50 developers on China's 'white list' for finance

50b yuan currency swap pact

China and Saudi Arabia's central banks have agreed on a three-year local-currency swap agreement for a maximum of 50 billion yuan (HK$54.3 billion) or 26 billion riyals (HK$54.3 billion). The swap arrangement will "help strengthen financial cooperation" and "facilitate more convenient trade and investment" between the two countries, the People's Bank of China said in a statement.

Air passenger numbers soar

China's passenger transportation numbers went up 252 percent in October from a year earlier, reaching 56 million people. The accumulated transportation number topped 520 million people so far this year, according to data on the website of the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Alibaba denies layoff move

Alibaba (9988) denied a rumor suggesting it is about to lay off some 25,000 employees. Its shares plunged 10 percent last Friday after it called off plans to spin off and list its cloud business and suspended a listing for the popular grocery business Freshippo. The stock inched up 1.6 percent yesterday.

Port operator buys stake

China Merchants Port (0144) plans to acquire a 51 percent stake in Indonesian port services firm PT Nusantara Pelabuhan Handal for US$61.2 million (HK$477 million).

Agencies and staff reporter

Chinese regulators are drafting a list of 50 developers eligible for a range of financing, according to people familiar with the matter.

This marks the nation's latest effort to put a floor under the property crisis.

China Vanke (2202), Seazen Group (1030) and Longfor (0960) are among companies that have been named in a draft of the so-called white list, some people said, asking not to be named because the matter is private.

The list, which includes both private and state-owned developers, is intended to guide financial institutions as they weigh support for the industry via bank loans, debt and equity financing, some people said. It couldn't be determined which other developers were included on the draft list.

The yet-to-be-finalized list would expand on previous rosters created by banks that focused only on some "systemically important" state-backed firms. It underscores Beijing's growing concerns about the sector following record defaults, a swathe of unfinished apartments and a deep contraction in real estate investment that threatens to derail growth in the world's second-largest economy.

Some Chinese builders' US dollar bonds rallied after the report.

China's biggest banks, brokerages and distressed asset managers were told to meet all "reasonable" funding needs from property firms at a Friday gathering with top financial regulators, according to a government statement that didn't mention a white list. Financial firms were also asked to "treat private and state-owned developers the same," when it comes to lending.

At the same event, regulators asked banks to ensure that loan issuance to private builders grows at the same rate as the industry average, people familiar with the matter said. China's outstanding property loans at the end of September fell on a yearly basis for the first time, underlining stress in the sector.

This came as Sino-Ocean Group (3377) said its subsidiary reached a debt restructuring agreement with the holders of defaulted bonds and will give regular progress updates.

China left benchmark lending rates unchanged at a monthly fixing yesterday, matching expectations, as a weaker yuan continued to limit further monetary easing and policymakers waited to see the effects of previous stimuli on credit demand.

The one-year loan prime rate was kept at 3.45 percent and the five-year LPR was unchanged at 4.2 percent.