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HONG KONG/SYDNEY, March 2 (Reuters) - Major property developer China Vanke Ltd said on Thursday it had raised HK$3.92 billion ($499 million) in a share placement in Hong Kong, in the first test of investor appetite towards a mainland developer share sale in 2023. Vanke shares fell as much as 5.3% to HK$13.16 early on Thursday, but narrowed losses to 3.7% by noon, versus a 0.5% fall in the Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index (.HSMPI). JP Morgan said Vanke's placement, while not a "total surprise", came earlier than expected because it is in a blackout period prior to earnings announcement. Vanke's share sale represented 13.6% of its enlarged H shares and 2.51% of its enlarged total share capital, including both shares issued in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. ($1 = 7.8490 Hong Kong dollars)($1 = 6.8942 Chinese yuan)Reporting by Scott Murdoch and Clare Jim; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Himani SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China property shares rise on easing of mortgage rules for some buyers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Shares of Chinese property developers climbed on Friday, lifted by more state support measures to bolster the highly indebted sector as China prepares to reopen its pandemic-hit economy. The property sector, which accounts for a quarter of China's massive economy, was badly hit last year after developers were unable to finish building projects that led to mortgage boycotts by some home buyers. Lockdowns and movement control measures to control the spread of COVID-19 also hurt buyer sentiment. The housing authorities also vowed to give strong support to first-time home buyers by allowing smaller down payments and cutting mortgage interest rates. Reporting by Clare Jim and Donny Kwok; Editing by Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

More than 30 mutual funds launched this week, mostly equity-focused, offering vehicles for recovery bets. Yang Delong, chief economist at First Seafront Fund Management expects China's economic growth to exceed 5% this year as COVID curbs are scrapped. Cao Ludi, fund manager at Fullgoal Fund Management, predicts an "N-shaped" economic recovery, as an expected Spring revival in activity will likely succumb to a harsh reality check in the second quarter. She advised against chasing the high-flying real estate and tourism stocks, as their "fundamentals remain a question mark." This should mean economic recovery by the second quarter, if not earlier."

☆ Asian shares higher as dollar retreats, risk events abound
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Stella Qiu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SYDNEY, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Asian shares tracked Wall Street higher amid hopes that China's economy would pick up pace as COVID-19 curbs ease, although caution ahead of a week full of risk events, including the Federal Reserve's policy meeting, could cap sentiment. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) rose 0.9% in early trade, edging closer to a three-month high hit earlier in the week. "This slowing is not a signal that the central bank's job is nearly done...the slower pace of hikes starts a new phase of the Fed's tightening cycle," said Brian Martin, head of G3 economics at ANZ. The U.S. dollar slid 0.2% against a basket of major currencies on Friday, on top of a drop of 0.4% overnight. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures surged 0.9% to $72.11 per barrel, while Brent crude settled at $76.15 a barrel, 1% higher.

An index tracking high-yield dollar bonds of Chinese developers (.IBXXAX13) has jumped more than 70% from its Nov. 3 low, but is still down about 70% from its peak in May, 2021. A growing list of Chinese developers have entered into or are preparing to kick-off debt restructuring talks with offshore bondholders after defaulting on payments. Of 241 dollar-denominated bonds issued by Chinese property firms, 211 are trading in distressed territory below 50 cents on the dollar, Refinitiv data shows. The recent rally in developers' shares and bonds on the back of funding support measures, however, has given investors some respite. "A recovery in property sales would be firmer in a re-opening scenario," said Justin Ong of Columbia Threadneedle, which holds China property bonds, as it would offer a clearer timeline for re-opening.

☆ World stocks in upbeat spirits, Fed's Powell in the spotlight
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Dhara Ranasinghe | Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, November 29, 2022. REUTERS/StaffLONDON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - World equity markets rallied on Wednesday and focus turned to Jerome Powell, who speaks later in the day in what will be the U.S. Federal Reserve chief's last opportunity to steer sentiment ahead of the Fed's December meeting. European stock markets rallied (.STOXX) and U.S. equity futures pointed to a firm start for Wall Street , . MSCI's broadest gauge of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) rallied more than 1% to its highest since September. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rallied more than 2% (.HSI), although Japan's blue-chip Nikkei fell 0.2% (.N225).

☆ Dollar nears 3-mth low, shares climb after Fed tests the brakes
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

For the currency markets, it meant the 7-week sell-off in the dollar continued. "The dollar could stay pressured for a bit longer, but it's probably embedding a good deal of Fed-related negatives now," analysts at ING wrote. Overnight, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) rose 1.3%, while Japan's Nikkei (.N225) and South Korean shares (.KS11) both rose around 1%. In the oil market, prices were slipping toward a major support level established in September. Wednesday's post-Fed U.S. bond market moves had seen yields on 10-year notes drop to a huge 79-basis-point deficit relative to two-year yields.

