China to list property projects eligible for funding by January

CHINA’S housing authority will reveal its first list of projects that are eligible for funding by the end of January, in an effort to support developers and stem the country’s property slowdown.

The projects will be able to obtain financing immediately after the list is announced, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said in a Friday (Jan 26) meeting, China Central Television reported.

The meeting concluded that local officials must “quickly and attentively study and suggest eligible projects, coordinate the distribution of loans and support financing needs with precision.”

In a separate statement issued by the National Financial Regulatory Administration on the same day, the regulator said the list of projects eligible for financing support should be screened fairly, adding support should be given to projects that encounter temporary difficulties but can balance their funding.  

The ministry will also give local governments the autonomy to tweak local property policies, the state broadcaster reported. Previously, local officials in some cities have to obtain approval from the central government.

The measures come just two weeks after the ministry first urged local governments to draft a list of projects eligible for funding and better support developers’ financing needs.

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China’s prolonged property downturn has pummeled its economy, with developers struggling to repay debt and deliver projects. It’s sparked authorities to implement a raft of policy moves, including relaxing homebuying curbs in Beijing and Shanghai, two of the country’s biggest housing markets. Regulators are also drafting a list of 50 developers eligible for a range of financing, Bloomberg News reported in November.

However, the impact of the measures has been muted. China home prices in December fell the most in almost nine years and not a single city among 70 saw their existing-home prices rise from a month earlier. Economists have also called for further loosening in Beijing and Shanghai. BLOOMBERG