China issued sweeping directives to rescue its property sector, adding to a major recalibration of its pandemic response in the strongest signs yet that leader Xi Jinping is turning his attention toward shoring up the world’s second-largest economy, reports Bloomberg.
Financial regulators issued a 16-point plan to boost the real estate market on Friday, with measures that range from addressing developers’ liquidity crisis to loosening down-payment requirements for homebuyers, according to people familiar with the matter. The move coincided with a publicly announced 20-point playbook from the National Health Commission aimed at reducing the economic and social impact of containing COVID.
The major policy shifts by Xi’s government will likely aid China’s growth outlook and add fuel to a market rally that sent a gauge of Chinese shares in Hong Kong up 17% in the past two weeks, though significant headwinds for the economy and the property sector are likely to remain.