Earth Science News
TRADE WARS
Moody's downgrades China property sector to negative
Moody's downgrades China property sector to negative
by AFP Staff Writers
Hong Kong (AFP) Sept 14, 2023

Moody's on Thursday downgraded China's property sector outlook to negative from stable, saying weaker growth was impacting homebuyers' spending.

The ratings agency said contracted sales were expected to fall around 5 percent over the next six to 12 months and that the impact of "recently strengthened policy support" by the government would be "short-lived".

China's central bank on Thursday announced a cut to its benchmark ratio for the amount of cash banks must hold in reserve, known as the RRR -- its first cut since March.

However it is the third time the central bank has reduced a key rate in the space of a few weeks as the world's second-largest economy struggles with post-Covid headwinds and a slow-motion crisis in the crucial property sector.

Moody's added that credit stress at one of China's biggest property developers, Country Garden, had "amplified homebuyer risk aversion".

Earlier this month, the debt-laden developer narrowly avoided defaulting on two multi-million dollar interest repayments.

Had that not been repaid, the company would have faced the prospect of becoming the biggest Chinese real estate firm to default since rival Evergrande in 2021.

The company, which was still the largest property developer in China last year, has four times as many projects as Evergrande, whose shutdown of construction sites last year led to protests and monthly payment strikes.

The major setbacks faced by Country Garden and Evergrande are further weakening a sector already damaged by the coronavirus pandemic and a broader economic slowdown in China.

According to Moody's, economically weaker cities are expected to experience the biggest drop in property sales.

"Regions with weaker economies will contribute to most of the expected sales decline, also amid continuing population outflow," it said.

bur-dhw/des

Country Garden

China Evergrande Group

Related Links
Global Trade News

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
TRADE WARS
Asian markets swing as crude spike stokes inflation concerns
Hong Kong (AFP) Sept 13, 2023
Equities fluctuated Wednesday ahead of a crunch US inflation report, with investors increasingly nervous that a recent spike in oil will put fresh upward pressure on consumer prices and force the Federal Reserve to lift interest rates again. The central bank has insisted that its decision-making on monetary policy will be data-driven as it assesses a range of figures, which have for much of 2023 suggested that more than a year of tightening is having the desired effect. That had fanned optimism ... read more

TRADE WARS
US hit by record number of billion-dollar disasters so far this year

France hails Japan's 'transparency' over Fukushima water

Disasters getting worse, say Brazil cyclone victims as Morocco quake leaves mental scars

Aid tents offer warning of Morocco quake survivor's future

TRADE WARS
Apple to update iPhone 12 in France over radiation

UK Lords hand govt defeat in homebuilding pollution vote

AI-driven tool makes it easy to personalize 3D-printable models

Scientists pursue drug to protect US troops from radiation sickness

TRADE WARS
Dominican Republic shuts border with Haiti over water spat

Court suspends shark cull in French Pacific archipelago

'Huge' overfishing problem shows need to ratify ocean treaty: Greenpeace

'We're going to sink': Hundreds abandon Caribbean island home

TRADE WARS
Cruise ship runs aground in Greenland fjord, no injured

New research explains "Atlantification" of the Arctic Ocean

Measuring the retreat of Italy's largest glacier

Study quantifies link between greenhouse gases, polar bear survival

TRADE WARS
Global food system could help achieve net negative emissions by 2050

France goes (a bit) veggie for Olympics

Instacart seeks $10 billion valuation amid industry woes: WSJ

Climate change pushes Bordeaux winemakers to harvest at night

TRADE WARS
Derna counts the cost of Libya flood disaster

Race against time to find survivors 4 days after Morocco quake

More charges dropped over New Zealand's deadly White Island blast

Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupts again

TRADE WARS
Pentagon: U.S. has resumed ISR flight operations for force protection in Niger

US military resumes surveillance flights over Niger

US approves most Egypt aid despite rights alarm

Sudan conflict could become 'full-scale civil war,' U.N. envoy warns as he resigns

TRADE WARS
Hong Kong's top court rules to recognise same-sex partnerships

New ancient ape from Turkiye challenges the story of human origins

ALS patient pioneering brain-computer connection

The race to link our brains to computers is hotting up

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.