First batch of 'white lists' of real estate projects eligible for support financing handed to lenders

Several cities have rolled out the first lists of real estate projects eligible for financing in an effort to better support the nation's real estate development programs, China Construction News reported on Wednesday.

The so-called "white lists" were designed by the authorities to ensure that real estate projects get support in financing, obtain funds and development loans, step up coordination between real estate enterprises and financial institutions to issue loans, and effectively support reasonable financing needs, according to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

As of Tuesday, regulators in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality had released a white list targeting 314 real estate projects, with the first batch of funds doled out by 22 financial institutions totaling 83 billion yuan ($11.6 billion).

The financing approved list has been delivered to 28 major banks in the region including large banks, joint-stock banks, city commercial banks and three municipal corporate banks.

The local government in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region worked with housing and construction departments to release a white list covering 107 development projects, with one already receiving a development loan of 330 million yuan from China Minsheng Bank.

Chinese authorities have stepped up supports for real estate projects.

On January 26, the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA) vowed to accelerate the implementation of the urban real estate financing coordination mechanism, and carry out specific real estate financing projects in accordance with the principles of fairness and justice.

At a meeting on Tuesday, the NFRA vowed again that it will speed up the implementation of the coordinated financing mechanism and urge financial institutions to firmly support affordable housing. 

The regulator emphasized the need to delegate housing policies to individual cities, implement targeted measures according to local conditions, and encourage specific strategies to be taken by each city.

With financing policies being implemented at the provincial level, experts said that the market environment in the real estate sector is expected to improve, according to domestic news outlet thepaper.cn.