk089 on course to close below hk1 for the first time ever the firms debt was downgraded three notches thursday by moodys investors service to caa1 from b1 home sales tumbled the most in a year in july making it harder for real estate firms to get cash needed to alleviate the credit crisis country garden is chaired by billionaire yang huiyan whose fortune has shrunk by almost 29 billion since its peak in june 2021 leaving her with a net worth of 53 billion according to the bloomberg billionaires index read alsoonce chinas top builder country garden turns into penny stockcountry garden holdings formerly chinas largest property developer has become a hong kong penny stock amid rising scrutiny of its business and growing liquidity concerns ultimately the weaker soebacked developers that so far have retained access to unsecured funding onshore could face drags due to the negative backdropchinas securities watchdog plans to hold a meeting on the real estate market on friday underscoring growing urgency among regulators to deal with a worsening housing crisis the stock tumbled around 70 from a january peak making it the worst performer on the hang seng index and its market valuelate on thursday the company revealed the depth of its funding challenges by saying it expects to post a net loss of 45 billion yuan to 55 billion yuan 76 billion for the first half of 2023 in december it was trading at 75 cents any debt crisis at country garden will have a farreaching impact on chinas housing market sentiment and could significantly weaken buyer confidence on solvent private developers days later the property manager brought forward the payment date of its 2022 dividends and special dividends the sector is caught in a vicious cycle where failing developers put homebuyers off purchases which then crimps cash flow of companies the firm didnt respond to requests for comment by bloomberg the firm focused on building housing developments in lowertier cities which have been harder hit by the slowdown than firsttier cities such as beijing and shanghai yang has given strong support to country garden since its listing the firm said in the hong kong exchange filing thursday night the that compares with earnings of 191 billion yuan a year earlier its total liabilities amounted to 14 trillion yuan at the end of last year average prices of the nations highyield us currency notes fell to 665 cents on thursday the lowest since early december according to a bloomberg index that came after the communist partys politburo its top decisionmaking body in july signaled a shift toward looser policies for the property market it has tumbled 65 this year the worst performer on hong kongs hang seng index on friday local media yicai reported country garden is preparing for restructuring and has hired a financial adviser citing unidentified