Chinese media warns of weakening housing market

Beijing

CHINA'S property market faces pressure in the fourth quarter as the authorities continue to tighten controls, the state-run China Securities Journal reported, citing research institutions.

Most developers are more cautious about bidding to buy land in the second half of the year, amid a grim outlook for financing and falling profit margins, the newspaper reported, citing a research note by CSC Financial Co.

Beijing will not allow the turbulence surrounding China Evergrande Group to turn into a systemic crisis, the chief executive officer of Standard Chartered said.

He added that the Asia-focused lender has no "concerning exposures to the property sector".

Bill Winters said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Tuesday: "This idea that this was something of a Lehman moment for China: frankly, I don't think China's that dumb."

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More than 24 hours have passed without any clarity about whether embattled developer Evergrande has delivered interest payments due Oct 11 for three of its dollar bonds.

There is a 30-day grace period before any missed payment would constitute a default.

Evergrande's next test of investor confidence will be on Oct 19, when 121.8 million yuan (S$22.2 million) worth of coupons come due for a 5.8 per cent domestic bond.

It then has to deliver interest payments for two dollar bonds on Nov 6.

Evergrande's trading halt has led to days without a company statement detailing the reason - and it is all too familiar for Hong Kong traders who have had to navigate dozens of similar episodes this year alone.

Some 81 stocks on Hong Kong's main board have been suspended for three months or more, according to exchange data as of Sep 30.

Trading on most counters were halted in 2021, including that for China Huarong Asset Management - the bad-debt manager that roiled markets when it delayed its earnings report.

In the US, trading suspensions are capped at just 10 days.

China faces tough trade-offs in dealing with the fallout from the financial troubles at Evergrande, the International Monetary Fund said.

On the one hand, the country risks being seen as backing off from its economic deleveraging drive if it provides too much support to Evergrande and other affected companies, the Washington-based lender said on Tuesday in its semi-annual Financial Stability Report.

On the other hand, it could spur more stress if it puts off arranging backing for the financial system. BLOOMBERG