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☆ Big Chinese cities are making it easier to buy homes to boost depressed property market
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Last October it removed curbs in most districts, and in March loosened restrictions on purchases of second homes. Other cities have also taken major steps to make the process of buying property easier. Changsha, the capital city of Hunan province, has also lifted home purchase curbs since last month. “The April Politburo meeting set a more supportive tone for the property sector, prioritizing the reduction of existing home inventory,” they said. “This may suggest that more local governments may be allowed to purchase homes directly from the market for social housing purposes.”

Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Geely, Hangzhou Housing Security, Real, Administration, Getty Images, homebuyers, Communist Party, UBS Locations: China, Hong Kong, Hangzhou, Chengdu, China's, Sichuan, Getty Images Chengdu, Changsha, Hunan province, Evergrande, Beijing

☆ Fitch's negative outlook for China is more bad news for its stalling economy
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewFitch Ratings has cut its outlook for China, adding to the gloom surrounding the world's second-largest economy. It cut its outlook from "stable" to "negative," but maintained its overall rating at "A+." The move comes after Moody's Investor Services, another major credit-rating agency, also downgraded its outlook for China to "negative" in December. As a result Fitch expects economic growth to fall to 4.5% for 2024. The ratings agency said policymakers will probably have no choice but to borrow to address its economic woes.

Persons: —, Fitch, Fitch's Organizations: Service, Business, Moody's Investor Services, Analysts, St Louis Federal Reserve, CSI Locations: China, Beijing

☆ Shimao Group: Another big Chinese property developer faces a liquidation suit
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Diksha Madhok | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Shanghai-based property giant Shimao Group said on Monday that it had received a liquidation petition from a Chinese state-owned bank in yet another instance of creditors taking legal action to reclaim money from troubled developers in the world’s second-largest economy. A “winding-up petition” was filed against the company by China Construction Bank (Asia) on April 5 in Hong Kong, according to a stock exchange filing by Shimao. The company’s shares were down over 14% in Hong Kong on Monday, having fallen nearly 40% this year. In January, Evergrande, the world’s most-indebted property developer and the poster child of China’s property crisis, was ordered to liquidate by a Hong Kong court. Country Garden, another major developer that defaulted on its debt last year, received a liquidation petition in February from a creditor after not repaying a loan.

Persons: ”, Shimao Organizations: CNN, Shimao, China Construction Bank, HK Locations: Shanghai, Asia, Hong Kong, Evergrande

☆ Country Garden misses results and likely faces trade suspension in fresh blow for China’s property sector
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Hong Kong CNN —Troubled housing giant Country Garden announced late Thursday that it would delay the publication of its annual results, in the latest sign of the turmoil still coursing through China’s huge property sector. The move is likely to cause its share trading to be suspended from Tuesday, as is required by Hong Kong’s listing rules. Country Garden, once the China’s largest property developer, is reeling under about $194 billion worth of debt. Last month, it received a liquidation petition in Hong Kong from a creditor for non-payment of a loan worth 1.6 billion Hong Kong dollars ($204 million), according to the company. Country Garden’s woes echo that of another huge, and now insolvent, Chinese property giant Evergrande.

Persons: Hong Kong’s, Evergrande Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Garden, Hong Kong Locations: Hong Kong, China’s

☆ China Evergrande Founder Accused of Exaggerating Revenue by $78 Billion
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Alexandra Stevenson | More About Alexandra Stevenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

China Evergrande Group exaggerated its revenue by more than $78 billion and committed securities fraud over two years before its spectacular collapse in 2021, a top Chinese regulator said. The China Securities Regulatory Commission accused Hui Ka Yan, the founder of Evergrande, of “making decisions and organizing fraud,” the company reported in a filing to the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges on Monday night. Xia Haijun, a former chief executive, was fined $2 million and also banned from financial markets, along with several other executives. The New York Times reported in December that questionable accounting and poor oversight led to Evergrande’s demise. Over the years before it defaulted on its debt, Evergrande had been treating money it received for apartments as revenue even though at times it had not built those apartments, the Times reported.

