BEIJING – China Vanke posted another massive loss in the third quarter, underscoring the pressure on the property developer as it tries to pay off debt amid the country’s prolonged housing slump.
Vanke reported a net loss of 8.1 billion yuan (S$1.5 billion), bringing its combined losses for the first nine months of 2024 to 17.9 billion yuan, according to a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Oct 29.
As a bellwether for China’s real estate crisis, Vanke’s debt troubles underscore how even the highest-quality developers have been ensnared by the unprecedented slowdown, now in its fourth year. The crisis is taking a toll on the closely watched builder, as the government’s efforts to stem the sector’s decline have yet to materially reinvigorate home buyer demand.
“Vanke will likely keep struggling with a shortfall in contracted sales, as the raft of stimulus policies targeting China’s housing sector since September is unlikely to lead to a sustainable recovery in developers’ new home sales,” Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Kristy Hung and Monica Si wrote in a note last week.
In September, Vanke’s contracted sales plunged 46 per cent from a year earlier to 17.4 billion yuan, the biggest monthly slide since February, according to Bloomberg calculations based on company data.
The state-backed developer, once considered one of the strong players in the industry, has been raising funds and looking to sell assets to calm investor concern over liquidity stress. BLOOMBERG