(Bloomberg) -- Banks in several cities around Beijing have reportedly lowered mortgage rates for some homebuyers, expanding a nationwide campaign to ease financing and purchasing curbs to arrest a slump in housing demand. 

Tsinghua Holdings Corp.’s dollar bond trustee Citicorp International said it may not be able to receive or remit funds offshore to pay noteholders under the defaulter’s debt restructuring plan, according to letters to investors seen by Bloomberg News.

Elsewhere, China’s state asset regulator pledged that the country’s biggest government-owned firms will put more effort into stabilizing growth and controlling risks this year as they face greater downward pressure. 

Key Developments:

  • Several Chinese Cities Ease Housing Loans, Down Payment: Daily
  • China Central SOEs to Focus on Growth, Risk as Pressure Mounts
  • Unigroup USD Bonds’ Trustee Says No Assurance It Can Remit Funds
  • China Sees Moderate Rise in CPI, Developer Default Risks: Xinhua

Several Chinese Cities Ease Housing Loans, Down Payment: Daily (08:17 a.m. HK)

Banks in several cities around Beijing have lowered mortgage rates for some homebuyers, with one reducing down payments threshold, Securities Daily reported Wednesday, citing unidentified officials of various banks. 　

Since the Qingming holiday, Zhangjiakou has lowered mortgage rates for first-time homebuyers and second-home buyers from 5.44% to 5.29%, and from 5.88% to 5.66%, respectively. The down payment threshold for first-time homebuyers was cut to 20% and the second home threshold reduced to 30%.

Some banks in Qinhuangdao and Baoding also lowered mortgage rate. Since April, Quzhou, Qinhuangdao, Dalian, Lanzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing and Shanghai have all loosen home purchase restrictions.

Unigroup USD Bonds’ Trustee Says No Assurance It Can Remit Funds  (8:05 a.m. HK)

The firm’s restructuring administrator has determined that recovery funds must be paid into an onshore account and government approval is needed to move them offshore, according to separate letters addressed to holders of a bond which became due in 2021 and a notewhich matures in 2023

The trustee’s representative hasn’t received information on why funds can’t be paid to offshore account. 

China Central SOEs to Focus on Growth, Risk as Pressure Mounts (8:03 a.m. HK) 

The country’s centrally administered state-owned enterprises will put more effort into stabilizing growth and controlling risks this year as they face greater downward pressure, Peng Huagang, spokesperson of State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, said at a briefing.

Central SOEs’ operations were steady in the first quarter but external factors, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict and Covid outbreaks, have brought many difficulties and challenges. Their revenue and net income saw slower year-over-year growth in March.

 

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