China property crisis will need more than ‘simple policy’ solutions, say experts at Forbes conference in Singapore

A “simple policy approach” will not fix China’s ongoing property turmoil as the market is suffering from a crisis of consumer confidence which will take a longer time to rectify, business leaders told a Singapore conference on Monday.

Bouts of policy easing such as lower interest rates would not boost the weak Chinese housing market instantly as it was no longer dented by a single problem of developer default, said Stephanie Lo, scion of leading Hong Kong property developer Shui On Group responsible for one of Shanghai’s trendy entertainment-retail developments, Xintiandi.

Lo, an executive director of Shui On Land and daughter of Shui On Group founder and billionaire Vincent Lo, told the Forbes Global CEO conference in Singapore on Monday the market would recover once economic growth as a whole returned to an upswing and employment figures lifted.

The forum in the island republic is the first of several high-profile business conferences being held ahead of this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, a mainstay of the annual motor racing calendar that has become a must-go networking event for the region’s business elite.

“[For] people to start to feel they have more confidence in jobs growth, in income growth, and therefore be more confident [about] deploying more of their savings into the property market, it will take some time,” Lo said during a panel discussion at the Forbes conference.

“While policy is very critical, I think it’s really important to look for future economic engines that will drive the economy. They’re investing a lot more into R&D, hi-tech … I think we’re seeing job growth in those areas. And for that to then trickle into the consumption spending, that will take a little bit of time.”

China’s housing market is struggling from an onslaught of property developer defaults – a problem that began when the country’s deleveraging campaign started in 2020 – and now, weak buyer demand.