Builders seeking additional financing resources

Tighter lending rules are forcing mainland’s developers to seek additional financing resources besides the usual sources of credit, analysts said.

Developers are increasingly raising funds by issuing bonds in overseas markets, and more firms are likely to raise funds by selling shares in their companies.

Tightening lending options for developers is one of the comprehensive measures that policymakers have taken to curb speculation in China’s real estate market since the second half of 2016.

Developers, particularly smaller and privately-run entities, are turning to other fund-raising channels as a result.

“Financing for developers has been increasingly diversified,” said a research note from CRIC China, a real estate information and research service provider.

CRIC data said that 108 developers raised 1 trillion yuan ($151 billion) from January through November 2017, about a 4 percent year-on-year decrease, and it is expected the whole-year record of 2017 is going to be lower than that of 2016.

Hong Kong-listed Sunac China Holdings Ltd is one example. It raised $1 billion in a top-up share on placement at a price near the bottom end of a marketed range. The Tianjin-based developer sold 251.5 million shares at HK$31.10 ($3.98) per share Dec 15, a price that represents an 11.9 percent discount from the previous day’s closing price of HK$35.30.

Five months ago, Sunac sold $516 million shares after it agreed to buy asset parcels of theme parks and hotels from Dalian Wanda Group Co.

Proceeds from the share sale will be used for general working capital, said a Sunac statement.

Developers are also raising funds in various forms including REITs (real estate investment trusts) and ABS (assests back security), which give more investors access to real estate investments, and help developers leverage more resources from the capital market in the long run.

Some turn to bond issuance in the overseas market, such as China Evergrande, Country Garden and Greenland Group. Mainland’s developers raised 255.3 billion yuan ($38.58 billion) overseas from January through November 2017, a 25 percent year-on-year increase, according to data from Wind Info, a Shanghai-based financial information technology company.

More than 50 percent of developers, particularly smaller, privatelyowned ones, are finding it increasingly difficult to secure funds while the cost of financing is growing fast, up to 10 percent through trusts and up to 8 percent through bond issuance.