(Yicai Global) Dec. 12 -- Shares of the property management arm of Chinese developer Country Garden Holdings plunged after the unit’s billionaire chairwoman sold 7 percent of her stake in the firm at a discounted price.

Country Garden Services [HKG: 6098] closed 16.6 percent lower at HKD19.98 (USD2.57) a share today. On Oct. 31, the stock plummeted about 93 percent to an all-time low of HKD6.25 (80 US cents) from a record high HKD84.23 set in June last year. The shares began to pick up last month after the Chinese government announced an easing of real estate policy.

Yang Huiyan, the Chinese mainland’s richest woman, agreed to sell 237 million shares held by Concrete Win, a company she also controls, to investors for HKD21.33 each, a 10.9 percent discount on Country Garden Services’ closing price of HKD23.95 on Dec. 9, the unit said in a stock exchange filing yesterday, citing a placing agreement signed with J.P. Morgan Securities on Dec. 9.

Yang indirectly held about 1.5 billion shares, or 43.2 percent of the total, in Country Garden Services as of June 30. After the stake sale, she will remain its controlling shareholder with a 36.1 percent stake.

Country Garden is the second-biggest debtor among China’s private developers after China Evergrande Group, owing CNY1.6 trillion (USD229.4 billion). Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, and Postal Savings Bank of China have granted credit lines to Country Garden worth CNY300 billion (USD43 million) since Nov. 24.

Foshan-based Country Garden delivered 450,000 housing units in the first three quarters of this year, topping other domestic homebuilders. It sold CNY441.3 billion worth of properties in the first 11 months.

Shares of Country Garden [HKG: 2007] fell 3.9 percent to HKD2.94 (38 US cents) today. The stock has nearly tripled since the beginning of last month.

Editors: Liao Shumin, Futura Costaglione