Persons: Hui Ka Yan, Hui, Xia Haijun, Evergrande Organizations: China, Group, China Securities Regulatory Commission, New York Times, Times Locations: Shanghai, Shenzhen

☆ China Evergrande's flagship unit, founder punished for securities fraud
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Evergrande Group headquarters building in Shenzhen is pictured on January 11, 2022 in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province of China. China Evergrande Group founder Hui Ka Yan will be barred from the securities market for life and fined 47 million yuan ($6.53 million) after the regulator accused the group's flagship unit of inflating results, securities fraud and failing to make timely disclosures. China Evergrande Group founder Hui Ka Yan will be barred from the securities market for life and fined 47 million yuan ($6.53 million) after the regulator accused the group's flagship unit of inflating results, securities fraud and failing to make timely disclosures. It comes days after the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or CSRC, vowed to crack down on securities fraud, and protect small investors with "teeth and horns". Last September, Evergrande said its founder was being investigated over suspected crimes.

Persons: Hui Ka Yan, Evergrande Organizations: Group, China Evergrande Group, Evergrande, Hong Kong High Court, China Securities Regulatory Commission Locations: Shenzhen, Guangdong Province of China, China

☆ Evergrande: China accuses troubled property developer of committing financial fraud in $78 billon case
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Hong Kong CNN —Chinese regulators have accused Evergrande and its founder of inflating revenues by $78 billion, putting the insolvent property developer at the heart of the country’s biggest ever financial fraud case. Xu Jiayin, founder and chairman of the Evergrande Group, was fined 47 million yuan ($6.5 million) for the overstatement and other alleged violations. The regulator said Hengda had fabricated 214 billion yuan ($30 billion) in sales for 2019, which accounted for half of that year’s revenue. Another 350 billion yuan ($48.6 billion) in sales for 2020, accounting for 78% of revenue, were also falsified. “Xu Jiayin had made decisions, organized, and implemented the financial fraud … Xia Haijun had organized, arranged and prepared the falsified financial reports… their means were really bad and the circumstances were grave,” the regulator said.

Persons: Evergrande, Xu Jiayin, ”, Hengda, Xu, Xia Haijun, “ Xu Jiayin Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, China Securities Regulatory Commission, Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Evergrande Locations: China, Hong Kong

☆ Beijing says Evergrande and its tycoon founder committed a $78 billion fraud. That would rank it as one of the biggest financial frauds ever.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Beijing has accused Evergrande of inflating revenue by $78 billion in 2019 and 2020. Regulatory authorities have fined Evergrande's founder and banned him from the securities market for life. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementIt just seems to get worse and worse for fallen Chinese real-estate giant Evergrande.

Persons: —, it's, Hengda, Hui Ka Yan, Xu Jiayin Organizations: Service, China Securities Regulatory Commission, Business Locations: Beijing, China —

☆ China's property crisis could get even uglier. This time, a state-backed developer is the one raising concerns.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

China's years-long property crisis could get worse. There are concerns over Vanke amid reports the state-backed property developer was seeking debt maturity extensions. AdvertisementChina's years-long real-estate debt crisis has already taken down property giant Evergrande, which is undergoing liquidation. But China's property crisis could still get worse. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: —, that's, Charlene Chu Organizations: Service, Autonomous Research, Bloomberg, Business Locations: China

☆ Vanke: China scrambles to prevent another big property developer going bust
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Vanke’s stock soared in Hong Kong and Shenzhen following the reports of potential new financing. On Monday, Moody’s cut Vanke’s rating to Ba1, which is often referred to as a junk rating. Residential buildings being built by Vanke in Nanjing STR/AFP/Getty ImagesFounded in 1984 in Shenzhen, Vanke is a flagship company in China’s property sector. It was the first listed property company in mainland China, boasting a high-profile IPO in 1991 on the still-nascent Shenzhen Stock Exchange. In 2023, property sales dropped 6.5% from 2022.

