After lifting strict COVID controls at the end of 2022, China was disappointed. It was battered by a debt crisis in the property sector and sluggish consumer demand, making it the world’s number-two economy and the straggler during global stability.
Stocks in Shanghai and Hong Kong fell on a mixed day for Asian markets Thursday as Chinese traders shrugged off Beijing’s latest plan to boost the country’s troubled property sector, which fell short of expectations.
China’s housing minister announced a new set of initiatives in the latest attempt to convince traders that the government was finally gaining control of a painful real-estate crisis.
The world’s second-largest economy has yet to regain traction since lifting strict Covid curbs at the end of last year. It’s been hit by a debt crisis within the property sector and weak consumer demand.
In the interim, authorities have declared a succession of piecemeal measures to little avail. But last month’s raft of pledges sparked blockbuster rallies on the mainland and Hong Kong on hopes that more may be in the pipeline.
But news conferences last Tuesday and Saturday took the wind out of those sails and led to a fresh about of volatility in trading floors.
Analysts said the latest briefing from Housing Minister Ni Hong also left investors wanting.
Ni said Thursday that officials would almost double the credit available to complete unfinished housing projects to $562 billion and help renovate a million homes.
He said the move would “be conducive to absorbing the existing stock of commercial housing.”
But SPI Asset Management analyst Stephen Innes said: “They’re still trying to talk the talk, with more noise about stabilizing the property market.”.
