By Rebecca Feng
Chinese property stocks sank, reflecting investor disappointment about new moves to shore up the battered real-estate sector.
China's housing ministry unveiled a series of initiatives Thursday, including fast-tracking credit for struggling developers and renovating a million apartments in so-called urban shantytowns.
But the briefing showed China isn't aiming for a V-shaped recovery, wrote Raymond Yeung, chief China economist at ANZ.
"Without announcing a major shift in housing policy stance, the policy measure will not induce massive investment demand in real estate," he said in a note.
-- A Hong Kong property sub-index that includes many Chinese real-estate stocks fell 4.4%.
-- Shares in Sunac China, Kaisa and R&F, all of which have defaulted on international debts, declined more than 20%.
Housing Minister Ni Hong said by year-end some $550 billion of loans will be deployed to fund "white-listed" unfinished housing projects. Loans so far to such projects total $313 billion, officials said.
Officials added they would demolish a million shantytown apartments and compensate residents with cash or new housing. China ran a similar program in 2015 during a previous downturn.
In the past three weeks, Chinese officials have held a series of briefings about stimulus measures. Thursday's update followed earlier announcements by the central bank, economic planners, and the finance ministry.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 17, 2024 06:13 ET (10:13 GMT)
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