Persons: Moody’s, China Vanke, Vanke, Kaven Tsang, Fitch, Wang Shi, Donald Trump, Refinitiv Eikon, Vanke’s, it’s, —, Ni, ”, ” Nomura Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Economic Observer, CNN, Getty, Time, Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Shenzhen Metro, National People’s Congress Locations: China, Hong Kong, Beijing, Evergrande, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Vanke

☆ China's housing minister says real estate developers must go bankrupt if necessary
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING — China's struggling real estate developers won't be getting a major bailout, Chinese authorities have indicated, warning that those who "harm the interests of the masses" will be punished. "For real estate companies that are seriously insolvent and have lost the ability to operate, those that must go bankrupt should go bankrupt, or be restructured, in accordance with the law and market principles," Ni Hong, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, said at a press conference Saturday. "Those who commit acts that harm the interests of the masses will be resolutely investigated and punished in accordance with the law," he said. That's according to a CNBC translation of his Mandarin-language remarks published in an official transcript of the press conference, held alongside China's annual parliamentary meetings. Ni's comments come as major real estate developers from Evergrande to Country Garden have defaulted on their debt, while plunging new home sales have put future business into question.

Persons: China's Organizations: BEIJING, Hong, Housing, CNBC Locations: Evergrande

☆ Beijing says property developers in deep trouble must go bankrupt
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

China's housing minister, Ni Hong, said real-estate developers in serious trouble should be bankrupted and restructured. Analysts suggest Beijing's priority is to ensure delivery of property projects, not to save developers. AdvertisementChina's housing minister said Beijing will not be bailing out the country's distressed property developers. China's real-estate debt crisis has already taken down property giant Evergrande, which is currently undergoing liquidation. "We view the tone on the property sector set at the 'Two Sessions' as negative," they added, referring to China's parliamentary sessions.

Persons: Ni Hong, —, Xi, Li Qiang's, Ni, Jizhou Dong, Riley Jin Organizations: Service, Authorities, Nomura Locations: China, Beijing, Hong Kong

☆ Deutsche Bank to file liquidation suit against Chinese developer Shimao, Reuters reports
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Deutsche Bank is preparing a liquidation lawsuit in Hong Kong against Chinese developer Shimao Group, two sources said, in a rare move by a foreign firm that comes amid rising credit defaults and China's deepening property sector crisis. Deutsche Bank is preparing a liquidation lawsuit in Hong Kong against Chinese developer Shimao Group, two sources said, in a rare move by a foreign firm that comes amid rising credit defaults and China's deepening property sector crisis. After that missed payment, its entire $11.7 billion worth of offshore debt is deemed to be in default. Deutsche Bank declined to comment. Reuters could not determine the amount of exposure Deutsche Bank had to the developer.

Persons: Shimao Organizations: Deutsche Bank, Shimao, China Evergrande Group Locations: Hong Kong, Shanghai, China

☆ Evergrande chairman's second seized Hong Kong mansion put up for sale
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

China Evergrande Center sign seen on the front of their building. A second mansion in Hong Kong that once belonged to China Evergrande Group's chairman has been put up for sale by its receivers, according to property agent Savills. A second mansion in Hong Kong that once belonged to China Evergrande Group's chairman has been put up for sale by its receivers, according to property agent Savills. Evergrande, the world's most indebted property developer which defaulted its offshore debt in late 2021, was liquidated by a Hong Kong court in January. Hui owned three mansions in the same residential development on the Peak in Hong Kong.

Persons: China Evergrande, Savills, Hui Ka Yan, Hui Locations: China, Hong Kong

☆ How China's property bubble burst
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Gaelle Legrand | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Since China's economic liberalization in the 1970s and housing reforms in the late 1980s, locals have flocked to properties as the investment vehicle of choice over alternatives such as the stock market. The property and construction boom helped fuel China's – and the world's – economic growth for 30 years. By some estimates, property in China was worth $60 trillion at its peak, making it the biggest asset class in the world. But the country's property crisis has deeper roots than speculation and uncontrollable debt. Watch the video to find out how China's property bubble burst.

