S&P: Developers face further rating downgrades

Chinese property developers could face further credit rating downgrades in the next six months due to refinancing risks, according to S&P (a subsidiary of McGraw-Hill Companies; MHP.NYSE), Bloomberg reported. The ratings agency said that new home prices could drop 10% by June from 2011 levels. “The worst is yet to come for Chinese developers,” wrote Bei Fu, an analyst at the firm. “Many developers in China may be at increased risk of refinancing due to weaker property sales, high funding costs and tightened liquidity. And that will increase pressure on ratings.” S&P said that Beijing is unlikely to reverse course this year, but it could ease restrictions in the second half if the economy is worse than expected. Some analysts disagreed with the S&P’s prediction: Jing Ulrich, managing director and chairman of global markets for China at JPMorgan Chase, commented that the “worst is behind us” in the property market.