China puts Country Garden on draft list of builders to support
COUNTRY Garden Holdings and Sino-Ocean Group Holding have been included on China’s draft list of 50 developers eligible for a range of financing support, according to people familiar with the matter, signalling a pivot by Beijing to help some of the nation’s most distressed builders.
CIFI Holdings Group, another builder that has missed debt payments, was also included on the so-called white list, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. Regulators are set to finalise the roster and distribute it to banks and other financial institutions within days, the people said, adding that some details could change.
Bloomberg reported earlier this week that China is drafting a list to guide financial institutions as it weighs support for the property industry via loans, debt and equity financing. The scope of the funding – and the long-term implications for creditors and shareholders – remain unclear.
The inclusion of distressed builders such as Country Garden, which missed payments on a US dollar bond for the first time last month, underscores regulators’ shifting stance towards some of the nation’s biggest private developers as the property crisis deepens.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has also stepped up support for the broader economy, issuing more sovereign debt for infrastructure spending, raising the Budget deficit ratio and even making an unprecedented visit to the central bank.
Country Garden, Sino-Ocean, CIFI and the housing ministry did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
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A Bloomberg Intelligence gauge of developer stocks has rallied this week, on expectations that the financing help may alleviate fears of further contagion in China’s property sector. Still, some investors were concerned the list would mainly comprise state-owned firms and leave out distressed builders most in need of the support.
Gemdale, which has not missed any debt payments, is also on the draft list along with China Vanke, Seazen Group and Longfor Group Holdings, the people said. Gemdale did not comment.
The full roster of names could not immediately be determined.
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Country Garden, which has property developments in almost every province in China, in October posted its biggest sales drop in at least six years. Growing concerns among potential buyers of its ability to complete projects threaten to exacerbate a cash crunch.
Speculation over Country Garden’s fate flared anew earlier this month, after Reuters reported that China’s State Council instructed the government of Guangdong province to ask Ping An Insurance (Group) to take a controlling stake. Ping An said it does not hold any shares in Country Garden, and has no plans to acquire it.
China’s property crisis has engulfed almost all of the largest developers, which have been struggling to repay debts and complete projects since the credit crunch emerged three years ago. Vanke, one of the country’s few remaining investment-grade builders, saw its US dollar bonds plunge in recent weeks on the heels of Country Garden’s default. Vanke later received an unusually strong show of support from the local government. BLOOMBERG
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