Developers rise on support hope

Staff reporter and agencies

Shares of mainland developers rose on news that China plans to draft a list of developers that should provide support.

Country Garden Services (6098) surged 11.7 percent to HK$21.65, the biggest rise among blue-chip members, while Cifi (0884) advanced 13.16 percent to HK$1.29.

And the sector benchmark Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index also jumped 7.33 percent to 2,580.38 points.

It comes as Chinese authorities are planning to usher in further support measures to ease liquidity stress at some of the nation's too-big-to-fail developers as the property downturn persists, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Financial Stability and Development Committee told the banking and securities regulators late last week to help shore up the balance sheets of some "systemically important" developers.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong-headquartered Kaisa Group (1638) delivered over 20,000 units in 29 projects last year, after introducing several state-owned enterprises and asset managers as partners.

Kaisa said it will accelerate the construction of various projects and strive to ensure quality of delivery.

China Vanke (2202), one of the largest private developers in mainland, reported a 33.58 percent decline to 416.97 billion yuan (HK$473.79 billion) in its contract sales in 2022 from one year ago, after a 37.44 percent fall in December.

Embattled Sunac China's (1918) proposal to extend its 16 billion yuan onshore bond has been approved by investors for an average of 3.5 years, a source with direct knowledge said yesterday.