Zhong Huri Peng: "Active Lending Needed for Whitelist Real Estate Projects"

After Project Site Inspection, Urging the Financial Sector

He Lifeng, Vice Premier of the State Council and regarded as the key figure in China's economy, emphasized the active lending support from the financial sector for 'whitelist' real estate projects.

According to China's official Xinhua News Agency on the 14th, Vice Premier He presided over real estate inspections and a symposium in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, from the 13th to 14th. At the event, He stated, "The implementation of the urban real estate financing adjustment mechanism must be accelerated," adding, "Active lending support should be provided for real estate projects that meet the whitelist criteria, and the slogan 'lend as much as possible where loans are needed' should be achieved to ensure projects are completed on time."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Prior to this, Vice Premier He inspected real estate project sites under construction in Jinshui District and Huiji District of Zhengzhou City, checking the site plans and construction progress. He then met consecutively with local housing and urban-rural construction departments and financial institution leaders to discuss commercial housing construction, financing, real estate sales, and to listen to common challenges that need to be addressed.

At the symposium, he emphasized, "For projects included in the whitelist, financial institutions should improve the loan review and implementation process to accelerate fund injection and support project construction completion," and added, "For projects that temporarily do not meet the whitelist criteria, customized solutions should be provided as much as possible." He further stressed, "Account management and fund supervision for development loans and pre-sale payments should be optimized to ensure closed-loop operations while strictly preventing illegal fund diversion."

Vice Premier He stated, "Central relevant departments should promptly improve related policies and strengthen coordination and guidance," and elaborated, "Local governments bear the responsibility to maintain stable and healthy development of regional real estate, effectively utilize the autonomy of real estate regulation, and adjust and optimize policies according to local conditions."

He also said, "Financial institutions must effectively implement relevant policies and equally meet the reasonable financing needs of various real estate enterprises," adding, "Enterprises should fulfill their responsibilities in risk prevention and payment assurance, accelerate the transformation of development models, and strive for high-quality development."

Previously, Chinese authorities introduced a loan whitelist policy to alleviate funding difficulties for state-owned and private real estate enterprises and urged the financial sector to actively implement lending. To be selected for this list, construction projects must be in the 'under construction' phase and meet certain conditions such as having appropriate collateral. As of February 20, the total number of whitelist projects reached 5,349.