HONG KONG, June 2 (Reuters) - Shares of New World Development 0017.HK dropped as much as 9.8% after the Hong Kong property developer said it would defer coupon payments scheduled for June on perpetual bonds, casting further liquidity concerns for the cash-strapped firm.

The shares fell to HK$4.32 ($0.5508) each, their lowest since April 9. That compared to a 1.9% fall in benchmark Hang Seng Index. .HIS

($1 = 7.8428 Hong Kong dollars)

(Reporting by Hong Kong newsroom; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

((donny.kwok@thomsonreuters.com; +852 3462 7745;))