London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025

China property shares soar on Beijing stimulus, despite continued debt crisis

China property shares soar on Beijing stimulus, despite continued debt crisis

Plans to shore up real estate and tech sectors welcomed by investors, but downgrade of third-biggest developer Sunac shows problems persist
Chinese property shares have soared for a second day thanks to a decision by Beijing’s leadership to throw the country’s struggling real estate sector a lifeline amid growing pressures at home and abroad.

Despite a downgrade for China’s third-biggest property developer Sunac on Thursday, stocks in the sector lifted again in Hong Kong and the mainland thanks to an announcement by vice premier Liu He, China’s economic tsar, on Wednesday that the government needed to reduce risks in the industry.

In a sign of the heightened concern inside China’s Communist party leadership about the property sector and the economy in general – best illustrated by the near-collapse of the giant developer Evergrande – Liu urged the roll-out of market-friendly policies to support the economy.

That pushed up the Hang Seng mainland properties index 14.8% by midday in Hong Kong on Thursday, versus a 5.8% gain in the main Hang Seng index. The sub-index had already jumped 14.7% on Wednesday.

Technology shares have also bounced back after being under pressure for months. The Hang Seng tech tracker rose more than 7% after a stunning 22% gain on Wednesday, though has still halved in value from its peaks last year.

However, some investors are concerned that the property rally is not sustainable because it comes against a backdrop of continued problems for China’s biggest developers.

Sunac China, the nation’s third-biggest property developer by sales, was downgraded to B- credit rating by the agency S&P on Thursday – making it harder to borrow money – because of concerns that it might not be able to meet its huge debt repayments of nearly $4bn due this year.

Analysts at S&P have revised Sunac China’s liquidity position downwards from “less than adequate” to “weak”, and warned that the ratings will be reviewed as soon as “we have greater visibility on Sunac’s refinancing plans”.

They wrote: “Sunac China Holdings Ltd is facing concentrated debt repayment over the next six to 12 months, resulting in considerable refinancing risk and weak liquidity. Capital market confidence is weakening rapidly.”

Despite this gloomy assessment, Sunac’s shares were up 60% in Hong Kong on Thursday afternoon. Other major developer Country Garden and Evergrande were both more than 20% to the good.

The real estate sector, a key driver of growth, has struggled for months as Beijing’s campaign to reduce high debt levels triggered a liquidity crisis among some major developers, resulting in bond defaults and shelved projects.

After Liu’s comment, the banking and insurance regulator also said on Wednesday it would seek to stabilise land and home prices, transform the real estate sector and encourage mergers and acquisition loans for developers to purchase distressed assets.
The finance ministry later said China was putting a planned property tax trial this year on ice, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Bill Bishop, the China observer and author of the Sinocism newsletter, said on Thursday that the move by Liu to try to shore up the markets showed how concerned Beijing had become.

“The readout shows how worried policymakers have become about the markets, real estate and the economy but I would be cautious in assuming that the messaging from Liu He and other financial regulators means the tough days are over,” he wrote.

“They are certainly trying to send a signal that they don’t want markets to go down more, but is it not clear this a real shift or more of a calibration to stabilize things.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×