China Ping An Bank enlists 41 realty firms eligible for funding support

Chinese lender Ping An Bank has put together a list of 41 real estate developers eligible for its funding support, marking the latest move aimed at reviving the country's crisis-hit property sector, as per reports

Ping An Bank, a unit of Ping An Insurance (Group) Co of China Ltd, decided to adjust criteria related to extending credit lines in order to meet builders' reasonable funding demand, a task set out in a major annual government economic conference last month, the report said. The report, which cited people familiar with the matter, said builders on Ping An Bank's list include state-backed and private sector companies, such as Longfor Group Holdings Ltd and China Vanke Co, adding that the Chinese lender distributed the list to its departments and branches earlier this month. It said other lenders may follow Ping An Bank's example.

"After the Central Financial Work Conference, various banks and other financial institutions are sparing no effort to take actions according to the guiding spirit to support the stable and healthy development of the real estate market," Ping An Bank said in a statement to Reuters, referring to a key twice-a-decade financial policy meeting held in October.

Ping An Bank held a meeting with real estate developers in December and "implemented measures according to the guidance", to meet the "reasonable demands" of certain developers regardless of their ownership structure, it said, without elaborating on the measures.

Longfor Group and China Vanke did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. China's property sector has been grappling with a liquidity crisis since mid-2021, with major developers defaulting on or delaying debt payments as they struggle to sell apartments and raise funds, weighing on the growth of the world's second-biggest economy.

Last week, the country's housing ministry and financial regulator asked local governments to better coordinate with financial institutions to provide financing support to real estate projects in an effort to support the ailing housing sector. 

(With Reuters inputs)