MOSCOW, November 24 - RAPSI, Alyona Yegorova. A commercial court postponed on Thursday until December 22 its hearing into a tour operator's bankruptcy, the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI) reported from the courtroom.

Capital Tour was established in July 2003 as the first universal international travel agency. It is one of Russia's top three travel agencies. It sells medium and high-budget tours to 40 countries through more than 20,000 travel companies in Russia, other CIS and Baltic countries.

The Moscow Commercial Court put the company into administration on April 25 as part of the self-initiated bankruptcy proceedings.

The company reported in April that it had been deleted from the single tour operators' register and is unable to continue its operations. Its total debt then amounted to 1.576 billion rubles ($50.5 million)

Capital Tour said at the session that it lacks funds to repay debts to its 37 creditors, some of which had already obtained favorable decisions in their actions against the travel agency.

At the Thursday hearing the agency's bankruptcy administrator requested to postpone the proceedings.