Developers eye access to direct funding sources

A series of articles published by Xinhua News Agency on Wednesday, which called for a lift of the ban on property developers' normal financing activities, has added to evidence that domestic developers will soon gain access to a broader range of financing options.

In order to tame soaring property prices, the State Council - China's cabinet - required the securities regulator on April 2010 to suspend approvals to the listing, refinancing and major-asset restructuring proposals submitted by developers that were found to keep land plots idle or participate in housing market speculation activities.

As a matter of fact, direct financing for developers on the mainland's capital markets was blocked even before that, as no successful listing on the A-share market for domestic developers was seen after Wuhan Langold Real Estate Co Ltd went public in November 2009 in Shenzhen.