UPDATE 1-Australia's Centro shares rebound over 19 pct

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SYDNEY Dec 19 (Reuters) - Shares in Centro Properties Group (CNP.AX) bounced over 19 percent on Wednesday, having crashed in the previous two sessions after it revealed refinancing problems, on the view that buyers would emerge for its assets.

Centro shares last traded up 17.4 percent at A$0.945, down from an early peak of A$0.96, but well above Tuesday's lifetime low of A$0.42 hit after it became the latest victim of a global credit crunch.

"A pile of hedge funds came in yesterday on the view a Mirvac (MGR.AX) or a Westfield (WDC.AX) will pick up the Australian assets, and plenty of U.S. players will pick up the U.S. assets, so it will be carved up and sold off. There is some equity value remaining," said one fund manager who asked not to be named.

He speculated that hedge funds could again be behind the buying on Wednesday.

Centro, which owns and manages 700 shopping malls in the United States, had shed about 85 percent of its market value over the past two days after saying it had been unable to refinance A$1.3 billion (A$1.1 billion) in maturing debt facilities.

It has until Feb. 15 to renegotiate the debt, but analysts have said it may have to conduct a fire sale of some of its Australian shopping centres to reduce gearing levels to satisfy the banks.

The subprime debt crisis has dramatically pushed up the cost of lending, and virtually closed down the U.S. commercial mortgage-backed securities market that Centro had previously used to refinance debt.

Shares in affiliate Centro Retail Group (CER.AX), which is renegotiating an additional A$1.2 billion in financing, rose 10.0 percent to $0.715.

The broader property sector .AXPJ was down 0.6 percent. ($1=A$1.16) (Reporting by Victoria Thieberger; Editing by James Thornhill)