China plans to relax “three red lines” to encourage state-led property M&A – REDD

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Chinese policymakers plan to exclude debt accrued from acquiring distressed assets when calculating property developers’ compliance with the “three red lines”, financial intelligence provider REDD reported on Friday, amid unprecedented stress on the sector.

The “three red lines” policy restricts the amount of new borrowing property developers can raise each year by placing caps on their debt ratios.

Local governments including Shanghai and Guangdong held respective meetings with domestic state-owned developers last week, REDD added, after policymakers asked the firms in mid-December to acquire assets from 11 private developers with liquidity issues to ease their financial stress.

(Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Kim Coghill)