China’s state-owned Bank of Communications has agreed to provide a Rmb120bn ($16.8bn) credit line to Chinese developer Vanke and Midea Real Estate, in a clear sign of greater government support for stronger players in the country’s struggling real estate sector.BoCom, China’s sixth-largest bank by assets, said on Wednesday the loans would support the developers’ needs in “project developments, mortgages, merger and acquisition deals, bond investment, letter of guarantee and supply chain financing”.
The state bank’s loans are the first significant offering to property developers after regulators rolled out a support package last week that was widely interpreted as a turning point for the sector in crisis.
The Agricultural Bank of China, the country’s third-largest lender, said on Wednesday it would also offer credit lines to five developers — Vanke, China Overseas Land and Investment, China Resources Land, Longfor and Gemdale — but did not reveal any figures.