MNI China Press Digest Nov 15: Xi-Biden, Developers, SMEs

The following lists highlights from Chinese press reports on Tuesday:

• Financial officials from China and the U.S. will conduct dialogue and coordination on macroeconomic policies, economic and trade issues, CCTV News reported late Monday following the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart in Bali. Xi emphasised that trade and tech wars, and “decoupling and breaking off supply chains” completely violate the principles of the market economy and undermine the rules of international trade, while both countries still have common interests in post-pandemic economic recovery, climate change and the resolution of regional issues. The two heads of state believed the meeting was candid and constructive and instructed the working teams to implement the important consensus reached during the meeting and take practical actions to push China-U.S. relations back to the track of stable development, CCTV said.
• Real estate developers will be allowed to make use of some pre-sale housing funds held in escrow accounts in exchange for permission to sell residential projects before completion, the latest step to resolve the liquidity crunch confronting developers, the 21st Century Business Herald reported citing a statement published by China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission on its website. Developers can apply to commercial banks for a letter of guarantee to withdraw certain percentages of pre-sale funds from escrow accounts, and the funds obtained shall be prioritised to construct projects and repay debts, but banned from land acquisition, new investment or repaying loans by shareholders, the statement said.
• Private and small companies temporarily affected by the Covid-19 epidemic are allowed to extend loan repayments due in Q4 to mid-2023, Yicai.com reported citing a document released by the central bank and five other departments on Monday. The repayment of principal and interest can be extended up to June 30, 2023, with normal interest rates to apply without penalty. The support is expected to see SME loans maintain a high growth rate above 25% by year-end, accelerating from the 24.6% growth at the end of Q3, Yicai said citing Wang Qing, chief analyst with Golden Credit Rating. This is the fifth time regulators have deferred repayments for SMEs since 2020, playing an important role in helping SMEs avoid a cash crunch, the newspaper added.