What’s new: Li Yunze, head of the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), urged local authorities to implement supportive policies to fund new home construction while applying strict scrutiny to projects eligible for aid.
Li made the remark during a trip to the southwest province of Guizhou this week, according to the administration’s website. Li emphasized that cities should adopt tailored housing policies based on local conditions and called on local governments, property developers and financial institutions to work together to ensure the delivery of residential projects.
During his two-day visit to Guizhou, Li discussed the implementation of mechanisms that provide targeted financial support to eligible property developments and efforts to reduce local debt burdens with officials. The NFRA committed to supporting Guizhou’s development by focusing on preventing and resolving real estate risks, managing local government debt, and reforming and mitigating risks in small and medium-sized financial institutions, Li said.
Background: Chinese authorities are ramping up efforts to bolster the ailing property sector as the housing market slump stretches into a fourth year.
In January, the housing ministry and NFRA asked local governments to create coordinated mechanisms to provide targeted financial support to eligible property projects. Since then, local regulators have been shortlisting projects based on developers’ qualifications, credit records and financial conditions.
Chinese banks had approved 935 billion yuan ($129 billion) in loans for real estate projects on official whitelists as of May 16, NFRA data show.
Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com)
