Beijing Boosts Support for Distressed Property Developers with Whitelist Initiative

Local governments in China are adding property projects to 'whitelists' for bank loans, aiming to inject liquidity into the real estate sector.

Several distressed property developers, including Sunac, Country Garden, and CIFI, have had projects added to local governments' 'whitelists' for financial support.
The 'whitelist' mechanism, launched in January 2024, enables selected projects to receive bank loans to ease financial pressures and ensure project completion.
As of last week, whitelists from 11 provincial and municipal governments included some 1,775 projects requiring over 370 billion yuan in financing.
The initiative is part of Beijing's efforts to alleviate an industry-wide liquidity crunch and boost homebuyer sentiment amid declining new home prices.
Stocks of listed developers like Country Garden, Sunac, and CIFI saw varying responses, with some experiencing price increases following the announcements.