Government insists property regulations will stay

China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development reiterated that it would "strictly" enforce existing property and lending regulations aimed at curbing property speculation, state media reported. The announcement came in a statement posted on the Ministry website, and responded to market rumors that more onerous aspects of the existing restrictions might soon be lifted, especially those sharply regulating loans on second home purchases. Chinese stocks dropped and the benchmark index fell the most in two weeks on the announcement.