China property developers Sunac, CIFI say projects get local govt support

CIFI Holdings (Group)

05/02/2024 03:33

HONG KONG, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Chinese property developers
Sunac China  1918.HK  and CIFI Holdings  0884.HK  said some of
their projects had been listed by local governments as suitable
for loans, adding to the number of defaulted developers getting
support from authorities.
    China's largest private property developer Country Garden
 2007.HK , which defaulted on its offshore debt late last year,
said on Saturday more than 30 of its projects had been listed as
suitable for financing support from local governments.  
    Under the "project whitelist" mechanism launched on Jan. 26,
governments of 35 cities across the country are gearing up to
recommend to banks residential projects that need financial
support, as authorities aim to inject liquidity into the
crisis-hit sector.
    Sunac, which completed a $9 billion offshore debt
restructuring last year, said in a statement to Reuters on
Monday that more than 90 of its projects had been added included
to whitelists from cities including Beijing, Tianjin, Chengdu
and Chongqing.
    "As the financing comes in place, the cashflow pressure of
the development and operation of Sunac projects would be eased,
which will further ensure the work of 'home delivery' in
different cities," the developer said.
    CIFI, another big developer that is now working on an
offshore debt restructuring, said in a statement on Sunday that
18 of its projects had been whitelisted by local authorities,
including the cities of Chongqing, Beijing, Tianjin and Wuhan.
    Shares of Country Garden firmed as much as 4.8% on Monday
morning in early trading, while Sunac and CIFI rose 3.6% and
5.8%, respectively, before pulling back in mid-morning trade. 
    China aims to ramp up financing for residential projects in
the coming days as part of its support measures for real estate
firms, but banks' reluctance to lend to the sector will remain a
major obstacle for the distressed developers that need fresh
funding the most. 

 (Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Jamie Freed)
 ((clare.jim@thomsonreuters.com;))