Local governments are tightening........>

CHINA PRESS: Local governments are tightening regulations to prevent the illegal

use of consumer loans to finance house purchases, the Securities Daily reported

Thursday. Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen cities and Jiangsu province have

announced new policies to prohibit consumer loans being used to buy a house and

have asked financial institutions to conduct self-examinations to stop such

practices. Short-term consumer loan growth has skyrocketed this year, in

contrast with the stable growth rate of retail sales, the newspaper said.

According to a report by the E-house consultancy, around CNY300 billion of

consumer loans was expected to flow into the property market, representing 30%

of total new short-term consumer loans.  Fully 90% of short-term consumer loans

being used for housing have been issued in just six provinces: Guangdong,

Fujian, Suzhou, Shanghai, Sichuan and Hebei The newspaper said the new

regulations signal again that current policy controls on the property market

will be tightened further, with policies targeting specific segments of the

market to come.