NewWorld Development Company Limited
EXECUTIVE VICE-CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
28
the aim for stabilising spending on
residential housing and supporting
the housing demand from those
seeking to acquire their dwellings as
well as those dwelling upgraders,
in fostering the steady and healthy
d e v e l o pme n t o f t h e p r o p e r t y
sector. Such series of favourable
measures were considered by the
market as indications of the Central
Government’s focus on unlocking
demand for residential housing,
stimulating domestic demand, and
seeking a breakthrough beyond the
current bottleneck in the development
of the nation’s real estate market and
its overall economic growth. In view
of the opportunities presented by
the policy adjustments, developers
were actively preparing for their
new development plans as well as
adjusting the combination of project
launches in order to foster sales.
According to the National Bureau of
Statistics, in the first half of 2015, the
aggregate floor area sold and sales
proceeds of residential properties on
a nationwide basis grew at 4.5% and
12.9% year-on-year respectively.
factors, rigid demand in residential
housing was to a certain extent
unlocked in the property market in
Mainland China, and the sentiment
on residential property sales started
to improve.
Back in 2014 during the annual
sessions of the National People’s
Congress (“NPC”) and the Chinese
Peop l e ’ s Po l i t i ca l Consu l t a t i ve
Conference (“CPPCC”), Premier
L i K e q i a n g a l r e a d y p r o p o s e d
the adoption of category-based
regulatory measures and bilateral
regulatory measures for the real
estate market, as opposed to the
previous adherence to the steadfast
control over the real estate market,
bearing testimony to the Chinese
Government’s advocacy of the reform
direction under which the real estate
market shall become more driven by
market forces. In the Report on the
Work of the Chinese Government
released during the annual sessions
of the NPC and the CPPCC in 2015,
the Chinese Government articulated
MAINLAND CHINA
PROPERTIES
To alleviate the vast demand for
housing and the downside pressure
on economic growth, it was jointly
announced by the People’s Bank of
China and China Banking Regulatory
Commission in September 2014
that mortgage restrictions applicable
to the property market were to be
relaxed. Accordingly, for a family
purchasing its first ordinary dwelling,
the minimum down payment on
mortgage was set at 30% and the
minimum interest rate of mortgage
lending was set at 0.7 times of
the benchmark lending rate; while
mortgage lending for the purchase of
a second dwelling was to be subject
to a much lower barrier than before.
At the same time, the home purchase
restriction policies adopted by local
governments were gradually relaxed
in most cities in Mainland China with
effect from the third quarter of 2014.
In late November 2014, interest rate
cut was announced by the People’s
Bank of China. Under such favourable