Persons: wasn't Locations: China, Beijing

☆ Country Garden: Troubled Chinese property developer faces liquidation petition
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Juliana Liu | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Hong Kong CNN —Chinese property developer Country Garden, which defaulted on its debt last year, says it has received a liquidation petition from a creditor after not repaying a loan. The winding-up petition was filed by Ever Credit Limited, which had lent Country Garden a term loan facility worth 1.6 billion Hong Kong dollars ($204.5 million), the developer said in a Wednesday stock exchange filing. The news, which sent shares in the developer falling by more than 12%, comes just a month after rival property firm Evergrande was ordered to liquidate by a Hong Kong court in a landmark ruling. As for Country Garden, it said in the filing it would “vigorously” oppose the liquidation petition, which was filed at Hong Kong’s High Court on Tuesday. Formerly China’s largest homebuilder, Country Garden missed the payment on a $500 million bond as it battled a liquidity crisis.

Persons: Evergrande, “ Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Ever Credit, Hong Kong, Hong, Garden Locations: China, Hong Kong, Evergrande

☆ China's Country Garden gets liquidation petition from creditor
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Shreyashi Sanyal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

China's Country Garden Holdings said Wednesday it received a liquidation petition filed by one of its creditors, deepening worries about the country's beleaguered property sector. Country Garden said it will oppose the petition "vigorously" and seek legal measures to do so. Country Garden said it intends to "proactively communicate" and work with its offshore creditors on its restructuring plan. China's property sector has historically been the bedrock of the country's economy, accounting for a large share of gross domestic product. Companies like Country Garden and Evergrande have struggled to repay their debt obligations and are now embroiled in drawn-out debt restructuring processes.

Persons: China Evergrande Organizations: Garden Holdings, Hong Kong, Monetary Fund, Companies Locations: Hong Kong, China

☆ Another Chinese Property Giant Faces a Creditor Who Wants It Dismantled
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Keith Bradsher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Country Garden, China’s largest real estate developer as recently as 2022, said on Wednesday that a creditor had asked a Hong Kong court to liquidate its operations and pay off lenders, in the latest sign that China’s housing crisis continues unabated. Ever Credit Ltd., a Hong Kong lender, is petitioning the city’s High Court to shut down Country Garden. Ever Credit’s petition, known as a winding up petition, is meant to force Country Garden to close its doors and sell its assets to make money it can use to pay back its creditors. Country Garden dethroned Evergrande as China’s largest developer in 2021 when Evergrande endured a financial collapse. Country Garden said it would fight the court petition “vigorously,” and that the first hearing on the petition had been scheduled for May 17.

Persons: Evergrande, “ Organizations: Hong Locations: Hong Kong, China

☆ HSBC 2023 results: $3 billion China writedown hits annual profit
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Juliana Liu | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Of the total, $3 billion was related to BoCom, one of China’s biggest banks, while $2 billion was from selling its retail banking business in France. Separately, HSBC made $3.4 billion in provisions to cover expected credit losses and other charges related to its exposure to the commercial real estate sector in mainland China. The property market has since entered a prolonged slump, marked by an ongoing decline in real estate investment and sales of property. The charges reported by HSBC cast a shadow over its record annual profit, which came in at $30.3 billion, up 78% from 2022. In October, rival Standard Chartered reported a $186 million credit impairment charge related to commercial real estate in the country.

Persons: “, Matt Britzman, Hargreaves Lansdown, Mark Tucker, — Hanna Ziady Organizations: Hong Kong CNN — HSBC, China’s Bank of Communications, HSBC, HSBC isn’t, Chartered Locations: China, Hong Kong, Asia, France, BoCom, Mainland China

☆ LPR: China makes biggest-ever cut to key mortgage rate to support housing market
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —China’s central bank has cut its key mortgage reference rate by a record amount, as it ramps up efforts to stem a prolonged property crisis. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) announced Tuesday that it would cut its five-year loan prime rate (LPR) from 4.2% to 3.95%, while keeping the one-year LPR unchanged at 3.45%. The 25 basis point cut to the five-year LPR is the biggest reduction the central bank has made since it revamped its LPR system in 2019. The latest cut was also the first reduction to the five-year LPR since June 2023. “Today’s 25 (basis point) cut to the five-year LPR is clearly aimed at supporting the housing market,” analysts from Capital Economics said in a note on Tuesday.

