As real estate sales have gradually slowed down, China’s real estate developers have been faced with an increased demand for financing due to people’s heavy upfront investments, interest payments, and the slow return of cash flow. Since the government loosened up the financing policy, there has been an increase in real estate financing activities. According to statistics from the Central Plains Real Estate Research Center, in November (as of November 28), a number of real estate companies across the country were approved for large-scale financing with the total financing amount exceeding 100 billion yuan (US$14 billion). Meanwhile the defaults on debt payments this year has hit a record high. In November, 150 billion yuan in debt was due, which was the second largest amount in 2018. It is expected that the debt repayment will be even larger in December.
Source: Xinhua, November 30, 2018
http://www.xinhuanet.com/house/2018-11-30/c_1123787448.htm