China’s troubled property market is seeing an increase in state-backed developers purchasing land sold by local authorities, while private companies are lowering their share of purchases, reports Caixin. Ten state-backed developers took up 15 out of the 17 residential land plots recently sold by the Guangzhou government through public auctions, accounting for 95% of the total transaction value. Two private companies bought two plots.
Guangzhou Metro, the southern city’s subway operator, was the biggest winner with the purchase of four plots for RMB 16.5 billion ($2.5 billion), nearly half of the total land sales value. The Guangzhou government put up 18 plots for auction Thursday in its first batch of land sales this year. Seventeen of the plots were successfully sold for a total of RMB 34.1 billion.
The land auction in Guangzhou offers a snapshot of state-backed developers’ expansion in the national land market as private businesses grow more cautious on spending amid the market slump.