(Bloomberg) — China Evergrande Group’s restructuring process took another step forward after it started a process to identify bondholders and said its risk management committee plans to hire additional financial and legal advisers.

The committee proposes to engage China International Capital Corp. and BOCI Asia Ltd. as financial advisers, and Zhong Lun Law Firm LLP as a legal adviser to help the developer deal with its debt stress and respond to creditors’ demands, Evergrande said Friday. 

According to two holders who received notices this month, Evergrande began the bondholder identification process among offshore creditors. 

This development comes a day after Evergrande was accused of failing to significantly engage it in restructuring efforts. The group said it will “seriously consider enforcement actions” to protect investors’ interests and wants to be consulted before any further assets are sold.

After missing dollars-bond payments, Evergrande was found to be in default. It had $305 billion in liabilities by mid-2021. It set up the risk management committee that month, saying it would “actively engage” with creditors to formulate a viable restructuring plan.

The official identification of bondholders is a crucial phase in any restructuring. This happens because the borrower wants to know more about its investors and plan for future communications. Evergrande didn’t immediately respond to a Bloomberg request for comment on the move. 

The financial and legal advisers will help the company in “mitigating and eliminating” debt risks, follow up with creditor demands and deal with debt issues on a “fair and equitable basis,” Evergrande said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange. 

Updates on bondholder identification (first and third paragraphs).

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.