China v. bank discusses asset disposals by property companies, sources say

People wearing face masks walk past the headquarters of China’s central bank People’s Bank of China (PBOC), April 4, 2020. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang

HONG KONG/BEIJING, April 25 (Reuters) – China’s central bank met with banks last week to discuss the disposal of non-performing assets by property developers, four sources familiar with the matter said, as regulators seek to strengthen the real estate sector. which was hit by default.

A dozen cash-strapped property companies, including China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) and Kaisa Group (1638.HK), were invited to Tuesday’s meeting, two of the sources said.

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) encouraged commercial banks at the meeting to offer new loans and extend existing loans to developers, the sources said.

Five national asset management firms were also present at the meeting, the sources added.

The China Securities Journal first reported on the meeting, saying developers in attendance included Zhongliang Holdings (2772.HK) and Yango Group (000671.SZ).

Kaisa declined to comment. PBOC, Evergrande, Zhongliang and Yango did not respond to requests for comment.

Beijing has signaled the government will provide more support to the struggling sector after bond defaults by Evergrande and other property developers rattled global markets.

But China’s promises to shore up the industry have done little to boost the outlook, developers said, as they struggle to access funding and many local government authorities remain reluctant to relax rules. of development. Read more

Two developers who attended Tuesday’s meetings said Monday they weren’t too optimistic about the prospects of getting more funding from banks.

Reporting by Clare Jim in Hong Kong and Shuyan Wang in Beijing; Editing by Edmund Blair

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