Hong Kong CNN Business  —  Chinese authorities are making their biggest effort yet to end a crisis in the country’s vast real estate sector that has weighed heavily on the economy over the past year. Shares of China’s biggest property developer Country Garden soared as much as 52% in Hong Kong after Beijing on Friday unveiled a 16-point plan that significantly eases a crackdown on lending to the sector. Key measures include allowing banks to extend maturing loans to developers, supporting property sales by reducing the size of down payments and cutting mortgage rates, boosting other funding channels such as bond issues, and ensuring the delivery of pre-sold homes to…