Persons: “, ” Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, People’s Bank of China, Capital Economics, Zhongrong Trust, State Administration of Foreign Exchange Locations: China, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen

☆ The Evergrande collapse is not China's 'Lehman moment,' but it does complicate an economic recovery, think tank says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Aruni Soni | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Evergrande collapse is not China's 'Lehman moment,' but it does complicate an economic recovery, CFR expert said. "Unlike Lehman, Evergrande's insolvency is due to its excessive borrowing and aggressive use of leverage, not over-securitization." This has spurred on the question: is the Evergrande collapse China's "Lehman moment?" One famed hedge-fund boss said China's property crash was like the Great Financial Crisis from 2008 "on steroids." "Unlike Lehman, Evergrande's insolvency is due to its excessive borrowing and aggressive use of leverage, not over-securitization."

Persons: Lehman, —, Evergrande, Zoe Liu, Liu Organizations: Service, of Foreign Relations, Lehman Brothers Locations: Hong Kong

☆ The 2008 housing bust suggests China's only halfway through its property crisis. Here's how the downturns compare.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

"We estimate that real house prices in China declined 16% from the peak in 2021Q3 to 2023Q3," Goldman analysts said. For context, US real house prices peaked in early 2006 and bottomed in 2012. Goldman's derived measure of China's real house prices has only dropped by half as much as the US saw during its six-year collapse, as the chart shows below. Goldman Sachs"[O]verly loose mortgage lending standards and too much mortgage debt, which were at the center of the US subprime crisis, do not apply in China," Goldman analysts said. Foreclosures soared as homeowners couldn't afford to pay off or refinance their mortgages, which lowered house prices further.

Persons: —, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Price Organizations: Service, International Monetary Fund, Business, Housing Locations: China, Beijing, 2021Q3

☆ The commercial real estate crisis will prompt the Fed's first rate cut in May, top economist says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Yuheng Zhan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Yet, nearing mission-accomplished on inflation won't be the reason the central bank cuts rates, according to one top economist. Instead, Komal Sri-Kumar, president of Sri-Kumar Global Strategies, says that the ongoing commercial real estate crisis will force the Fed to cut rates as early as May. Lessons from the 2008 crisis show that the Fed should cut sooner rather than later to avoid the worst of the pain, Sri-Kumar said. The fears stem in part from exposure to commercial real estate. "The commercial real estate problem is also now in Europe.

Persons: —, Komal, Kumar, Lehman, Janet Yellen, it's, China's, Jerome Powell, Tom Lee Organizations: Service, Sri, Kumar, Business, Lehman Brothers, York Community Bank, Evergrande Locations: China, Europe, Japan

☆ China replaces head of securities regulator after stock market meltdown
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Laura He | Wayne Chang | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Hong Kong CNN —China has replaced the head of its securities regulator, as public anger over the meltdown in the stock market grows. Wu, 59, was also the chairman of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the largest stock exchange in mainland China, between 2016 and 2018. Chinese stock markets have stabilised this week but they had a dire 2023 and have been the world’s worst performer this year. By Monday, about $6.1 trillion in market value had been wiped from the Chinese and Hong Kong stock markets since their recent peaks in February 2021. On Wednesday, mainland Chinese stock markets logged a second straight day of gains.

Persons: Wu Qing, Yi Huiman, Wu, “, Evergrande Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, China Securities Regulatory Commission, Xinhua, Shanghai Stock Exchange, Embassy, Central Huijin Investment, Shenzhen Component Locations: Hong Kong, China, Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, United States

☆ China's housing bust is happening at 'a historically rapid pace' only seen in the worst collapses of the last 3 decades
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Most pressing, however, is its real estate trouble, which the International Monetary Fund characterized as a historic bust matching levels only seen in the worst collapses of the last three decades. AdvertisementYears of overreliance on real estate as an engine of the economy has led to a buildup of risks, the researchers said. Now, Beijing must clean up distressed developers like Evergrande and Country Garden, support falling real estate prices, and figure out how to put the sector on a more sustainable path. The collapse has transpired at "a historically rapid pace only seen in the largest housing busts in cross-country experience in the last three decades," researchers said. "Large public subsidies in the previous decade helped millions of people move to newer housing from older buildings lacking modern amenities.

Persons: Henry Hoyle, Sonali Jain, Chandra, homebuyers Organizations: International Monetary, Business, Housing, IMF Locations: Beijing, China

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