China’s ‘critical’ property sector must ensure timely delivery of homes, says Vice-Premier He Lifeng

Vice-Premier He Lifeng urged on-time delivery of properties and financing support for developers at a meeting in central China over the weekend, rallying efforts to revive a sector critical for this year’s economic growth target and financial stability.

China’s property sector once contributed about a quarter of the national economic output, but it has yet to bottom-out in terms of investment and sales, while market confidence remains weak.

“We must understand the property sector is critical,” the vice-premier told local officials, developers and bankers in Zhengzhou, Henan province, during the two-day inspection tour.

“There must be dedicated funding coordination mechanisms to expeditiously loan to all the projects that meet the ‘whitelist’ requirements for timely completion and delivery.”

China’s so-called whitelist was launched by the housing ministry at the start of the year, with provincial governments asked to recommend to banks local residential projects that are deemed financially sound and fit for further loan support.