CX Daily: China Lines Up Yet More Aid for the Property Sector, But Will It Be Enough? (Part 1）

Seven of Guangzhou’s 11 districts ease Covid-19 testing. Shaanxi appoints the youngest provincial leader in China

Property /

Cover Story: China lines up yet more aid for the property sector, but will it be enough? (Part 1）

China is poised to roll out more policies to assist developers in an increasingly desperate attempt to arrest a protracted downturn of the multitrillion-dollar property sector, a key pillar of the world’s second- largest economy, Caixin learned from sources close to policymakers.

However, reversing the downturn in which housing sales plunged 28.4% in the first 10 months this year, will not be easy, and relying solely on financial tools may not be enough as the industry is undergoing fundamental change, analysts said.

Any substantial recovery will also depend on restoration of consumer confidence and the revival of the overall economy, they said. Growth slowed to 3.9% in the first three quarters, well below the 8.1% for all of last year and the government-set target of around 5.5% for 2022.

Covid-19 /

Guangzhou spares homebound from mass Covid testing

Seven of Guangzhou’s 11 districts eased Covid-19 testing, sparing people from the requirement who have no need to leave their homes, as the capital of South China’s Guangdong province attempts to reduce crowd infection risk and save resources.

The group includes homebound seniors, students taking classes online and people working from home, according to announcements published on Yuexiu and Liwan districts’ official WeChat accounts Sunday night and Monday morning.

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Xinjiang /

Cold snap in Northwest China leaves livestock trapped and herdsmen missing

A strong cold front and snowstorm swept through Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region over the weekend, leaving herdsmen missing and livestock trapped amid heavy snowfalls — an outcome likely exacerbated by pandemic control measures, Caixin learned.

Local meteorological stations issued a red warning for a cold front Saturday, the first such alert since 2008 when Xinjiang began providing weather disaster warnings. The city of Fukang in central-north Xinjiang experienced a temperature drop of 26.5 degrees Celsius in just 24 hours.

FINANCE & ECONOMY

　

Personnel /

Northwest region appoints youngest provincial leader in China

Shaanxi Governor Zhao Yide was appointed party secretary of the northwestern province, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported, making the 57-year-old the youngest provincial-level party chief in China.

Zhao, a long-time party official in East China’s Zhejiang province, took over from Liu Guozhong, who was promoted in October to the Communist Party Central Committee’s 24-member Politburo, the country’s top decision-making body.

Securities /

CSRC suspends Huajin Securities’ bond underwriting for three months

China’s stock regulator found flaws in internal controls and security mechanisms at some brokerages in a special inspection this year of eight large securities firms’ investment banking businesses.

Shanghai-based Huajin Securities Co. Ltd and Gansu-based state-owned China Dragon Securities Co. Ltd. were found with numerous serious violations, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said Friday in a statement. The regulator suspended Huajin Securities’ sponsorship and corporate bond underwriting businesses for three months.

Quick hits /

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BUSINESS & TECH

On Nov. 25, in a community in Xicheng District, Beijing, volunteers distributed express delivery to residents in the community. Photo: VCG　

Cars /

Covid lockdowns set to snap China’s car sales winning streak

Factory sales to distributors of passenger cars in China, the world’s largest automobile market, are on track to decline in November, snapping five consecutive months of increases as repeated lockdowns across the country under the “zero-Covid” strategy disrupt consumer spending and seize up logistics networks.

From Nov. 1 to 20, factory sales of passenger cars decreased 8% from the same period last year to 933,000 units, according to data from National Passenger Cars Association, an industry group. That compared poorly to October’s year-on-year growth of 11%.

Land /

China’s cities struggle to complete land sale plans

Multiple major cities in China will not be able to complete their annual land sale plans as cash-strapped property developers are still reluctant to bid despite of a raft of supportive government policies.

This year, 22 cities including Beijing, Shanghai and many provincial capitals planned to offer 31,814 acres of land for centralized auction, but only 55% of the property has been sold with a little more than a month left in the year. Chinese municipalities generate a significant share of their annual budgets from the sale of land-use rights.

Meituan /

Meituan posts surprise profit soon after Tencent announces exit

Shares of food delivery giant Meituan popped Monday the company reported its first profitable quarter in almost two years, just weeks after longtime backer Tencent Holdings Ltd. said it would give shareholders almost its entire stake in the platform.

Meituan’s shares traded up 2.05% Monday to close at HK$139.40 ($17.84). The company’s share price has dropped by nearly 40% since the beginning of this year.

Quick hits /

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Long Read /

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GALLERY

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