China property developers may issue 960b yuan in bonds in 2016

[BEIJING] China's listed property developers issued 960 billion yuan (S$196 billion) in bonds as of Sept 19, more than three times the amount in the same period last year, financial magazine Caixin reported, citing data from WIND, a Chinese financial data provider. "At this pace, there is no suspense that bond sales by property developers would reach over 1 trillion yuan this year," the report said.

The report attributed the rise to easier access, low interest rates, encouraging property policies and a lack of other investment channels.

The biggest property bonds issuers this year include Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties and Guangzhou R&F Properties, who issued 37 billion yuan and 36.8 billion yuan in bonds respectively, as of Sept 7 this year, according to Caixin.

Average new home prices in China climbed 9.2 per cent in August from a year earlier, up from 7.9 per cent in July as buyers piled into the market ahead of expected restrictions on home purchases in more cities.

Chinese policymakers have expressed concerns over mounting debts from the frothy property market of late, with the central bank's chief economist urging more steps to curb capital flowing into property.

REUTERS