China to support financing, debt extension for quality developers- Xinhua

BEIJING/SHANGHAI, Jan 13 (Reuters) – China will boost financing for good quality property developers and roll out a 100 billion yuan ($14.86 billion) support plan for rental housing loans, the official Xinhua news agency said on Friday.

Reporting the latest move to ease a liquidity crunch which has plagued the real estate sector since mid-2020, Xinhua said financial regulators have drafted a work plan to guide quality developers’ balance sheet back to a safe range.

The plan mainly targets high quality property firms with relatively big size and systemic importance, it said.

Regulators will improve the “three red lines” rule for 30 pilot property firms, without giving specific names of the firms. The “three red lines” policy restricts the amount of new borrowing property developers can raise each year by placing caps on their debt ratios.

Under the plan, authorities will encourage financial institutions to negotiate to extend debt to quality developers on a reasonable basis, it said.

Authorities will also support developers’ offshore debt repayment by providing policy support, including by helping to improve management of foreign exchange.

The property sector, which accounts for roughly a quarter of China’s gross domestic product, has struggled with defaults and stalled projects, hitting market confidence and weighing on growth.

($1 = 6.7273 Chinese yuan renminbi)

Reporting by Beijing and Shanghai newsroom; Editing by Christian Schmollinger & Simon Cameron-Moore

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