Eastern China city relaxes home curbs

[BEIJING] A city in eastern China has removed restrictions on home purchases to allow people to buy more properties, underlining increasing pressures on local governments to safeguard their revenues and counter the faltering economy.

The government in Jinan in Shandong province started allowing residents to buy more homes from yesterday, regardless of how many they already own, or whether they are registered as residents, a local official said.

"The home purchase restrictions have been lifted," the official at the Jinan Housing Administration Bureau said yesterday.