CBN丨China approves 100 billion yuan loans for housing rental groups in 8 cities

Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.

Coming up on today’s program

• Central bank approves 100 billion yuan mortgages for rental housing groups in 8 pilot cities;
• China's auto production and sales topped 30 million units for the first time in 2023.

Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) approved a total of 100 billion yuan in mortgages for rental housing groups to support the purchase of commercial properties for long-term rental in eight pilot cities, as a way to relieve pressure on local governments to raise rental housing and reduce housing inventory, media reported today.

The eight pilot cities are Tianjin, Chengdu, Qingdao, Chongqing, Fuzhou, Changchun, Zhengzhou and Jinan.

The loans for rental housing groups enjoy an annualized interest rate of 3 percent and a maximum tenure of 30 years, extended by seven state-owned banks, including China Development Bank (CDB) and Bank of China (BOC).

According to the terms, only residential commercial properties can be purchased, and the acquisition of commercial apartments is not permitted. At the same time, the target project must be acquired as a whole building or unit.

The decision comes after the PBOC and the National Administration of Financial Regulation (NAFR) on Friday issued a guideline on stepping up financial support for the housing rental market, vowing to offer more innovative credit products and services for housing rentals and to expand financing channels for the rental housing market.

Among the main measures, the guideline, which was sent to the PBOC and the NAFR's local branches and various types of banks, calls for an increase in credit support for housing rental development and construction.

On the purchasing side, the guideline also encouraged commercial banks to extend loans for entities that purchase housing rental for employees. The term for such loans cannot exceed 30 years and the amount should not exceed 80 percent of the property value.

However, the regulators had made it clear that the premise of the commercial banks to issue these mortgages is that the risk is controllable and commercially sustainable, and that new local government hidden debt is strictly forbidden.

Since March 2023, the eight pilot cities have been working to identify suitable housing for the program. These cities must wrestle for the mortgage quota on first-come, first-served basis, instead of being allocated in fixed amounts.

• China's National Immigration Administration officially implements five measures to facilitate foreign nationals coming to China, effective on Thursday, including relaxing visa application requirements and simplifying visa application materials.Foreign nationals can transit through nine international airports in China without going through immigration procedures for up to 24 hours. In addition, an official with the immigration bureau said today that the applications for the new version of China’s permanent residence permit for foreigners saw a rapid increase since it was launched on Dec. 1, 2023. With the new ID cards, foreign holders can open accounts to trade Chinese mainland-listed shares online, as well as purchase tickets for flights and trains, open WeChat Pay and Alipay accounts as well as forex trading accounts, among other benefits and services more similar to Chinese citizens’ ID cards.
• The World Bank has issued a stern warning that the global economy is set for a "weakest" half-decade performance in three decades, as it forecasts a slower growth rate of 2.4 percent in 2024, down from 2.6 percent for 2023.In its latest Global Economic Prospects report released on Tuesday US time, the World Bank said China's economy will grow by 4.5 percent in 2024, 0.1 percentage points less than its June 2023 projection, yet still the fastest among major economies.

Moving on to regional highlights

• Beijing raked in a commercial performance revenue of over 2.3 billion yuan in 2023, according to local authorities. Last year, a total of 49,524 commercial performances were staged in Beijing, attracting nearly 11.39 million audiences. In 2023, the number of performances, audiences and box office increased by 117 percent, 9.5 percent and 32.1 percent, respectively, compared with 2019. More than 14,000 talk shows were held last year, representing the largest share among all types of performances.
• Nanjing in China’s eastern Jiangsu province and a few other cities have lowered their mortgage rates since the start of this year, with the loan rates in most cities in the country reaching a record low. Many commercial banks in Nanjing cut the mortgage rate for first-time home buyers by 10 base points to 3.9 percent from Jan. 9, down 30 bps from the loan prime rate. Hohhot in Inner Mongolia and Jiujiang in Jiangxi province cut their mortgage rates for first-time buyers to 3.8 percent on Jan.1.

Next on industry and company news

• Data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers today show that in 2023, China's automobile production and sales exceeded 30 million units for the first time, setting a record high. Among them, 4.91 million units were exported, up 58 percent, likely making China the world's number one automobile exporter. In 2023, China's NEVs production and sales stood at 9.59 million and 9.5 million units, increased by 35.8 percent and 37.9 percent year over year, respectively.
• Chinese personal computer giant Lenovo released more than 10 artificial intelligence-enabled PC products at the ongoing International Consumer Electronics Show(CES) held in Las Vegas. The new AI-powered PCs include creator laptop Yoga Pro 9i Gen 9, the ThinkBook Plus G5 Hybrid, which can seamlessly switch between Windows 11 and Android, business laptop ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12, and ultra small form factor desktop ThinkCentre neo Ultra.
• Chinese display and television makers such as TCL Technology Group and Hisense Home Appliances Group have released new products for the CES 2024 in a bid to gain more global market share from Samsung and smaller rivals. Hisense released a 75-inch mini-light-emitting diode-backlit TV with a thickness of less than 14 millimeters and an ultra-thin laser TV on the sidelines of the annual consumer electronics show. TCL launched its 115-inch mini-LED-backlit TV. Meanwhile, South Korea's Samsung unveiled its transparent micro-LED TV line-up.
• China's electric vehicle giant BYD unveiled a new sedan Yangwang U7 on Wednesday, featuring over 1000 horsepower, which the brand says will enhance the performance of the sedan. Though the price and other technical data have not been released, BYD is expected to strengthen its competitiveness in the high-end market via this new model.
• ByteDance’sTikTokbecame the first app to pass USD10 billion in cumulative consumer spending, helping power mobile app sales to a new high in a year in which revenue from games was down, according to the latest report by data.ai. Video-streaming platforms such as TikTok and Disney+ drove an 11 percent rise in consumer app sales in 2023, showing resilient demand while the games industry dealt with a double-digit sales decline in China.
• China will move to expand its 5G mobile network access to all outlying border regions and inhabited offshore islands, and the 5G coverage will likely reach 100 percent by the end of 2025, according to a notice jointly issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and 12 other central government departments on Wednesday. High-speed mobile network coverage will also be realized along highways in border areas, while continental offshore areas will also have network coverage based on actual needs at the end of 2025.

Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock market

• Chinese stocks gained on Thursday as the benchmark Shanghai Composite rising 0.3 percent and the Shenzhen Component jumped 1.5 percent. Hong Kongstocks snapped a seven-day slide after reaching the lowest level since November 2022 this week. The Hang Seng Index added 1.3 percent and the Tech Index rallied 2.2 percent.

Biz Word of the Day

• Consumer Electronics Show(CES)is an annualtrade showorganized by theConsumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at theLas Vegas Convention CenterinWinchester,Nevada, United States, the world's largest tech fair typically hosts presentations of new products and technologies in theconsumer electronicsindustry.

Executive Editor: Sonia YU

Editor: LI Yanxia

Host: Stephanie LI

Writer: Stephanie LI

Sound Editor: Stephanie LI

Graphic Designer: ZHENG Wenjing, LIAO Yuanni

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