China’s Jan-Oct government land sales revenue down 22.9% year on year

CHINA’S government posted a 22.9 per cent decline in land sales revenue for the first ten months of 2024, finance ministry data showed on Monday (Nov 18).

Revenue from government land sales had fallen 24.6 per cent in the first nine months of the year.

China’s local governments have long relied on land sales to boost their revenues, but this source of income has sharply declined since 2022 as cash-strapped developers have reduced their land acquisitions.

To alleviate the debt burden on local governments, authorities have introduced a 10 trillion yuan (S$1.9 trillion) debt relief package aimed at easing financing strains and stabilising the economy.

Additionally, China has approved the use of funds from local government special bonds to increase idle land reclaim and acquisition, with a focus on redeveloping residential and commercial sites that companies are either unwilling or unable to continue developing. REUTERS