HONG KONG/BEIJING, Nov 24 (Reuters) - China's biggest commercial banks have pledged at least $162 billion in fresh credit to property developers, bolstering recent regulatory measures to ease a stifling cash crunch in the sector and triggering a rally in property shares. Three state-owned banks lined up around $131 billion worth of credit lines to developers on Thursday, a day after three other lenders committed $31 billion, responding to Beijing's call for support. The massive, coordinated injection of liquidity into the property sector buoyed the shares of major developers on Thursday. PSBC late on Thursday announced that it would provide a total of 280 billion yuan in financing to Country Garden as well as others. China Construction Bank Corp (601939.SS) signed cooperative agreements with eight property developers, including Vanke, Longfor and Midea, financial media outlet Yicai reported.

The plan comes as the cash-strapped sector has struggled with defaults and stalled projects, hitting market confidence and weighing on the world's second-largest economy. Policymakers' previous efforts to help financing has done little to bolster the property market. The Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index (.HSMPI) jumped 16.2%, with the share prices of many Chinese property developers posting double-digit gains. The notice "introduced by far the most comprehensive set of support measures for the ailing property market," it said. Some investors remained cautious about the impact of the latest policy, however, as regulators have already made many attempts to revive the property sector and the macro environment remains weak amid the country's COVID restrictions.

☆ China plan to restore sector liquidity boosts property stocks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Chinese property stocks soared on Monday as the market cheered an aggressive plan outlined by Chinese regulators to shore up liquidity in the embattled sector, with the sub-index surging close to a two-month high in early trading. The Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index (.HSMPI) gained 15%, while top property developers Country Garden (2007.HK) soared 33%, narrowing gains after rallying as much as 52% to the highest since July 27. Longfor Group (0960.HK), Agile Group (3383.HK), R&F Properties (2777.HK), Logan Group (3380.HK) and KWG Group (1813.HK) all jumped almost 30%. Two sources told Reuters a notice to financial institutions from the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) outlined 16 steps to support the industry, including loan repayment extensions, in a major push to ease a deep liquidity crunch that has plagued the property sector since mid-2020. Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa and Bradley PerrettOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China's property shares jump as regulators outline new financing package
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Chinese property stocks soared on Monday as the market cheered a new aggressive financing package outlined by Chinese regulators to shore up the liquidity of its embattled property sector, with the shares of many major companies surging over 14%. Large property developers Country Garden (2007.HK), Longfor Group (0960.HK), CIFI Holdings (0884.HK) and Greentown China (3900.HK) all jumped close to 15% at market open. The Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index (.HSMPI) gained 9.7%. Two sources told Reuters a notice to financial institutions from the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) outlined 16 steps to support the industry, including loan repayment extensions, in a major push to ease the deep liquidity crunch which has plagued the property sector since mid-2020. Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da CostaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The Hang Seng (.HSI) surged 5.3% and notched its biggest weekly gain in 11 years. Shares in online giants Alibaba (9988.HK) and JD.com (9618.HK) each rose more than 10% and the Hang Seng Tech index (.HSTECH) rose 7.5%. However the Hang Seng remains down 30% this year against a 24% fall in world stocks (.MIWD00000PUS). China stocks market capBUY THE RUMOURChanges to COVID policies have not been officially flagged. Yet markets have desperate reasons to rally after the Hang Seng hit a 13-year low last month in the wake of China's Communist Party Congress.

☆ China's CIFI suspends all offshore debt payments, starts restructuring
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Shanghai-based property developer CIFI Holdings (0884.HK) said on Tuesday it has suspended payments on all of its offshore debt after it failed to reach an agreement with creditors to which it owes $414 million in total. CIFI said in a filing it has engaged Haitong International Securities Company Limited as financial advisor and Linklaters as legal adviser to facilitate a restructuring of its $6.85 billion offshore debt, as it is likely to come under continued pressure to generate sufficient cash flows for repayments. CIFI and Longfor had borrowings of 114 billion yuan ($15.61 billion) and 212 billion yuan, respectively, as of June, and Greenland had 122 billion yuan. But it added its offshore debt issues do not materially affect its onshore financing arrangements as a whole and that its commercial operations remain normal. CIFI said on Oct. 13 it had not met certain offshore interest and amortisation payments due to delays in remittances during an extended holiday in mainland China.

☆ CIFI shares fall further, bonds mixed after clarification
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Xie Yu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Hong Kong-listed shares of CIFI were down 25.6% at HK$0.64 after hitting a record low of HK$0.63 earlier in the session. The stock fell 32.3% on Wednesday after reports said the company had missed payment on certain non-standard debt. The company said it made interest payment on Wednesday in respect to its offshore 6.55% senior notes due 2024. CIFI's dollar bonds strengthened marginally across the curve after the filing, but its onshore bonds broadly continued to fall on Thursday. A broader index tracking mainland developers listed in Hong Kong (.HSMPI) fell 2.5%, adding to its 6.4% fall on Wednesday and hitting a record low.

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