China restricts 'asset management plans' that inflate housing

China has banned the registration of privately offered asset management plans (AMPs) that channel funds to commercial housing projects in 16 cities where home prices had been rising fast – the country’s latest effort to curb investment in the real estate market. The regulation, which took effect Monday, said that the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC), a government-affiliated industry group, has suspended the registration by fund companies for five types of AMPs that provide funding to real estate developers, according to a post on the industry group’s website. According to Caixin, these AMPs are often used to circumvent restrictions on whom fund companies can make loans to. Money raised by fund companies through these AMPs has poured into the property market in 2016, inflating a potential bubble.