International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters, Washington DC, U.S. on April 15, 2020. /CFP
International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters, Washington DC, U.S. on April 15, 2020. /CFP
The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday applauded the Chinese authorities' recent support initiatives for China's property sector, including a loan program to help complete unfinished homes and allowing forbearance on troubled property loans.
"Building on these efforts, additional robust and well-funded mechanisms are needed for completing troubled unfinished projects and protecting new presale buyers from the risk of non-completion, while forbearance measures should be phased out," said Gopinath, the first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund.
"These measures will help restore homebuyer confidence and facilitate market-based restructuring," she said, adding that in the medium term, structural reforms in the sector and new savings models can help transform the market to a more sustainable size.
The IMF also renewed its longstanding call for more market-based reforms in China, including ensuring "competitive neutrality" between private and state-owned firms.
(Reuters with edits)