China expands project ‘white list’ to ease blues in property market

As China works to give its property market a lift, government agencies have been tasked to step up financing for major real estate projects

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To promote growth for the rest of the year, China has proposed greater levels of financing for the construction of approved housing projects. Photo: AP

Published: 9:30am, 10 Oct 2024

As China marshals its resources to safeguard home deliveries and restore stability to its teetering property market, authorities are pushing local governments and financial institutions to provide essential funding for ongoing projects and build on a recent wellspring of positive momentum.

Tools like the “white list” should be carefully expanded to boost financing for struggling developers and tamp down wider market risks, the country’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and National Financial Regulatory Administration said at a joint video conference in late September.

According to an official readout from the conference released on Wednesday, the two bodies called for “strengthening the oversight of white list projects, the restoration of problem projects and increasing the issuance of loans to meet the reasonable financing needs of real estate developments.”

The white list is an itemised register of real estate projects or developers that have been ruled compliant with regulations and thereby eligible for financial support. These projects receive priority in the allocation of loans and other funding to ensure they can continue construction and meet delivery deadlines as part of a broader effort to stabilise the real estate market.

“This is a critical stage in the battle to ensure project deliveries,” the conference summary read. “Local task forces and financial institutions must strengthen their sense of responsibility and urgency, widening the scope of the white list to ensure all compliant real estate projects are included.”

The agencies also urged responsible parties at the national, provincial, and municipal levels to address “key problems” – including judicial processes for insolvent projects – remain focused on meeting annual delivery targets, manage the inventory of unsold properties and deal with the issue of idle land.