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Centro Properties Group, which last month won its fifth extension on a deadline to repay as much as A$6.6 billion ($6.3 billion) of debt, is seeking to sell five of its Australian shopping malls to help pay down its obligations.

All of the assets of the unlisted Centro MCS 9 syndicate are up for sale, Melbourne-based Centro said in a letter sent to investors and e-mailed today to Bloomberg. The unit’s malls were worth A$309 million as of Dec. 31, according to Centro’s Web site.

It is an “optimum time” to sell the assets, Centro said. “Certain shopping centers recently offered for sale are achieving strong sale prices irrespective of tight credit conditions and rising interest costs.”

Centro Properties, which owns and manages more than A$24 billion of shopping malls in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand, has plunged 96 percent since Dec. 17 when the company said it was struggling to refinance debt as the seizure in global credit markets shut funding avenues. Centro fell 2 percent to 24 Australian cents as of 3:52 p.m. Sydney time on the Australian stock exchange, valuing the company at A$203 million.

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Previous Centro posts:

• May 29, 2008, Report: Centro Close to Big Sale
• May 14, 2008, Centro’s Shield
• May 9, 2008, Centro Reaches Debt Agreement, Shares Surge
• April 3, 2008, Centro Takeover Rumors Cause Share Surge
• April 1, 2008, Centro Clears a Hurdle
• Feb. 29, 2008, Report: Blackstone, GE, Mulpha, Mirvac Bidding for Centro.
• Feb. 28, 2008, Centro Shares Surge
• Feb. 15, 2008, Centro Wins Extension
• Jan. 15, 2008, Scott Out, Rufrano In at Centro
• Jan. 10, 2008, Daily Centro Update
• Jan. 9, 2008, UBS Cuts Stake in Centro
• Jan. 3, 2008, Centro: Morgan Stanley, Westfield Have Approached Firm
• Jan. 2, 2008, Centro Says Its Getting Offers
• Dec. 18, 2007, Another Round of Centro Coverage
• Dec. 17, 2007, Centro Hit by Credit Crunch
• May, 10, 2007, Centro’s Structure
• Feb. 28, 2007, Centro To Buy New Plan