MNI BRIEF: China To Defuse Risks In Housing, Debt, Small Banks

China will focus on defusing risks in real estate, local-government debt, and small and medium financial institutions to maintain overall economic and financial stability, the government said in its annual work report released on Tuesday.

China will refine real-estate policies and provide equal support to the reasonable financing needs of both state-owned and private real-estate developers, the Government Work Report said.

Li Yujia, chief research fellow at Guangdong Urban & Rural Planning and Design Institute noted the report left out “houses are for living in, not for speculation” to avoid further dampening market expectations, as investment demand has ebbed with expectation of further falling home prices. (See MNI: China's Mega Cities To Ease Homebuying Limits Progressively)

China will implement a package of measures to defuse risks caused by existing local debts and guard against risks arising from new debts. It is also the first to highlight the risk of the disposal of smaller financial institutions in the government’s annual tasks.